After much difficulty he got money from half a dozen persons and organized the Ford Motor Company with a capital of $100,000. At first he owned only 251⁄2 per cent of the stock, but later he borrowed $175,000 and bought 251⁄2 per cent more, and still later by paying 700 per cent of its face value, secured 71⁄2 per cent more, which makes his holding in the company at this time 581⁄2 per cent of the stock.
The first Ford car to be a commercial success was put out in 1903, and the record of production of Ford cars to date is as follows:
| Year. | No. Cars. |
|---|---|
| 1904 | 1,708 |
| 1905 | 1,695 |
| 1906 | 1,599 |
| 1907 | 8,423 |
| 1908 | 6,398 |
| 1909 | 10,607 |
| 1910 | 18,664 |
| 1911 | 34,528 |
| 1912 | 78,440 |
| 1913 | 168,220 |
| 1914 | 248,307 |
| 1915 | 308,213 |
| 1916 | 533,921 |
In 1916 the Ford production was over one-sixth of the 3,000,000 cars in use in the United States. In that year he produced nearly one-third of all the passenger cars made in that year.
Ford’s car was a small, low priced car from the start. Haynes’ was a larger and higher priced car. Winton’s was likewise a large and more expensive car.
A Rain of Automobile Makers.
The year of the Spanish-American war—1898—saw the beginning of a veritable rain of automobile manufacturers in the United States. In that year the Stanley, Stearns, Thomas, Matheson, Winton, and the Waverley Company entered the field.
In 1899, there appeared the Locomobile Company, Olds, Baker-Electric and Pierce-Racine (later absorbed by J. I. Case and now the Case car).
In 1900, Packard, Peerless, Glide, National Electric, Lambert, Elmore, Babcock, Jackson, Knox and Lane were entrants in the lists.
In 1901, Acme, Gaeth, Pierce-Arrow, White, Royal Tourist, Stevens-Duryea, Waltham-Orient, Pope-Toledo, Welch, Pullman and Rambler.