Ford in Europe - An historical time line A look at the significant events that helped shape the Ford Motor Co. through 100 years. View story In the beginning, the prospects were dim On June 16, Henry Ford and 11 other investors signed the articles of incorporation with the state of Michigan for Ford Motor Co. The 40-year-old Ford was, at best, a risky prospect for venture capital. View story The first lean manufacturer How clever the world feels today when it talks about its accomplishments in the fields of manufacturing and industrial design. Henry Ford did it all a century ago. View story The rise and fall of Harry Bennett Hired by Henry Ford after a New York street fight, Harry Bennett rose to prominence as perhaps America's most famous corporate thug. View story                    MORE FORD 100 COVERAGE >> How Ford bought, fixed Jaguar In the late 1980s, Ford strategists took a good look at the booming luxury-car market and realized they needed a global luxury brand to rival BMW and Mercedes-Benz. So they went shopping. View story Back to Ford family roots Ford's first purpose-built manufacturing operation outside the United States was opened in Cork in the Republic of Ireland in 1919. The site was chosen because of the Ford family's close ties with the area. View story Ford in UK: The early years Ford had been producing cars for only a matter of months before it became an exporter as well. Ford made its first sale in France, home of Europe's biggest national auto industry, in 1904. Yet the UK emerged as the anvil of Ford's early progress abroad. View story Dagenham was a significant shift The birth of Ford's Dagenham plant on the marshes of east London in 1931 created a significant shift in the auto manufacturing industry outside the USA. View story France's first foreign car Ford was the first foreign carmaker to assemble cars in France. Today, it operates two transmission plants in the Bordeaux wine region. View story Back to the Automotive News Europe homepage