The Ford Heritage Vault debuted as an all-new online database full of historical Blue Oval photos and brochures back in June 2022, and proved so popular at first that traffic simply overloaded the site. The Heritage Vault hosted 1.3 million searches and 300,000 downloads by the following January, and FoMoCo continues to add content including digital UK-based archives, photos and brochures from 15 other countries, including Canada, Australia, and Germany, and various documents pertaining to 300 different Blue Oval concept vehicles. Now, the latest addition to the Heritage Vault has arrived – vintage copies of Ford Times magazine.
Ford Times magazine was created way back in 1908 as a way for the company to keep employees up to date on what was going on within its walls, no matter where they lived. However, within a couple of years, it quickly evolved into a consumer-facing publication that focused on travel and lifestyle, enjoying a long run that didn’t end until 1993, though it did take a pause in 1917 due to constraints on paper stemming from World War I. Now, Blue Oval fans can check out every issue of Ford Times from 1964-1981 via the Heritage Vault.
Ford Times evolved from a product and company-focused publication to one that revolved around travel and lifestyle, a shift that resonated with customers in a big way. Following the war, Ford also published stories about activities like gardening, minimizing waste, and how to become a better citizen in general. By the mid 1940s, Ford Times once again evolved to focus on things like road trips, the North American highway system, and destinations of interest.
Ultimately, Ford Times proved to be a smash hit with consumers over its many years in publication, peaking at sales of around 2.1 million issues by the mid-1970s and reaching around eight million people in general. Now, Ford fans can revisit these glory days online, and the automaker plans to continue to add more issues moving forward, too.
We’ll have more on the Ford Heritage Vault soon, so be sure and subscribe to Ford Authority for 24/7 Ford news coverage.
Comments
The Vault is a really cool resource. I think the MCA’s MUSTANG TIMES is one of the only print publications left.
I remember my parents receiving the Ford Times in the 1960’s-70’s. It was a fun little magazine. Wish it was still available to Ford owners.