https://www.nytimes.com/1978/07/28/archives/benson-ford-59-dies-grandson-of-pioneering-car-manufacturer.html. See the article in its original context from. . American automobile industry executive (19191978), Benson Ford Research Center at Henry Ford Museum, "Henry Ford Biography: Ford Motor Company Founder", "What information do you have on Benson Ford? At the time, he was almost sympathetic to the companys predicament, saying about the tire controversy, Its been very, very disappointing, very sad to see this happen. Photo by Derek Blanks | Courtesy of CrowdMGMT. Ford`s sworn deposition covered 15 days of testimony last year. Ford seeks compensatory and punitive damages from the defendants for . Benson opted not to mass produce the car at Lincoln-Mercury, but the car's appearances made an indelible impression and was a great publicity stunt for Benson Ford and Lincoln-Mercury. Saved . I wanted to work for a company that made things, Fields has been quoted saying over the years. Benson was lured to the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series midway through the 2004 season and would find the type of success that he had long aspired for winning 14 races (all between 2006 and. His older brother Henry II (1917-1987) was Ford Motor Company's emperor, serving as president or chairman from 1945 to 1980, while his younger brother William Clay Ford, Sr. (1925-2014) was the chairman of Ford's design committee and the father of current Ford executive chairman Bill Ford, Jr. Middle brother Benson (1919-1978) served a . The Fords also built them a cottage scaled to their size which was filled with presents for the children each Christmas. At the time of his death, his two brothers, Henry Ford 2d and William Clay Ford, were in London at the company's management review of Ford of Europe. When licensing for the potential unique ship inn could not be obtained, the Benson Ford was resold five years later as a private residence. In the rear, on the road, behind the Ford car with the three Ford grandchildren, at a far distance away, the late Ford Motor Company founder Henry Ford is depicted driving his original open top 1896 Quadricycle, which started the auto revolution. There was never a rift until now. [33], Benson's children are still active in the Ford Motor Company as Ford family shareholders. They made their home in Gross Pointe Shores, Michigan. Baths: 5 full, 2 half. Benson completed officer's candidate school in Fargo, North Dakota, and was commissioned a second lieutenant in June 1943. Between them, they shared four kids: Henry II (1917), Benson (1919), Josephine Clay (1923), and William Clay (1925). [4], Benson Ford was born in Detroit, Michigan, to Eleanor Clay Ford and Edsel Ford on July 20, 1919. This is a business about product first and foremost, Fields said. According to Carroll, Fieldss mother would send him packages of matzo and Hanukkah candles during his postings around the world to remind him to keep up his Jewishness. Asked in his sworn testimony if Webster told him how he could ''take out'' those people, Ford said no. By 1999, Benson Ford Jr., a great-grandson of the auto tycoon, was gaining plaudits for donating a 500-year-old Torah to Temple Shir Shalom in West Bloomfield, Michigan, a Detroit suburb. Edsel had a wife named Eleanor Lowthian Clay, whom he married in 1916. Since its inception in 1956, in the days of dealer conflicts with auto makers, Mr. Ford had beenchairman of the policy board and was credited with maintaining some harmony between the company and dealers in tense periods. Fields predecessor, Alan Mulally, relied heavily on a strategy that Fields drew up as a senior executive in 2005, when Fords big North American division was losing money. . Rumors circulated that Fields might take another job, perhaps in another industry. Ford II also made significant gifts to the then-United Jewish Appeal. Put-In-Bay is a village on South Bass Island on Lake Erie in Ohio. Between 2009 and 2013, Ford earned more than $42 billion in profits. #129 Ford family on the 2015 America's Richest Families - More than 100 years after Henry Ford introduced his Model T and revolutionized automobile production, [11] While in the Engineering Lab they worked for Leonard Williams, a no-nonsense black foreman who taught them how to tear apart engines. Relationships between members of the two families began five generations ago, when Henry Ford, tinkering with building his first car, bought some pneumatic buggy tires from a salesman, Harvey Firestone. Occasionally the digitization process introduces