Remembering Freddie Ford

For #EuropeanRoboticsWeek we’re remembering Freddie Ford, a talking robot used at events in the 1960s. During one such event he was programmed to endlessly repeat the phrase: “People love Mustangs, Mustangs love people, make a date with a Mustang, put romance in your life."

Made almost entirely out of car parts, Freddie stood nine feet high and weighed more than 360 kg, while his chest was 126-inces, and waist 120-inches. 

He had oil pans for feet and brake shoes for hands. His ears were made of radiator caps with car antennas attached. His eyes were parking lights from a Ford Mustang, while his mouth was a reversing light from a Ford Thunderbird. His arms were exhaust pipes and his legs were shock absorbers. 

Freddie was used to help Ford sell cars at car shows from 1967. He was no C3PO, but he could answer a dozen questions in front of an audience. Unsurprisingly, most of his answers contained corny jokes and spoke glowingly of Ford products.

Here are a few of Freddie’s exchanges with fair goers as recorded in a Ford press release:

Question: “What does it mean to ‘Walk softly and carry a big stick’?’”

Freddie: “The quotation is really, ‘Drive softly and carry a big six’.”

Question: “Why do you have disc brakes for hands?”

Freddie: “They grip faster and better and 55 percent easier than manual brakes. For 1970, power front disc brakes are available on all models and standard on some.”

Question: “Are those oil pans really your feet?”

Freddie: “Yes, sir, these are 390 V-8 oil pans from the biggest V-8 that uses only regular gas. And remember… oil changes are only needed every six months or 6,000 miles.”

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