Word: forded
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Dates: during 1960-1969
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Died. Charles E. Sorensen, 86, Henry Ford's production chief from 1919 to 1944; after a long illness; in Bethesda, Md. Impatient, often tyrannical, "Cast-Iron Charlie" devised the moving assembly line, which revolutionized the auto industry and pushed the output of Ford's flivvers past the 30 million mark by the early 1940s. In World War II, Sorensen applied the same principle to aircraft plants which turned out four-engine B-24 bombers at the rate of one every three hours...
When small, low-priced imports took over a 10% share of the domestic auto market in the late 1950s, General Motors fought back with the Corvair, Ford with the Falcon, and Chrysler with the Valiant. So successful were these com pacts that by 1962 the foreign share of the market had dropped to under 5%. Figuring that the battle was over, the Big Three made the mistake of allowing their compacts to grow in both size and price. The result has been a new upsurge in the popularity of imports, which grabbed 9.4% of U.S. sales...
Like a 707. Top of the new line is the Ambassador, which remains the industry's only car with air conditioning as a standard item. The new version is wider and four inches longer than the 1968 model, adding up to a full-size equivalent of Ford and Chevrolet. A.M.C. hopes that new grille and taillight treatment, a sculptured hood à la Lincoln Continental and a dashboard that would do credit to a Boeing 707 will boost the Ambassador. Currently, 1968-model sales are running slightly behind the 1967 level...
...Introduced at a time when the deficit-ridden company could barely afford tool-up costs, the hot Javelin will easily sell out its 56,000-car production run this year. Widely raced (it is currently second in nationwide stock-car standings, after General Motors' Camaro and ahead of Ford's Mustang), the Javelin has drawn younger crowds into A.M.C. showrooms. Next year, the company will race the new $3,245 AMX, a 150-m.p.h. souped-up Javelin that competes with the $4,663 Chevrolet Corvette...
...that is no small feat for a company which last year lost $76 million, held barely 3% of the U.S. auto market. While still short of its 4% market-penetration goal, A.M.C.'s share has risen to 3.14% in a highly competitive year in which both G.M. and Ford have had troubles...