A Most Remarkable Legacy.

By Peter M. De Lorenzo

Detroit. The passing of William Clay Ford marks the end of an era here in the Motor City. Mr. Ford, 88, who passed away on Sunday, served as Director Emeritus for the Ford Motor Company and was the last surviving grandchild of the company’s founder, Henry Ford.

Mr. Ford loved the car business, serving the company for 57 years as an employee and board member, more than half of the company’s 110-year history. He particularly loved the design aspect of this business, with the Lincoln Continental Mark II his lasting contribution to the stable of significant cars in the company’s history.

But perhaps Mr. Ford’s most important contribution to the company occurred in recent times, when he rallied family members not to waver from supporting the company in its most difficult hour, when Chrysler and General Motors succumbed to bankruptcy and Ford had to literally mortgage all of the company’s assets to keep afloat.

But then again, that doesn’t even begin to paint the complete picture of William Clay Ford. As his son, William Clay Ford Jr., executive chairman of the company, put it: “My father was a great business leader and humanitarian who dedicated his life to the company and the community.  He also was a wonderful family man, a loving husband, father, grandfather and great-grandfather.  He will be greatly missed by everyone who knew him, yet he will continue to inspire us all.”

William Clay Ford was exceedingly generous and a tireless supporter of the community, doing much of his good works behind the scenes although there were certainly plenty of visible signs of his contributions all around the city as well.

And he of course was the longtime owner of his beloved Detroit Lions, a team that achieved little success in the NFL during his tenure, but an entity that remains a visible symbol to the city. (Some people say this is a baseball or hockey town, with the Tigers and Red Wings proudly carrying the banner for the city, and to a large degree that’s true. But nothing rocks the Motor City more than when the Lions string together a few big wins. Knowing how much he loved and cared about his team it was very sad that “Bill Sr.” never got to see his Lions reach the Super Bowl, a legacy his son, William Clay Ford Jr. will do his best to change in the coming years, I’m sure.)

In order to put William Clay Ford’s contributions to the Ford Motor Company and to this region in perspective it would take many, many columns, but it is a good time to pause and reflect on the Ford family and their remarkable contribution to this industry, because the family-owned company is unlike any other automobile company in the world.

Since doing this publication, I’ve done my best to give readers who aren’t from around here a glimpse as to what it’s really like to live in and around the Motor City and to be immersed in this business 24/7, because it is unlike anyplace else in the country. 

Detroit is the quintessential company town, a gutty, gritty place that is consumed by “the business” and everything that comes with it. It’s a place where executive changes at the car companies make the home pages and the front pages, and the product moves the companies make are analyzed and dissected constantly. And the city and the region are consumed by all of it, in a cadence that is relentless and at times overwhelming.

Everyone around here is somehow connected to the business, from party store owners to big-time executives. Livelihoods and households depend on it, local communities and charities survive because of it, and “the car thing” is so pervasive that it has come to define who we are, whether that perception is entirely fair, or not.

Yes, we’re also very proud that the Motor City has carved out such a rich musical legacy marked by some of the most significant contributions to the American musical fabric as well, but still, from the artisans of Motown to Kid Rock it has all been influenced by living around here, with young kids growing up in households supported by “the business” going on to become musical legends and more. You only have to hear Bob Seger’s Makin’ Thunderbirds to understand that.

But in discussing all of this it is important to remember that the Ford Motor Company is different, and that the passing of William Clay Ford is significant because of what it means to his family, the company and the industry at large.

When you live around here, it’s not uncommon to hear people talk about “working at Ford’s.” You’ll never hear that when people discuss working at the other car companies, and that is because “working at Ford’s” means working directly or indirectly for the Ford family, who still retain control and very much a vibrant interest in the family business, which, lest we forget, is one of the most important industrial legacies in America and part of the very fabric of this nation.

In the global automobile business as it is defined today the Ford Motor Company remains a unique operation, a family-owned and run business that stands out among the faceless corporate entities that make up the rest. Yes, there are family legacies at some of the other car companies around the world, but Ford is different and will always be different.

And that is because the Ford family cares. They care about the company’s role in providing for so many families in the community, they care about the family’s historical legacy, and they care that the Ford Motor Company continues to deliver a kaleidoscope of effective transportation choices for people all around the world.

And the fact that the family does care has endeared the Ford Motor Company to people around here in a way that the other car companies in town never will.

The members of the Ford family work in and around the company in various capacities, too, with William Clay Ford Jr., executive chairman, the most visible. It is simply extraordinary that the family has remained engaged and involved in the company for 110 years, and that’s due to the fact that they have never slacked off or “phoned it in” but instead have kept the flame and the family legacy alive for generations to come.

The passing of William Clay Ford does mark the end of an era, as he was the last living connection to the very beginnings of the automobile business.

But it’s also a reaffirmation of a most remarkable legacy, one that William Clay Ford Jr. and the other members of the Ford family will now proudly carry on.

And that’s the High-Octane Truth for this week.

(Images courtesy of the Ford Motor Company)
William Clay Ford on Ford's Dearborn Test Track at the age of 14 in 1939.

William Clay Ford (right) prepares to light the William Clay furnace at Ford Motor Company's Rouge River Complex, in 1948.

William Clay Ford became an employee of Ford Motor Company in 1949, joining his brothers, Benson Ford (left), and Henry Ford II (right).

As head of the Continental Division from 1954-56, William Clay Ford oversaw development of the 1956 Continental Mark II, successor to the classic Lincoln Continental developed under the direction of his father, Edsel Ford.

William Clay Ford and William Clay Ford Jr. celebrating William Clay Ford Jr.'s first day at work in 1979.
William Clay Ford.