Henry Ford

[unclefrank]

Ford ain't the only one!

[lalynch]

We all got screwed at Ford in the end. I started in 1968,at engine division, quit for a while in 1980 ,came back and worked in powertrain electronics. then I got shifted to that damm Visteon, against my will.,I told them I hired in to work for Henry Ford not some guy named Visteon. It was all down hill from there.In 2005 they stuck me over onto fuel rails at Rawsonville for ACH. Then I got transfered back to ETC bldg. working on steering of all things. In the end they took away a lot of benfits, retirement,insurance, etc. I will never buy another Ford car again. They took the spirit I had for Ford away. I use to love that company. They turned into assholes.

Hmmm . . . . I worked at Visteon as an agency employee, 1999 to 2002, in the following Quality departments; Reliability at VPAC [[ETF), Customer Manufacturing Engineering at Metrowest and Supplier Development at VTC-AP.
Then as agency at Ford; Powertrain Planning at POEE, Multimedia/Driver Information Systems, Electrical Systems at Building 5.

Most of my Visteon and ACH friends were laid off in 2009. I have two old managers still at Visteon.

[jgavrile]

Yea, but it just so happens ,that is the one I worked for. So they are on my shitlist. I never any got promises from GM or Chrysler.
Ford is the one that went back on the promises made. To me that was a legal contract and they broke it, out of greed. So they don't need any of my or my family's business ever again. I had personally bought or leased 34 new Ford vehicles during all those years. They can kiss my ass.

[lalynch]

I was always influenced by my Dad not to buy a Ford car. He always bought GM cars because he had a bad experience with a Ford car in the 1950's. But by the time I was buying cars I never liked the design of the GM cars either Although I had to have a Saturn after my Dad bought a Saturn. I inherited his Saturn when he passed away two years ago though. After working at Ford I now really like the interiors of the Ford cars. And when I read articles about Ford's success due to the Electrical Systems organization due to Sync and other electrical components it puts a smile on my face thinking of my old co-workers.

I remember one of the Visteon Quality Managers often hitting the table and saying "Ford lied to us" in my manager's staff meetings.

It's a lot harder for us agency people because we always hope to get hired in but it rarely happens and we don't get all the holidays, good pay or decent benefits.

[unclefrank]

I was always influenced by my Dad not to buy a Ford car. He always bought GM cars because he had a bad experience with a Ford car in the 1950's. But by the time I was buying cars I never liked the design of the GM cars either Although I had to have a Saturn after my Dad bought a Saturn. I inherited his Saturn when he passed away two years ago though. After working at Ford I now really like the interiors of the Ford cars. And when I read articles about Ford's success due to the Electrical Systems organization due to Sync and other electrical components it puts a smile on my face thinking of my old co-workers.

I remember one of the Visteon Quality Managers often hitting the table and saying "Ford lied to us" in my manager's staff meetings.

It's a lot harder for us agency people because we always hope to get hired in but it rarely happens and we don't get all the holidays, good pay or decent benefits.

You got that right! They hold out that Carrot, and hope you keep chasing it. As I am old now, the whole corporate world can kiss my ass. No big three for me.

[jgavrile]

The part that was so ironic was that I worked in Powertrain electronics and I was responsible to package the ecm module in all the cars. Make sure that Ford put it in the right place to not endanger the warranty and send backs. Anyhow, one of the big deals was that when Visteon was formed, they would then be able to sell modules to everyone else along with selling them to Ford. They bragged about growing that buisness and how the Visteon stock was going to go through the roof and all that crap. Well ,when they finally split up the divisions and Ford Powertrain was able to then buy other companies modules ,not just the ones that were now coming from Visteon.
Not only didn't Visteon sell modules to other car companies, but they lost just about all the module business to Ford too. What a kick in the ass that was. I still laugh about that one. The guys at the top of Visteon filled their pockets and screwed all the employees that use to work for Ford and then were forced to work for Visteon.. All a bunch of manipulation ,greed , and bullshit

[WaCoTS]

one of these days im going to make a map overlay of all the tunnels ive heard rumored to exist in Detroit/Dearborn it would be quite the intresting picture i think

That was the Lincoln factory until they moved to Wixom in the late '50s. There was mention here before about a tunnel that led from there to the Detroit River around Ft Wayne, used to transport munitions to dockside, but I'm skeptical.

