Robert McNamara, former President of Ford Motor Company, Vietnam era Secretary of Defense, and father of the Falcon, dies at 93.

You may not consider Robert McNamara an integral part of Mustang history, but he is.  When Lee Iacocca was a young blood, in fact the exciting new blood of Ford Motor Company in the 1950s, Robert McNamara was running the company.  The bespeckled, slick-back haired McNamara was a no nonsense bean counter who was into practical function and simplicity.  His approach to automobile marketing was simple, practical automobiles for the masses and made sure Ford sold a lot of cars.  But practical, ordinary cars for everyone.    It is a wonder the controversial Edsel happened at all when you consider McNamara policy at the time.

McNamara policy tended to be lackluster, yet mainstream product that actually limited Ford sales potential.  Although there were exciting products from Ford, such as the Thunderbird, Skyliner, and the new Galaxie for '59, there just wasn't enough adrenaline flowing at Ford in those days to spur phenomenal sales numbers.

In 1960, McNamara brought us the practical compact Falcon sedan with its modest 144ci inline six and room for six inside.  Falcon, competing against Chevy Corvair, Chrysler Valiant, Mercury Comet, and the American Motors Rambler, managed to smash the competition with nearly a half-million sold that first year.  These sales numbers would be surpassed by Mustang five years later and Maverick a decade later - both based on the humble, good-looking Falcon McNamara created to begin with.

In 1961, McNamara was hired away from Ford by the Kennedy Adminstration to be Secretary of Defense at a very controversial time in American history when Vietnam was ramping up and citizens were becoming more and more uneasy about our role in the world. 

For many years, McNamara didn't discuss the Vietnam conflict.  In the 1990s, he finally sat down and penned out an excellent book, "In Retrospect: The Tragedy & Lessons Of Vietnam".  Although the book reopened a lot of wounds, it also gave Americans insight into the whys of Vietnam.

When McNamara retired in 1981, he dedicated himself to global causes such as nuclear disarmament and helping the poor.  He was also President of the World Bank for 12 years, which meant help for a lot of countries around the world.

Although we remember Robert McNamara most for his short time at Ford Motor Company a half-century ago, he left a positive mark on the planet in so many other ways.

Robert McNamara died at 5:30 a.m. this morning, July 6, 2009 from what can easily be termed natural causes.  He had been in failing health for some time.