The site is organized in five sections of unequal value and scope. The first of these, Ford's "Showroom Boulevard," is what most people will come to see—and they'll be disappointed, at least initially. Small exterior and interior photos are provided for each model, but the descriptive copy is advertising-generic and could have been lifted from current showroom literature. You can dive down a level for each model's specifications, but these too seem thin. And Ford has provided only one catch-all page for optional accessories. In fairness, though, the company promises something called "Ford Simulator 6.0" for Windows users in the near future. This will apparently provide the interactive experience today's car shoppers are looking for, as long as they're willing to sacrifice 15 MB of disk space for a Simulator spin.

The next two sections—devoted to the Ford Financial Services Group and general Ford information (a mixture of industry news and PR, with a stockholder relations subset)—are fairly straightforward, if reminiscent of the kitchen-sink approach that typifies annual reports. The best part of the site, by far, is the "Historical Library." Here you'll find photographs of vintage Ford models used to punctuate the company's story, which is laid out in fairly interesting fashion. But the site reverts to unimaginative form in its last section, "Customer Link," a transparent grab for demographic information.

Since Henry Ford's name is invoked frequently and reverentially throughout the site, it's only natural to wonder what the master of mass production would have done with today's technology and the World Wide Web. We think it's safe to say it would have been something bolder and more inventive than this.

(Reviewed July 24, 1995)