transcription errors or other problems; we are continuing to work to improve these archived versions. "[21] The Mercury version was unique from the Ford and the sleek, rakish design was based on upscale Lincoln products. He married and bought a home in suburban Grosse Pointe from his cousin Edsel Ford Jr., the only son of Henry II, and dropped all of his old lawsuits against the family. The suit later was expanded to include Fierstein & Sturman, a Los Angeles law firm that had represented Benson Ford and Fuentes for several years. Company officials said that the brothers were flying back to Detroit. The price was high. Detroit, MI (313) 961-0500. [12] This became the guiding premise when new Ford's enter the company. Powered by a 3,000 bhp, four-cylinder, two-stroke, single-acting Sun-Doxford opposed piston diesel engine, 23 5/8" bore x 45 5/8" stroke per piston (91 " total combined stroke), built by the Great Lakes Engineering Works in Ecorse, Michigan. But the powerful relationship based on tires and blood ties is now collapsing in a bitter, public corporate divorce that could wind up costing both companies more than $2 billion this year alone. He headed an attempt to revive the original 12Cylinder Continental that was introduced by his father, Edsel Ford, in the 1940's. He was graduated from Hotchkiss School in Lakeville, Conn., in 1938. The rear fuel filler cap, which was typically adorned with the galloping pony logo, featured the initials "EBF II," for Edsel B. Ford II, great-grandson of company founder Henry Ford. Da Brat is pregnant with her first child. [4] He joined his brothers Henry Ford II who was named Ford President in 1945, and William, who in 1955 became head of the Continental Division. Benson Ford accomplished the goal of making Mercury competitive in the medium priced car markets. Just as Finkelman became Fields, however, the automaker founded by one of Americas most notorious anti-Semites has transformed itself over the decades. Ford sold nearly a million Mercurys in three years. [19] While Henry ran the company Benson became the Ford that pressed the flesh. In addition to his wife and dauihter, Mr. Ford also leaves his son, Benson Jr., 29. A prodigal son of the Ford automobile dynasty who waged a bitter and highly publicized battle with his family in the late 1970s in a failed bid for a seat on Fords board of directors has finally found a place with the company. Mr. Ford was a brother of Henry Ford 2d, the 60yearold chairman of the nation's No. Inside the mansion, they enjoyed the bowling alley and indoor pool. Said Jeffrey Gurock, a professor of Jewish history at Yeshiva University: I dont think Henry Ford would have dreamed of a day where a Jew would [be] the head of his motor company. During her final 24 months, she was named executrix of her late husband Benson's will, and eventually inherited 50 million of the 100 million dollar estate. According to Rabbi Jason Miller, the Detroit-based founder of Kosher Michigan, a kosher certification agency, Fields does not have a membership at any synagogue in the Metro Detroit area. He fought in World War I, becoming a lieutenant and receiving a sharpshooter's medal. This hurts a lot. At the same time, Benson also challenged his uncle Henry IIs control of the company and openly appealed to shareholders at the 1979 annual meeting to vote for him as a director. Henry's grandson William Clay Ford Sr. and his family have controlled the Detroit Lions franchise of the National Football League since late 1963. In a short profile of Fields, written for the Detroit Jewish News when he was appointed chief operating officer, Bill Carroll, a former Ford public relations executive, digs deeper into his Jewish roots. The companys hourly workers in the United States havent had a raise since 2003, though they have had profit sharing from the turnaround of the companys North American operation. The concept car featured push-button transmission controls, a 300-horsepower V-8 engine, a 38 cubic inch Lincoln engine and powertrain, a Lincoln Mark II chassis. Benson suffered a heart attack in 1957 and was forced to cut back his involvement in the company due to ill health, but continued to be involved in many charities. Exclude Relationships Olivia Benson & Amanda Rollins (174) Dominick "Sonny" Carisi Jr./Amanda Rollins (81) Olivia Benson/Elliot Stabler (49) . The Time cover is significant because it confirms the ongoing prominence, importance, influence, involvement, and equal significance of all three of Henry Ford's male grandchildren at Ford in the developmental future of the Ford Motor Company.