Ford established Fordlandia, a rubber plantation in the Amazon rainforest in Brazil, with the goal of securing a reliable source of rubber for Ford's tires and other automotive components.

Fordlandia faced numerous challenges, including disease, poor soil conditions, labor unrest, and cultural misunderstandings. Ford's attempts to impose American industrial methods and social norms on the local population proved unsuccessful.

Fordlandia was abandoned in 1945 after years of failure. The project became a symbol of the limitations of American industrial hubris and the complexities of operating in unfamiliar environments.