Interviews with women whose parents named them "Cortina"; footage of a Ford Transit rallying on the limit; the Ford Capri, "the car you always promised yourself"; even the Dagenham sewing machinists' strike of the 1960s and its importance in the quest for equal rights for women all are the stars in a new 50-minute BBC TV documentary Ford and Me that premieres at 9:00pm on Wednesday, 13 November on BBC 2.
"You don't have to be a 'petrol head' to enjoy Ford and Me," said Ford of Britain's chairman, Roger Putnam. "The programme captures the spirit of the enormous changes that have occurred in British society over the past five decades. It shows how Ford, through our cars and commercial vehicles and the actions of the company, has been reflected in and sometimes helped to create those changes."
Ford and Me is one of a six-programme, landmark series produced by the BBC's Business Unit that shows the impact of how iconic brands have influenced and been influenced by the social, political and cultural life of the UK over the past 50 years. The first programme, shown on 30 October, featured Marks & Spencer. The remaining companies featured in the and Me series are: The Sun (6 November), Ford (13 November), Thomas Cook (20 November), EMI (27 November) and Habitat (4 December).
For the Ford and Me programme BBC producer, John Blystone, carried out over 80 hours of interviews with Ford owners, motoring journalists, auto psychologists, design gurus and Ford employees. Rock star, Tom Robinson, Radio 1 DJ, Johnny Walker, design and culture pundit, Stephen Bayley, and motoring opinion-former, television presenter and journalist, Jeremy Clarkson, are all interviewed in the programme.
Ford employees past and present in Ford and Me include ex-global Ford CEO, Lord Trotman; past Ford of Britain chairmen Sam Toy and Ian McAllister; current Ford design chief, J Mays; product development head, Richard Parry-Jones; and Ford's oldest living employee in the UK, Fred Brown, plus many more.
Ford and Me will be screened at 9:00pm on Wednesday, 13 November on BBC 2. For more information on the series visit
www.bbc.co.uk/business.
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