William Clay Ford, the last surviving grandchild of Henry Ford, died of pneumonia on 9 March. He was 88.
William, the youngest of Edsel Ford's four children, was born in Detroit in 1925. After serving with the US Navy Air Corps during the Second World War, Ford married Martha Parke Firestone in 1947. A year later he would be elected to the Ford Motor Co board and would go on to briefly head the Continental Division before it merged with the Lincoln Motor Company.
Ford's crowning achievement was the Continental Mark II, an update of the car that his father, Edsel, played a part in developing. He was a member of the firm's board of directors for 57 years, before finally retiring in 2005.
As well as automobiles, Ford had a passion for sport, buying the Detroit Lions National Football League franchise in 1963. Success didn't follow him, with the team losing more games than it won under his tenure.
Greg MacLeman is a contributor to and former Features Editor of Classic & Sports Car, and drives a restored and uprated 1974 Triumph 2500TC