For the first time, Ford
is making over 5,000 curated Ford and Lincoln photographs and product brochures from the company's first century in business available to the public
—and will continue to expand the online archive as new items are added. Ford launched the Heritage Vault
for fans, journalists, and automobile enthusiasts to explore the company's rich history from anywhere in the world. The searchable artifacts are free to download for personal use as part of the American car industry's most comprehensive online database. 
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100 years of Ford heritage made available online
The searchable collection covers Ford's manufacturing history from its inception in 1903 to its centennial in2003.
“We’re opening up in a way we’ve never done before,” said Ted Ryan, Ford archive and heritage brand manager. “Our archives were established 70 years ago, and for the first time, we’re opening the vault for the public to see. This is just a first step for all that will come in the future.”
Ford's archives staff meticulously handpicked the documents available in the online collection over the last two years. Several of the high-resolution photographs highlight the appearance and functionality of Ford and Lincoln
cars, while others are iconic photos that bring Ford's history to life for fans and automotive aficionados. One collection of brochures is basically a time capsule for the 1970s and 1980s. The series, which depicts beach vacations, racing, and skydiving in bright oranges, browns, and yellows, was intended to advertise certain vehicle design packages to young buyers.
“Complementing all of the vehicle photos available in the Ford Heritage Vault, brochures like these add so much more information and impact for people who want to learn about our products, heritage, and accessories,” commented Ciera Casteel, processing archivist, who prepared items for the Heritage Vault.
Taking a drive down memory lane
Ford developed the Heritage Vault with graduate students from Wayne State University's library and information science school and even consulted Ford employees and retirees ahead of its official introduction.
Ford Heritage Vault was made with accessibility features that translate photos, charts, graphs, and other non-digital assets so that they can be read by screen readers and other assistive technologies used by blind and visually impaired site visitors.
“These assets were born analog, and we have worked hard to bring them to the digital world,” said Casteel, who led the effort to make the material accessible. “But digitizing isn’t enough. It was important to us that the Heritage Vault is accessible for everyone to enjoy.”
The collection piqued the interest of both casual browsers and diehard auto fans, who expressed a greater appreciation for Ford and its history after visiting the site. A Ford employee even stated that seeing the old images brought tears to his eyes.
The Ford Bronco
and Ford F-Series were popular vehicle searches among testers. Meteor, Fairlane, Galaxie, Model A, and Edsel were also popular, with one user actually discovering Ford Tempos owned by their mother and grandmother in the 1980s and 1990s.
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