In hopes to create a monopoly on the locomotive industry, Seldon formed a syndicate to license only selected manufacturers and tried to collect royalties on every horseless carriage built or sold in America.
Seldon filed a lawsuit against Ford Motor Company when they tried to operate without a lisence from them. However, eight years later, in 1911, Ford Motor Company won the court case that freed the entire auto industry from Seldons clutches. Henry Ford and his son Edsel, who succeeded his father as president in 1919, wholly owned the company. By 1927 Ford Motor Company became a giant in the automotive industry that spanned the globe. The Ford assembly line started an industrial revolution in the way that cars were designed and produced. Moreover, it started an urban-to-rural revolution in the lives of their customers. .
In light of consumers demand for more stylish and powerful vehicles offered by Fords competitors, on May 31, 1927, the company shut down for 5 months to produced a new Model A; which met the end of the line when consumers wanted even more power and luxury. Once again in response to consumer's demands, Ford Motor Company produced the first V-8 engine block on March 31, 1932. In 1938, six years after the V-8 engine was introduced, their production started on Mercury, which became Fords entry in the medium priced vehicle field. However, their production of civilian cars stopped as they moved all their resources into the United States war effort. In 1943 Edsel Ford died, so Henry Ford resumed presidency over Ford Motor Company until the end of the war.
On September 24, 1945, Henry Ford resigned again and his oldest son Henry Ford II became the new president of Ford Motor Company. He proved to be the right person to lead the company into the movement from a family business to a publicly owned corporation. Once again, the company faced the challenge of restoring the companies" health.