i work at Fort Wayne and i never heard that story...ill have to ask around, but i am even more skeptical of this than you.

ive also heard a rumor from a buddy who worked at Rouge Steel in the '90s that there was a pair of steel doors in the Eagle Pass viaduct somewhere that were the exit to a secret tunnel built by Henry after the Hunger March, etc because he feared assasination. i never found these doors.
i also heard one from a lady who said her father owned a storefront at Wyoming & Eagle Pass which had a trap door or something in the basement which used to lead to the Rouge Plant & had likewise been one of Henrys escape tunnels in older years.

when i joined the [[ahem) phone company, i trained under a guy who had once been assigned to the frame at the Ford Experimental Engineering Lab [[or EEE as it seems to be referred to here). he had to have a special badge & clearance to work there, because he often had to go into the tunnels, and if i recall he may've had to have a Ford security guy with him as well. he told me that there was a tunnel connecting Fair Lane, Greenfield Village, Henry Ford Museum, and the Experimental Engineering Lab, but that the way going to the Village had been bricked up.

these would be some awfully long tunnels...cutting under public roads and such...think of the exorbitant cost and effort it would take to do this. even Henry Ford it would seem might have trouble getting away with building all these alleged tunnels like the one from the Rouge, or Lincoln Plant.

at one point i decided to look up the Sanborns to the Henry Ford Museum to see if these tunnels would show up...they did not.

however, i KNOW there are steam tunnels connecting that blg with the other Ford blgs there, because there are large square vent housings sticking up all over the place outside, and ive poked my head into a tunnel in the museum once [[i wont give the location away, but some people here might know what im talking about).
obviously Ford Motor Co wouldnt be forthcoming to the public with such info, but there has to be a way to find records/verification of these tunnels through Dearborn city engineering dept or somehow...?

im skeptical of a lot of these alleged tunnels, but at the same time it is documented that there were tunnels associated with every blg Ford ever had constructed...Fairlane, Gaukler Point, etc. even Harry Bennett's house had tunnels. Ford built a house in Belleville for his mother in law or somebody, [[this i read in the book by John Dahlinger) which had a tunnel going from the house to the boathouse. a friend of mine who is from Clare also said that there was a similar setup built on Lost Lake in Clare County [[and was later bought by the Purple Gang). plus of course there's the paymaster's tunnel from the Highland Park Plant which is not a myth; it is mentioned in R. Szudarek's book "How Detroit Became the Automotive Capitol".

seems if all of these are true, Henry must've rarely been in the sunlight, heh.

another great story my phone company coworker told me was how they accidentally discovered a secret room in the Experimental Engineering Lab...
story goes [[and this was in the '80s or '90s), while he was working daily at the Ford Lab, he was approached one day and confronted with a $1300 phone bill consisting of 1-900 naughty-line calls...all made from a phone # that was only accessible from the president's office [[i cant remember which Ford was president then), and they accused him of making the calls from the frame. he refuted it, but the outrageous phone bills kept coming, from 900 numbers. i guess Ford got their own technicians to investigate, and one day my friend said they came to him and told him to follow them. they had him trace out a line, and took him down the office corridors, and into what appeared to be a broom closet door, but actually was a full sized "secret" office which had been out of use for a long time...it had a couch, a minifridge, tv, desk, and a phone. it was discovered that this little chill spot had been set up by a white collar employee who had used this hidden room to slack off and call 1-900 sex lines. of course the guy was fired, but the story goes, they verified that the circuit going to that jack was the same as that going to the president's private desk phone. allegedly it was found out that this was an office originally set up and used by Henry himself so he could sneak off with his mistress [[who i would later learn was Evangeline Cote), hence the bridge in that particular circuit. urban legendy, yes, but an intersting story.

if it's folklore, it's definitely Detroit-unique folklore

[WaCoTS]

another tunnel which is NOT a legend was the one going from the Ford Administration Blg [[Albert Kahn) across the street to the old Ford Rotunda. there was a sidewalk going straight from the one to the other, and that sidewalk was the roof to the tunnel.

