Ford Motor Company. The name hits you like a revving engine – shiny chrome, open roads, the beating heart of the American dream. The Model T, the assembly line, the Mustang – fucking icons, mate. But peel back that gleaming hood, and it’s a bloody mess underneath. A history as filthy as an oil-soaked rag, dripping with greed, death, and a stench that won’t wash off. Strap in, because we’re tearing through Ford’s dark past, and it’s a hell of a ride.
The Ford Pinto: A Death Trap on Wheels
Let’s kick off with the Ford Pinto – Ford’s cheap little runabout that turned into a flaming coffin. Launched in 1970, it was meant to take on the imports, a pint-sized dream for the everyman. But here’s the kicker: the fuel tank, shoved behind the rear axle, was a goddamn disaster waiting to happen. Rear-end it at 20 mph, and boom – petrol sprays, sparks fly, and you’re cooked.
Ford knew this shit. Crash tests showed it clear as day. But instead of fixing it, they pulled out their calculators. Deaths? £150,000 a pop in payouts. Fixing the flaw? £100 million. Letting people fry? A measly £35 million. So, they said, “Fuck it, let ’em burn.” And burn they did – 500 souls at least, maybe more, roasted alive or scarred beyond recognition. It took Mother Jones ripping the lid off in ’77 and a £90 million court slap (later cut to £2.5 million) to force a recall in ’78. Too172 Too late. The Pinto’s legacy? A tombstone for corporate bastards who’d rather count cash than lives.
Henry Ford: The Man Who Built Cars and Spread Hate
Then there’s Henry Ford himself – the geezer who put the world on wheels and poison in its veins. A visionary, sure, but also a raging bigot. In the 1920s, he turned the Dearborn Independent into his personal hate rag, pumping out 90-plus articles of anti-Semitic bile. The International Jew, he called it, built on the bullshit Protocols of the Elders of Zion. Jews ran the banks, the wars, the bloody lot – pure venom that’d make your skin crawl.
This wasn’t just pub-talk drivel. Hitler ate it up – kept Ford’s picture on his wall, name-checked him in Mein Kampf. The Nazis loved it, and Ford’s hate became a cog in their murder machine. He backtracked in ’27 after lawsuits, mumbling an apology, but the stain’s permanent. The man who built an industry also built a bridge to genocide. How’s that for a legacy?
Toxic Legacy: Poisoning New Jersey
Ford didn’t just screw over drivers – they fucked the earth too. In the ’60s and ’70s, their Mahwah plant in New Jersey dumped tons of toxic paint sludge onto land owned by the Ramapough Lenape Nation. Not some empty lot – people’s homes, their bloody lives. Lead, arsenic, the works, seeping into soil and water, turning a community into a cancer hotspot.
It’s a Superfund site now, since ’83, but Ford’s cleanup’s been a piss-take – half-arsed and slow. New Jersey’s suing them as of 2022, saying they hid the scale of it. Picture it: a company that swore progress, leaving behind a wasteland where kids can’t breathe clean air. It’s betrayal, pure and simple.
Emissions Scandals: Cheating the System
Even now, Ford’s pulling fast ones. Back in ’73, they copped a £5 million fine for fudging emissions tests. Fast forward to Dieselgate – yep, they’re in that mess too. Alleged defeat devices in their diesel motors, passing lab checks while choking the air with illegal filth. The US Justice Department’s sniffing around since 2019, and Ford’s all “nothing to see here.” Bollocks. The hypocrisy stinks worse than the exhaust.
Labour Wars: Blood on the Factory Floor
Ford’s workers? Treated like dirt when they dared to fight back. Henry’s “five quid a day” wage came with strings – he owned your soul. Unionise? Good luck. The 1937 Battle of the Overpass had Ford’s thugs smashing UAW lads to bits. Took a strike in ’41 to drag them to the table. Even today, layoffs hit while execs rake it in – a tradition of screwing the little guy.
Engine Failures: A Modern Fuck-Up
And don’t get me started on the EcoBoost engines – Ford’s “green” promise that’s a bloody nightmare. Coolant leaks, turbo failures, oil pumps packing in – cars catching fire or dying mid-road. Owners are out £5,600 for fixes, and lawsuits are stacking up. Innovation, my arse. It’s the same old Ford – flashy on the outside, fucked underneath.
The Duality of Ford’s Legacy
Ford’s a two-faced beast. Genius and progress on one side – cars that shaped the world. On the other? Greed, hate, and bodies in the ditch. The Pinto’s ashes, Henry’s poison pen, New Jersey’s toxic scars – it’s not a blip, it’s the story. As they push electric dreams, we can’t forget: this is Ford. Brilliant. Brutal. Bloody unforgivable.
Lee Thompson – Founder, The Cummins Accountability Project
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