Retirement Benefits - Changes in Level 3 Pension Benefit Plan Assets Measured at Fair Value on a Recurring Basis (Details) (USD $) In Millions, unless otherwise specified	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2011	Dec. 31, 2010
U.S. Plans
Defined Benefit Plan Disclosure [Line Items]
Fair Value at January 1	$ 4,981	$ 3,719
Attributable To Assets Held at December 31	314	457
Attributable To Assets Sold	(32)	65
Net Purchases/(Settlements)	536	1,095
Into Level 3	23	46
Out of Level 3	(93)	(401)
Fair Value at December 31	5,729	4,981
U.S. Plans | Equity [Member]
Defined Benefit Plan Disclosure [Line Items]
Fair Value at January 1	22	110
Attributable To Assets Held at December 31	(1)	0
Attributable To Assets Sold	(1)	4
Net Purchases/(Settlements)	(1)	(38)
Into Level 3	0	1
Out of Level 3	(1)	(55)
Fair Value at December 31	18	22
U.S. Plans | U.S. companies
Defined Benefit Plan Disclosure [Line Items]
Fair Value at January 1	13	15
Attributable To Assets Held at December 31	(1)	(2)
Attributable To Assets Sold	0	0
Net Purchases/(Settlements)	0	0
Into Level 3	0	0
Out of Level 3	0	0
Fair Value at December 31	12	13
U.S. Plans | International companies
Defined Benefit Plan Disclosure [Line Items]
Fair Value at January 1	6	92
Attributable To Assets Held at December 31	0	2
Attributable To Assets Sold	(1)	4
Net Purchases/(Settlements)	(1)	(38)
Into Level 3	0	1
Out of Level 3	(1)	(55)
Fair Value at December 31	3	6
U.S. Plans | Commingled funds
Defined Benefit Plan Disclosure [Line Items]
Fair Value at January 1	3	3
Attributable To Assets Held at December 31	0	0
Attributable To Assets Sold	0	0
Net Purchases/(Settlements)	0	0
Into Level 3	0	0
Out of Level 3	0	0
Fair Value at December 31	3	3
U.S. Plans | Equity Securities Derivative Financial Instruments [Member]
Defined Benefit Plan Disclosure [Line Items]
Fair Value at January 1	0	0
Attributable To Assets Held at December 31	0	0
Attributable To Assets Sold	0	0
Net Purchases/(Settlements)	0	0
Into Level 3	0	0
Out of Level 3	0	0
Fair Value at December 31	0	0
U.S. Plans | Fixed Income
Defined Benefit Plan Disclosure [Line Items]
Fair Value at January 1	497	620
Attributable To Assets Held at December 31	22	21
Attributable To Assets Sold	(9)	61
Net Purchases/(Settlements)	(143)	96
Into Level 3	23	45
Out of Level 3	(92)	(346)
Fair Value at December 31	298	497
U.S. Plans | U.S. government
Defined Benefit Plan Disclosure [Line Items]
Fair Value at January 1	0	0
Attributable To Assets Held at December 31	0	0
Attributable To Assets Sold	0	0
Net Purchases/(Settlements)	0	0
Into Level 3	0	0
Out of Level 3	0	0
Fair Value at December 31	0	0
U.S. Plans | U.S. government-sponsored enterprises
Defined Benefit Plan Disclosure [Line Items]
Fair Value at January 1	14	7
Attributable To Assets Held at December 31	0	0
Attributable To Assets Sold	0	0
Net Purchases/(Settlements)	(5)	8
Into Level 3	0	0
Out of Level 3	(1)	(1)
Fair Value at December 31	8	14
U.S. Plans | Non-U.S. government
Defined Benefit Plan Disclosure [Line Items]
Fair Value at January 1	280	256
Attributable To Assets Held at December 31	(2)	15
Attributable To Assets Sold	(3)	7
Net Purchases/(Settlements)	(86)	91
Into Level 3	13	1
Out of Level 3	(33)	(90)
Fair Value at December 31	169	280
U.S. Plans | Investment grade
Defined Benefit Plan Disclosure [Line Items]