[Fury13]

I think he blamed the old man for harassing Edsel and causing him to feel unwanted. Ultimately leading to his death.
The Duece liked to undue many of the things his Grandfather did... his younger Brother William Clay was more of a car guy and had an interest in the history of the company. William Clay was the Grandchild that enjoyed spending time with Grandpa.

Talk about a "car guy"... Edsel was certainly that. He had a lot of great ideas; too bad he never had free rein to run the company.

[jgavrile]

I think that William Clay I , was the only one of the Brothers to take an interest in automobiles.
I am talking about the owner of the Lions , not the nitwitt great Grandson that is running the company now. This guy is into planting grass on rooftops.

[reddog289]

While I was at The Henry Ford last night I noticed the "vents' for the steam tunnels around the area. I enjoy these threads about Ford and his legacy.Having been a resident of this area for my whole life , It is amazing what you still hear about the man some 60 or so years after his passing. Good or Bad, He left his mark.

[DetroitTeacher]

The test track and proving grounds used to be Henry Ford's private airport. It was the first airport to have electric lights on its runways. The Henry Ford has a great library and research center. I used to work at Greenfield Village and was privy to some neat info, pictures, and secrets. I would spend my lunch hour and days off in the research center [[before it was open to the public) and learned some amazing things. Might be worth a trip if anyone is really interested in Ford info. Not sure if you need to call ahead to make an appointment but I am sure the website could explain what is needed to look at the archives and such.

[wilderness]

The test track and proving grounds used to be Henry Ford's private airport. It was the first airport to have electric lights on its runways. The Henry Ford has a great library and research center. I used to work at Greenfield Village and was privy to some neat info, pictures, and secrets. I would spend my lunch hour and days off in the research center [[before it was open to the public) and learned some amazing things. Might be worth a trip if anyone is really interested in Ford info. Not sure if you need to call ahead to make an appointment but I am sure the website could explain what is needed to look at the archives and such.

Benson Ford Research Center I was there two years ago for the Dahlinger materials. The staff is quite helpful, laptops are allowed and there are storage lockers just outside the door. Does NOT require admission to either the Village or the Museum.

[Savoyard]

The test track and proving grounds used to be Henry Ford's private airport. It was the first airport to have electric lights on its runways. The Henry Ford has a great library and research center. I used to work at Greenfield Village and was privy to some neat info, pictures, and secrets. I would spend my lunch hour and days off in the research center [[before it was open to the public) and learned some amazing things. Might be worth a trip if anyone is really interested in Ford info. Not sure if you need to call ahead to make an appointment but I am sure the website could explain what is needed to look at the archives and such.

And the Dearborn Inn, located across the street from the old Ford Airport and designed to accommodate airport travellers, was designed by Albert Kahn, and when opened [[1931) was the first airport hotel in the U.S. The airport closed in 1933.

[stromberg2]

Just a little off here, but regarding Fairlane and Gaukler Point, why are not all the rooms of the mansions able to be seen on tours?

Stromberg2

[LDoolan]

Just a little off here, but regarding Fairlane and Gaukler Point, why are not all the rooms of the mansions able to be seen on tours?

Stromberg2

The case with Fairlane is some of the rooms are used for offices and possibly storage. I'm sure it's the same with Edsel's home.

With Fairlane, there's only so much money to go around on various projects and upkeep, and it may be cost prohibitive to restore all the rooms. From my understanding the Edison bedroom is the one of the few rooms that remains relatively untouched since the Fords lived there.

If anyone has any- I'd like to see some behind the scenes photos! Servants Quarters, etc etc...

[DC48080]

Just a little off here, but regarding Fairlane and Gaukler Point, why are not all the rooms of the mansions able to be seen on tours?

Stromberg2

Uh, because some of the rooms are used for office space and support activities.

[LDoolan]

In case anyone wants to see some Fairlane estate drawings....

http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cgi-bin/ampage...pe=1&maxCols=2

[DC48080]

In case anyone wants to see some Fairlane estate drawings....

http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cgi-bin/ampage...pe=1&maxCols=2

Thanks for sharing those. Very interesting!

