Ford’s Original Model E: A 2000s Tech Revolution You Didn't Know About

Written By Paul Kampe
Feb 20, 2025
<2 MIN READ
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Ford’s Model E program, announced in February 2000, equipped employees with a computer, printer, and internet access for a small monthly fee.

Long before Model e represented the Ford business unit responsible for our electric vehicles and related technology, the name was used to designate an ambitious program to equip the company’s employees around the world with home computers, printers, and internet access. The initiative, which came with a nominal monthly fee, was announced 25 years ago this month and launched later that year. 

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Executive Chair Bill Ford spoke at the announcement for the Model E program in 2000.

Ford drew on its heritage with the nomenclature for the transformational program, harkening back to the company’s early years in which its vehicles were designated by “Model” followed by a letter of the alphabet, the most famous examples being the Model A and the Model T. The company even went to court to protect the naming practice from competitors as the program launched.

Investing in the future

The Model E program was coordinated by San Francisco-based PeoplePC as well as partners Hewlett Packard (hardware provider) and UUNET (internet service provider). The initiative was intended to increase employees’ digital fluency and teach them about consumer behaviors at a time when e-commerce was growing rapidly and retail sales that had long taken place in brick-and-mortar settings were moving online. 

Ford is strategically utilizing digital tools to transform virtually every aspect of our business, and to connect those individual pieces in radically different and innovative ways.
Jim Yost
former Ford CIO and vice president

The computer specs might not sound like a lot today, but they were top-notch in 2000. The standard-issue Model E desktop unit was a Hewlett Packard Pavilion model powered by an Intel Celeron 667-megahertz processer and featuring a 15-gigabyte hard drive, CD-ROM drive, and a 56 kilobyte-per-second internal modem. The package included a 15-inch monitor, stereo speakers, and a color printer. The computer was preloaded with software for work and play, including Microsoft Works 2000 and Encarta Encyclopedia. After three years of enrollment, participants owned the equipment.

Bridging the digital divide

The company earned numerous awards for the initiative, including being named one of the Top 10 Digital Workplaces by Time Digital. The ambitious program ultimately saw nearly half of the company’s 350,000 global employees take advantage of the offer.

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Nearly half of the global workforce was supplied with computers in just over a year.

The forward-thinking initiative not only helped prepare a significant number of Ford employees for the rise of e-commerce, but it also created a lasting legacy of empowerment and a culture of embracing technological change.

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