Ford tried to buy ?Ferrari? and was insulted, I wanna say in the late 50's-early 60's.
Ford turned to his men and told them to build something to destroy Ferrari's domination at the track.
Ford had lots of innovation: the cobra coupe, the Daytona coupe, and probably as many V8 variants then Chrysler, Desoto, General Motors, and AMC combined.
They were the ones to continue to compete with us in the late 60's & early 70's of NASCAR and sponsored drag racing when General Motors dropped out. Ford has at some point in their existence made more money in real-estate than in the automotive market-AND WAS NEVER BAILED OUT BY THE GOVERNMENT. I truly love Mopar first and foremost, but Ford as a company is one more American success story that makes me very proud of their people.
I love the competition between the big three and anyone else in their lane. RIP AMC.