[cobra428cj]

Thanks to you, and these great postings, I have a great interest in the EEE buildings now. I want to visit as soon as possible. A couple of you guys worked at Ford. Some worked at the EEE building and others at Building #5. From what I understand, the EEE building was full of engineers in multiple departments. What was Building #5 for? What goes on in Building #5. Does it have a garage? The reason I am asking is that I have these Mustangs that have a special DSO number of 89. This means that onces the car was built it was sent to Fords Transportation Services. One invoice says that the car went to FORD MOTOR COMPANY BUILDING NO. 5 FOR RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT PURPOSES. I have a 76 Bronco with a DSO 89, and the invoice says that it was sold to FORD MOTOR COMPANY RM3-060 EEE BLDG-PEO-ENG-TEST. This looks like a address, ROOM 3-060 at the EEE Building, department PEO-ENGINE for testing. Does this make any sence to anyone. I also have a 1970 A.R.I Mustang pace car with a DSO 89. It was sold to Ford Motor Company, ROOM 192 FDGO, 17101 ROTUNDA DR. Does anyone know what FDGO means or stands for? Maybe Ford Div. G. O.? And I have one other that was sold to Ford Motor Company I R BUILDING GARAGE, 21500 OAKWOOD BLVD. I thought that was the address to the EEE building, What does I. R. stand for? Does anyone know how I can get information on what buildings do what and why? Maybe a floor map of the buildings. I would like to know why these cars were sold to these locations. ANY, ANY, Any info would be of great help. thank you.

[Toolbox]

Thanks to you, and these great postings, I have a great interest in the EEE buildings now. I want to visit as soon as possible. A couple of you guys worked at Ford. Some worked at the EEE building and others at Building #5. From what I understand, the EEE building was full of engineers in multiple departments. What was Building #5 for? What goes on in Building #5. Does it have a garage? The reason I am asking is that I have these Mustangs that have a special DSO number of 89. This means that onces the car was built it was sent to Fords Transportation Services. One invoice says that the car went to FORD MOTOR COMPANY BUILDING NO. 5 FOR RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT PURPOSES. I have a 76 Bronco with a DSO 89, and the invoice says that it was sold to FORD MOTOR COMPANY RM3-060 EEE BLDG-PEO-ENG-TEST. This looks like a address, ROOM 3-060 at the EEE Building, department PEO-ENGINE for testing. Does this make any sence to anyone. I also have a 1970 A.R.I Mustang pace car with a DSO 89. It was sold to Ford Motor Company, ROOM 192 FDGO, 17101 ROTUNDA DR. Does anyone know what FDGO means or stands for? Maybe Ford Div. G. O.? And I have one other that was sold to Ford Motor Company I R BUILDING GARAGE, 21500 OAKWOOD BLVD. I thought that was the address to the EEE building, What does I. R. stand for? Does anyone know how I can get information on what buildings do what and why? Maybe a floor map of the buildings. I would like to know why these cars were sold to these locations. ANY, ANY, Any info would be of great help. thank you.

The different engineering activities had fleets of pool/test cars assigned to them and that is most likely what your vehicles are.

[Hermod]

Let's not forget the tunnel, mentioned here previously, that ran from the Manufacturers Bank [[SE corner of Woodward & Manchester) to Ford's Model T plant to address security when workers were paid in silver and cash.

And all of the wives had to stake out the front gate at quitting time to extract their household money before the breadwinner could get to a bar with his buddies..

[DetroitHabitater]

Yeah all of those buildings you mentioned are current/were testing facilities. Building #5 is a research and development building in the main campus that has had many functions in the past. Electronics/safety systems/etc...It is mostly a 3 story office building with a small garage underneath.

These vehicles were most likely used in non-destructive testing and verification of designs. Many of the prototypes are hand built, so for validations normally some production vehicles [[from the assembly plant) are brought back for a final couple non-invasive tests.

[blood_donor]

Ford employee here, to chime in on tunnels. I used to sit in POEE [[now FEL) and indeed there are tunnels. There is a tunnel from the NW side to the power house, and there was a tunnel also to a freight elevator that was used to move material from the railway into the building. Going SE, there is a tunnel that goes under the Henry Ford Museum parking lot and connects to the Proving Grounds, but it is for utilities and isn't for travel. I heard that there was a tunnel connecting POEE with Greenfield Village but I never saw it, maybe it was closed.

At the proving ground, there is a tunnel that connects the track infield to the "X Garage" prototype build/repair building.

[Danny]

It's amazing that the grandfather of the assembly line is buried in plain site in Detroit's West Side.