[U.S. Sales and Marketing book for English Ford] de [Auto Industry] - [ca. 1957-1958]

np, [ca. 1957-1958]. Hardcover. Very good. 4to. Black three-ring binder with illustrated title label to front, containing 17 loosely plastic covered paper leaves, profusely filled both recto and verso with black and white photographs and materials on the English Ford line of automobiles. More than 35 various scrap and ephemera elements in all. Front cover moderately worn, discolored. Some wrinkling and warping internally. Overall very good.

Fascinating salesman's catalogue produced by British Ford, marketing their cars to American dealerships. Struggling financially, Post-WWII Britain enacted an "Export or Die" mandate for its domestic carmakers in hopes of injecting more stable currencies into its economy. This act mandated aggressive sales in foreign markets, and especially in The United States. Ford of Britain had operated as a subsidiary of the Ford Motor Company since 1909, producing an entirely different line from its American division. Since it was indeed a British car manufacturer, Ford was forced compete with itself. These materials date from a 1957-1958 push aimed at getting existing U.S. Ford dealerships to sell and service the cars of their English counterpart. Included are specification sheets and sample advertisements for the various models: 10 approximately 8" x 10" black and white promotional photographs, a body color chart with paint samples, dealer pricing and cost sheets with option breakdowns and import costs, analysis charts comparing the Anglia and Prefect (that's right, the Ford Prefect) with comparable and competing European imports, blank sales forms, a service policy, paint mixing formulas, and a list of the financial, spatial and service requirements of potential dealers. The modest sales of English Ford passenger cars in the U.S. peaked in 1958-1959 at approximately 75,000 (compared with an estimated 1.5 million units sold by Ford USA in 1957 alone). Numbers limped along through the 1960's, with the last model, The Cortina, discontinued in 1971. A rare surviving source from an unusual chapter in American and British automotive history, as well as a uncommon example of marketing and trade automobiliana.