\u201cWe\u2019re opening up in a way we\u2019ve never done before,\u201d said Ted Ryan, Ford archive and heritage brand manager, in a statement. \u201cOur archives were established 70 years ago, and for the first time, we\u2019re opening the vault for the public to see. This is just a first step for all that will come in the future.\u201d<\/p>\n

It took two years for Ford\u2019s archives team to collect all the material. The archive was piloted with the help of employees, retirees, and graduate students from Wayne State University before being opened up to the public.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s a lot of great stuff to dig through, including a brochure for the 1961 Ford Falcon, complete with cameos from Peanuts characters, including Snoopy and Charlie Brown. You\u2019ll also find advertisements for a set of pre-Hot Wheels Ford toy cars and trucks that \u201clook and work like the real ones.\u201d And my personal favorite, the Ford Aerostar van concept from 1985. (Please, Ford, electrify this immediately.)<\/p>\n

The database is searchable, meaning Ford Mustang, F-150, and Bronco owners can go back in time and find early incarnations of their vehicles. Fans of defunct nameplates, like Meteor, Fairlane, Galaxie, Model A, and Edsel, will also find a treasure trove of material to sort through. Ford claims that one user found the Tempo models their mother and grandmother owned in the 1980s and \u201990s. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n


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