Ford unlocks the vault on 100 years of history and it's available online
If you're keen on a trip down memory lane to when life was simpler and our cars couldn’t drive themselves, you can now delve into the archives and browse images and brochures of Fords from the past.To celebrate its 119th birthday, Ford Motor Company is opening up a century worth of archival material to the public which can be viewed through a new online database called the Ford Heritage Vault.
Created for Ford fans, car enthusiasts, journalists and those keen to take a look back in time to perhaps their first car or one from their family’s history, can now discover this time capsule from anywhere in the world. The searchable artefacts are downloadable for personal use and are free of charge, with the site containing more than 5,000 curated photographs and product brochures.
Spanning from the company’s founding in 1903 to its centennial in 2003, Ford says it will continue to grow the Heritage Vault over time, drawing from its growing archives.
“We’re opening up in a way we’ve never done before,” said Ted Ryan, Ford archive and heritage brand manager. “Our archives were established 70 years ago, and for the first time, we’re opening the vault for the public to see. This is just a first step for all that will come in the future.”
The materials available in the online collection were carefully curated over the past two years by Ford’s archives team. Although many of the images are from Ford’s North American operations, there are at least 30 from Ford Australia including brochures of Australian-built Ford Falcon, Ute and Laser models.
Ford worked with graduate students from Wayne State University’s library and information science program in Detroit, as well as Ford employees and retirees, to pilot the Heritage Vault in advance of its launch.
The Ford Bronco and Ford F-Series were common search items among testers. Meteor, Fairlane, Galaxie, Model A and Edsel were also popular, with one user finding the Tempo models their mother and grandmother owned in the 1980s and ’90s.
Ford Heritage Vault users can request remediated versions of additional brochures too.
“These assets were born analog, and we have worked hard to bring them to the digital world,” said Ciera Casteel, processing archivist, who prepared materials for the Heritage Vault. “But digitizing isn’t enough. It was important to us that the Heritage Vault is accessible for everyone to enjoy.”
Related: Princess Diana's 1981 Ford Escort is up for auction
Related: Nine car ads from the '90s that are a real blast from the past
Related: The story of Syd Mead’s futuristic Ford Gyron car
Please see our Editorial Guidelines & Code of Ethics (including for more information about sponsored content and paid events). The information published on this website is of a general nature only and doesn’t consider your particular circumstances or needs.
