A riveting, behind-the-scenes account of the near collapse of the Ford Motor Company, which in 2008 was close to bankruptcy, and CEO Alan Mulally's hard-fought effort and bold plan--including his decision not to take federal bailout money--to bring Ford back from the brink.

The Ford owner's magazine.

The Ford owner's magazine.

Skillful journalism and meticulous scholarship are combined in the full-bodied portrait of that enigmatic folk hero, Henry Ford, and of the company he built from scratch. Writing with verve and objectivity, David Lewis focuses on the fame, popularity, and influence of America's most unconventional businessman and traces the history of public relations and advertising within Ford Motor Company and the automobile industry.

Henry Ford's Model T forever changed the world. The car made "for the great multitude" (as Ford put it) first debuted in 1908 and proved so affordable and so popular that fifteen million were sold through 1927. The "Tin Lizzie" was the first automobile to be mass-produced on moving assembly lines, and built using interchangeable parts. It proved tough and reliable in everyday use, and cheap enough to spawn the automobile revolution: the car cost $850 in 1909 but amazingly by the 1920s, the price had dropped to a mere $260 due to the perfection of production techniques and economy of scale. Designed by a team that included Childe Harold Willis, Joseph Galamb and Eugene Farkas, the Model T had a front-mounted four-cylinder engine that produced 20 hp and had a top speed of 45 mph. It was a rear-wheel drive vehicle with wooden wheels, and featured a two-speed transmission plus a reverse gear. Although models varied - and many revisions took place over two decades of production - the original version weighed about 1200 pounds. Created in the 1920s and featuring information about the original Model T and the "New Model T" of 1925, this maintenance manual is an invaluable resource. It was originally intended to educate the men tasked with assembling, repairing and maintaining the Model T, and offers a plethora of information about the car, its design and operation. The text includes chapters on how to take apart and put together the car, how to overhaul the engine and transmission, valve grinding and carbon removal, rod bearings, fitting pistons and rings, correcting noisy timing gears, installation of camshaft bearings, cleaning oil lines, oil leaks, transmission band installation, axle overhauls, refurbishing and replacing springs, radiator repair, starting motor overhaul, and more. It also includes troubleshooting and general servicing information. A must have for any Model T owner, this book is also a terrific reference for the docent, historian, or anyone who ever wondered, "how did that work?"