[43]. 1. Ford Engineer Lawrence Sheldrick, said that the boys, "didn't pull any punches about getting their hands dirty and their clothes all messed up". In 1992, Sullivan decided to rebuild the ship into a vacation bed & breakfast. To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. The price of the largely handmade car, which was marketed in the early 1950's, was around $10,000. As his health declined Benson became Chairman of the Lincoln-Mercury (Fomoco) Dealer Policy Board. The trusts arent affected by the rise or fall of Firestone stock. In an earlier interview, Fields emphasized that he had never experienced any anti-Semitism during his quarter of a century at Ford. With designs completed, the car was hand built by Gia in Italy for 250 thousand dollars. Such a tense situation prevails today over the forced resignation two weeks ago of the Ford president and chief operating officer, Lee A. Iacocca. Michigan State Police officials said that Mr. Ford died about 1:10 A.M. One of his two children, Mrs. Lynn Alandt, 27, and her husband took Mrs. Ford back to the fimily's home in Grosse Pointe later this morning, the polite said. He was married to Edith McNaughton. Ford also began its NASCAR participation during Benson Ford's tenure with a mixture of Fords and Mercurys. Like anyone else, his personal relationships . Categorized under Trust Services. But a year later, his stake is down to 6.7 million shares, or 9.5%. But this may be due to the complicated logistics of his family life. Square feet: 7,832 plus finished rec room . The family has a pact that Class B shares put up for sale will first be offered to other family members. He had also put Fords Japanese partner, Mazda Motor Corporation, back on a solid footing while serving as its CEO in the late 1990s. Service. Then-Ford . This was the highest rank achieved by any member of the Ford family. Benson Ford Jr.'s nomination from the floor came from corporate gadfly Evelyn Y. Davis. After her husband's death, Edith was living on Lake Shore in Grosse Pointe Shores, Michigan. After his father`s death in 1978, Benson Ford Jr. filed a series of lawsuits, which were unsuccessful, seeking a seat on the Ford board of directors and more of his father`s fortune. And we don`t want to comment on any private legal action that he`s taken.''. Edsel Ford II, son of Henry Ford II and marketing manager of Ford`s Lincoln-Mercury division, and Benson Ford Jr. could not be reached for comment. He also worked for religious tolerance and in 1951 was named Protestant national co-chair of the National Conference of Christians and Jews. He developed a close business and personal relationship with Max Fisher, a Detroit-based national Jewish communal leader, businessman and philanthropist, and with Fisher's encouragement, gave. On January 30, 1948, Benson was elected a vice president of the company and appointed the director of the newly formed Lincoln-Mercury Division, carrying on in his father's foot-steps. During Benson's early days as an engineer at Ford, he helped build one of the company's first experimental jeeps, along with his brother, Henry Ford II. And the time William Clay Jr. cousin Alfred Ford became a member of the Hare Krishna religious sect and changed his name to Ambarish Das. Benson Ford was named a vice-president of the Ford Motor Company at a Ford Motor Company meeting on June 1, 1943. Henry taught them practical, hands on skills. Two days ago, the corporate chiefs of the two giants angrily severed the Ford-Firestone business relationship that began in 1895. Sheldrick commented. He was awfully proud of his boys." Still, in 2006, the Ford heir passed over Fields when he picked Mulally for the CEO slot. 18 Reviews of Benson Ford Inc - Service Center - Ford, Service Center, Used Car Dealer Service Center Reviews & Helpful Consumer Information about this Ford, Service Center, Used Car Dealer Service Center written by real people like you. Benson Ford Jr is a resident of FL. The Detroit Free Press quoted from testimony that was reviewed and not retracted. Shortly afterward, he returned to his family's company where he again served in a variety of capacities in an era when the company was being restructured. 35 years, from the brink of ruin to an admittedly precarious position in the late 1970s. But it wasnt until the late 1970s that an executive with a Jewish background, Mervyn Manning, was promoted to the rank of vice president in one of Fords subdivisions. 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