Henry III, Act I: Henry Ford's great-great grandson will soon enter the stage

Why do we think 29-year-old Henry Ford III will make a great auto executive? Not because he is the great-great grandson of Henry Ford, direct descendant of the founder, and next in line for the throne if Ford Motor Co. was a monarchy. Nor because he will soon have an MBA from MIT. Nor even because of his work already done for Ford in the field of labor relations.

No, it's his two years teaching English and math to junior high schoolers that we see as his strongest experience yet.

"Talk about high energy," he said. "Those kids don't stop."

Anybody who can keep junior high school kids not only in their seats but focused on a lesson plan can deal with any supplier issue, boardroom dispute or labor-contract negotiations he's ever likely to encounter.

He will encounter plenty. Young Ford has one more year to go to get his MBA, at which point he will return to Detroit and start working his way through the company that bears his name. Though we can't imagine him ever pointing up at the top corner of the building to remind anyone whose name is up there, as his grandfather once did to Lee Iacocca. He's just not that kind of guy.

"He's the nicest, most unpretentious guy you'll ever meet," said Beau Boeckmann, vice president of Galpin Ford, the world's largest Ford dealership.

Henry Ford III just concluded a summer at Galpin as a sales intern. We spoke to him on his last day. In addition to other tasks, he spent two weeks selling cars, sealing the deal on five Fords and a Volvo.

"He's never been afraid to work," said Boeckmann. "He came down on the Fourth of July to work the sale, even though I told him to take the Fourth of July off."

When H3 returns to the mother ship a year from now, he will continue the job rotation that he started in 2006 and '07, when he helped negotiate a new UAW contract working in labor relations and worked on supplier contracts in the purchasing department.

"I'm not sure where in the company I'll end up," he said.

So when's he going to take over?

"That's not something I'm really focused on," he said politely, sounding like the young William Clay Ford, a guy who eventually did take over the company. "At this point in my career, there's so much to learn about the auto industry and I really enjoy the learning aspect."

Now he's seeing the world, or the automotive world, anyway. During his summer internship at Galpin, he had a Mustang GT as a daily driver, saw the Petersen Automotive Museum, the Nethercutt Collection, a Mannheim used-car auction, several cruise 'n' coffee car shows and one other thing:

"I went to a drifting track," he said, with a surprising amount of enthusiasm. "I've been a huge NASCAR fan, but it was great to see something so completely different like drifting. I got a ride in one of the cars."

Since Galpin owns Honda and Saturn dealerships, Ford has had a chance to drive some competitors' products, too.

"I think the Ford products are far and away superior to our competitors right now," he said. "I drove an Accord, Civic, Pilot, I don't think they're as well-designed, I don't think they drive as well, I think our products are far ahead of them."

Spoken like a true Ford Man.

Does he have a favorite car?

"That's like asking your parents what child they like best," he said. "The new Fusion is one of best cars we've ever built, the Taurus is fantastic, the Flex, Edge, the Mustang is unbelievable, the new F-150 is great; I feel we've got the best product lineup we've ever had. I had a chance to work with the Fiesta team in Dearborn. I'm really excited about that car. It's going to be a great hit."

Maybe his next Ford job could be in advertising or PR?

By Mark Vaughn