Plant in Russia initially producing Ford Model A and AAs thereby playing an impo

rtant role in the industrialisation of that country.[13]

The creation of a scientific laboratory in Dearborn, Michigan in 1951, doing unf
ettered basic research, led to Ford's unlikely involvement in superconductivity
research. In 1964, Ford Research Labs made a key breakthrough with the invention
of a superconducting quantum interference device or SQUID.[14]
Ford offered the Lifeguard safety package from 1956, which included such innovat
ions as a standard deep-dish steering wheel, optional front, and, for the first
time in a car, rear seatbelts, and an optional padded dash.[15] Ford introduced
child-proof door locks into its products in 1957, and, in the same year, offered
the first retractable hardtop on a mass-produced six-seater car.vbvbvbvbvThe Fo
rd Escape Hybrid and Mercury Mariner Hybrid are the gasoline-electric hybrid pow
ered versions that launched in the U.S. in 2004 for the 2005 model year. Built i
n Kansas City, Missouri, it was the first hybrid SUV to hit the market. The Ford
Escape Hybrid was the first American-built hybrid and the first hybrid vehicle
from an American automaker, joined by the Chevrolet Silverado/GMC Sierra Hybrids
during the same model year. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, t
he first generation Ford Escape Hybrid is 70% more efficient than the regular Es
cape. The Mercury Mariner Hybrid is a rebadged version of the Escape Hybrid. It
features revised front-end styling and a more luxurious interior.
By 2005, both Ford and GM's corporate bonds had been downgraded to junk status,[
18] as a result of high U.S. health care costs for an aging workforce, soaring g
asoline prices, eroding market share, and an over dependence on declining SUV sa
les. Profit margins decreased on large vehicles due to increased "incentives" (i
n the form of rebates or low interest financing) to offset declining demand.[19]
In the latter half of 2005, Chairman Bill Ford asked newly appointed Ford Ameri
cas Division President Mark Fields to develop a plan to return the company to pr
ofitability. Fields previewed the Plan, named The Way Fddorward, at the December
7, 2005, board meeting of the company and it was unveiled to the public on Janu
ary 23, 2006. "The Way Forward" included resizing the company to match market re
alities, dropping some unprofitable and inefficient models, consolidating produc
tion lines, closing 14 factories and cutting 30,000 jobs.[20]