Return to Glory
The Story of Ford's Revival and Victory at the Toughest Race in the World
-
- $11.99
-
- $11.99
Publisher Description
“This page-turning combination of business book and adventure saga tells the tale of the Ford Motor Company’s” 2016 triumph at Le Mans (The New York Times, “10 New Books We Recommend This Week”).
At the 2015 Detroit Auto Show, Ford unveiled a new car—and the automotive world lost its collective mind. This wasn’t some new Explorer or Focus. Onto the stage rolled a carbon-fiber GT powered by a six-cylinder Ecoboost engine that churned out over 600 horsepower. It was sexy and jaw dropping, but, more than that, it was a callback to the legendary Ford GT40 Mk IIs that stuck it to Ferrari and finished 1-2-3 at Le Mans in 1966. Detroit was back, and Ford was going back to Le Mans.
Matthew DeBord, a veteran auto industry journalist, tells the incredible story of Ford’s resurgence in Return to Glory. A decade ago, CEO Alan Mulally took over the iconic company and, thanks to his “One Ford” plan, helped it weather the financial crisis without a government bailout. DeBord revisits the story of the 1960s, details the creation of the new GT, and follows the team through the racing season—from Daytona to Sebring and Laguna Seca in Monterey.
Finally, DeBord joins the Ford team in Le Mans in June 2016. This fabled twenty-four-hour endurance race is designed to break cars and drivers, and it was at Le Mans, fifty years after the company’s greatest triumph, that Ford’s comeback was put to the ultimate test.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
DeBord, a senior correspondent for Business Insider, takes readers inside Ford before, during and after the 2016 Le Mans race and emerges with an upbeat, feel-good business story. After steering itself back to relevance under former Boeing exec Alan Mulally, Ford made a stunning move in early 2015. The automaker released a new version of its famed GT and announced that it would run in Le Mans. The significance of this entry was clear. The 24-hour race had turned the victorious GT40 into a legend in 1966. DeBord shows how Ford, a stalwart of the sometimes old-fashioned American auto industry, learned to embrace "One Ford," Mulally's modern culture of collaboration and culpability, while celebrating its high-octane past. Car enthusiasts will savor the insider information, including DeBord's interviews with key members of the new GT's design team, whose meetings were held in a "gloomy, grungy space" like a "garage set up for hot-rodding on a semi-pro scale." Readers from the business side will enjoy this snapshot into how an American industrial titan flourished by going back to its past as part of its future.