07/08/2026
FLASHBACK FRIDAY 📸 | 100 YEARS WITH FORD
This week we’re heading back to 2011, when Haynes celebrated an incredible milestone: 100 years of our relationship with Ford.
The story began in 1911, when Bernard Haynes was taken for a demonstration drive in a Ford Model T. Impressed by its performance up Boxley Hill and its competitive price, he ordered one there and then for £180.
That decision marked the beginning of a relationship that would span generations. Haynes became the first Ford distributor in Kent going on to sell and distribute Ford cars, commercial vehicles and agricultural machinery.
By the time the centenary arrived in 2011, the occasion was certainly not allowed to pass quietly.
Our Maidstone dealership was transformed for the celebrations, with 100 Years branding throughout the site and a special collection of heritage Ford vehicles on display. These photographs capture just a small part of it, including a fantastic classic Es**rt alongside cars representing different generations of Ford motoring.
And then there was the historic period Ford Model T Haynes Bros. delivery van, given possibly the most noticeable display position on the entire site, high above Ashford Road for all to see.
Also featured as part of the celebrations was the special T100 Fiesta, helping mark the centenary year and tying the event back to the Ford models of the time, alongside the wider showroom and forecourt display.
Although the Ford relationship began in 1911, the Haynes story stretches back even further. The business was originally established in 1790, moving to Kent in 1832 before entering the motor trade in the early 1900s. Ford would ultimately become one of the defining relationships in the company's long history.
More than a century after that first Model T was ordered, Haynes and Ford remain closely connected today, with our Maidstone and Canterbury Ford dealerships continuing a relationship that began with one demo drive back in 1911.
Quite a lot can happen in 100 years. 💙
