American fans of the Ford Motor Company may tend to look down on Aston Martin, a quintessentially British company with road cars priced anywhere from 50K-300K. Why would anyone who admires Ford, the makers of the first affordable peoples’ car, be interested in a seemingly snobbish luxury car company?
The history of Aston Martin and Ford is more entwined than most might think… Before Henry Ford revolutionized the automobile industry, steam powered cars and electric cars dominated the streets (after horses, of course). Yes, electricity was a common way to power a car in the early 1900s, but just like any car of the age, it had its faults. After Henry Ford found a way to mass-produce the internal combustion engine, his automobiles were less than half the price of the steam and electric competition. Henry Ford was the innovator of his time. He was one of the first leading forces to use publicity—he would race his cars on Sunday and sell them on Monday. He was imaginative and willing to take risks. He wanted more and he wanted better. His company was his vision. Ford established his company in 1903 and Aston Martin was established only a decade later in 1913, the same year Ford introduced the first assembly line.
Aston Martin’s story doesn’t quite have the same whirlwind success as Ford—theirs is a story of perseverance and plucky underdog spirit. Aston Martin carries the British ideal of never recognizing defeat and always pushing forward. In reality, the company survived because of luck and hard work—allowing the craftsmanship that has been passed down through the generations to prevail today.
Like Henry Ford, Lionel Martin and Robert Bamford believed competition improved products and drove sales—Lionel Martin also competed in races, hill climbs, and trials. Aston Martin, making mostly Grand Tourer (GT) cars, has taken part in many endurance races (races that last six or more hours). In 1959, Aston Martin won the Le Mans 24 hour endurance race. They ran two cars, one took first place and the other took second. Ferrari was close behind them, but Roy Salvadori (UK) and Carroll Shelby (US) went home with the win. Yes, that Carroll Shelby. And he was suffering from dysentery during the race. The average speed of the Aston Martin cars was 112.56 MPH and of the 56 cars to race that day, only 13 finished. Carroll Shelby would go on to build the 1965 Shelby Mustang GT350—arguably the most famous Ford model ever produced. He also built the ’65 Cobra Daytona Coupe, the ’65 Shelby Cobra 427, and many others.
When the James Bond film Goldfinger came out in 1964 and featured the Aston Martin DB5, it boosted sales, but a car company taking the time to build every car by hand was never going to survive in our modern economy without something else to sustain it. Aston Martin had wanted to make a less expensive car to help fund their company, but in their position, this wasn’t possible—until Ford Motor Company bought controlling interest of Aston Martin in 1987. With Ford’s financial backing, Aston Martin was free to visualize their dream and develop without interference.
1987 was also the year Aston Martin returned to international motor racing. Thanks to the Ford Motor Company, it was full-speed ahead for Aston Martin. The 1988 Aston Martin Virage was the first car produced under Ford’s ownership. Before the Ford Era, all of Aston Martin’s cars were built by hand using traditional coachbuilding craft. But Aston Martin’s craftsmanship didn’t end with the introduction of the assembly line. To this day, the company has the capacity to bend aluminum, sew interiors, and create high quality automobiles. They only have one robot on site and its name is James Bonder (because it applies adhesive). They begin training with apprenticeship programs and pass the hands-on craft through generations. If asked to build a replica of the Aston Martin DB5, they could do it to this day. Because Ford lost a record $12.7 billion overall in 2006, they were obligated to sell Aston Martin in 2007 after twenty years. They sold the majority of Aston Martin’s ownership to an investment consortium. Aston Martin, after over a century, is still a British company—it persevered and never admitted defeat. Aston Martin Racing still takes part in the 24 hour Le Mans and other endurance racing (FIA World Endurance Championship series). They recently won the 2017 race back in June.
In a world where people have forgotten the art of creating with their hands and everything is made in an assembly line with plastic and robots, Aston Martin continues to prevail as a company of quality and craftsmanship. But that’s coming back to our culture. More people want to know the feeling of creating something exquisite with their hands and passing that art on to their children. There is something deeply satisfying in creating a product with your hands and seeing it through to the finished product.
I remember watching a video of Aston Martin employees turning a Toyota iQ into an Aston Martin Cygnet. It showed their job title, their skills, and finally an image of what their hands looked like. For me, it’s satisfying enough to be passionate about a company that takes pride in its employees’ hands and in the honesty of hard work. The manual transmission is dying out to automatic and semi-automatic transmissions. The demand for them has lowered considerably and most car companies are no longer making manual cars—but Aston Martin isn’t letting go. They understand motoring enthusiasts because that’s who their employees are—enthusiasts. The 2017 Vantage S has a V12 engine and a manual gearbox. Aston Martin likely wouldn’t have survived without Ford. Because of the Ford Motor Company, to this day Aston Martin has the capital to focus on refinement and technology while keeping their heritage alive. One could say that Aston Martin's legacy rests on the Ford Motor Company. I have always been inspired by people who are passionate; it has never mattered to me what they are passionate about—if I can hear it in their voice, I am interested in listening. Aston Martin embodies that as a company. Their precise slogan is “Power, Beauty, and Soul,” and they fulfill it. I will always be interested in what they are creating—because they embody passion, understand the satisfaction of quality craftsmanship, and create stunning works of art.
Aston Martin rebuilds a Toyota (Scion) iQ, highlighting craftsmanship abilities.
Only 1,000 Cygnets were built. It was produced under the Aston Martin badge to keep the total company emissions down so they could continue to produce their high-end models under E.U. regulations.
References:
Henry Ford Quote Loveys, Richard. "Aston Martin." Shire Publications, Oxford, UK. 2015. Print.
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AuthorLiberty White Archives
November 2017
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