Fair Value at January 1	28	85
Attributable To Assets Held at December 31	4	0
Attributable To Assets Sold	2	5
Net Purchases/(Settlements)	18	(42)
Into Level 3	3	13
Out of Level 3	(22)	(33)
Fair Value at December 31	33	28
U.S. Plans | High yield
Defined Benefit Plan Disclosure [Line Items]
Fair Value at January 1	2	15
Attributable To Assets Held at December 31	(1)	0
Attributable To Assets Sold	0	(9)
Net Purchases/(Settlements)	8	0
Into Level 3	3	0
Out of Level 3	(1)	(4)
Fair Value at December 31	11	2
U.S. Plans | Other credit
Defined Benefit Plan Disclosure [Line Items]
Fair Value at January 1	50	21
Attributable To Assets Held at December 31	(1)	2
Attributable To Assets Sold	0	1
Net Purchases/(Settlements)	(32)	30
Into Level 3	0	0
Out of Level 3	0	(4)
Fair Value at December 31	17	50
U.S. Plans | Mortgage/other asset backed
Defined Benefit Plan Disclosure [Line Items]
Fair Value at January 1	125	278
Attributable To Assets Held at December 31	(3)	4
Attributable To Assets Sold	1	47
Net Purchases/(Settlements)	(38)	(23)
Into Level 3	4	30
Out of Level 3	(35)	(211)
Fair Value at December 31	54	125
U.S. Plans | Interest rate contracts [Member]
Defined Benefit Plan Disclosure [Line Items]
Fair Value at January 1	(2)	(42)
Attributable To Assets Held at December 31	0	0
Attributable To Assets Sold	(1)	10
Net Purchases/(Settlements)	0	32
Into Level 3	0	1
Out of Level 3	0	(3)
Fair Value at December 31	(3)	(2)
U.S. Plans | Credit contracts
Defined Benefit Plan Disclosure [Line Items]
Fair Value at January 1	0	0
Attributable To Assets Held at December 31	0	0
Attributable To Assets Sold	0	0
Net Purchases/(Settlements)	0	0
Into Level 3	0	0
Out of Level 3	0	0
Fair Value at December 31	0	0
U.S. Plans | Other Contracts
Defined Benefit Plan Disclosure [Line Items]
Fair Value at January 1	0	0
Attributable To Assets Held at December 31	25	0
Attributable To Assets Sold	(8)	0
Net Purchases/(Settlements)	(8)	0
Into Level 3	0	0
Out of Level 3	0	0
Fair Value at December 31	9	0
U.S. Plans | Alternatives
Defined Benefit Plan Disclosure [Line Items]
Fair Value at January 1	4,465	2,992
Attributable To Assets Held at December 31	293	436
Attributable To Assets Sold	(22)	0
Net Purchases/(Settlements)	679	1,037
Into Level 3	0	0
Out of Level 3	0	0
Fair Value at December 31	5,415	4,465
U.S. Plans | Hedge funds
Defined Benefit Plan Disclosure [Line Items]
Fair Value at January 1	2,854	1,986
Attributable To Assets Held at December 31	10	330
Attributable To Assets Sold	(22)	0
Net Purchases/(Settlements)	126	538
Into Level 3	0	0
Out of Level 3	0	0
Fair Value at December 31	2,968	2,854
U.S. Plans | Private equity
Defined Benefit Plan Disclosure [Line Items]
Fair Value at January 1	1,491	1,005
Attributable To Assets Held at December 31	244	104
Attributable To Assets Sold	0	0
Net Purchases/(Settlements)	350	382
Into Level 3	0	0
Out of Level 3	0	0
Fair Value at December 31	2,085	1,491
U.S. Plans | Real estate
Defined Benefit Plan Disclosure [Line Items]
Fair Value at January 1	120	1
Attributable To Assets Held at December 31	39	2
Attributable To Assets Sold	0	0
Net Purchases/(Settlements)	203	117
Into Level 3	0	0
Out of Level 3	0	0
Fair Value at December 31	362	120
U.S. Plans | Other
Defined Benefit Plan Disclosure [Line Items]
Fair Value at January 1	(3)	(3)
Attributable To Assets Held at December 31	0	0
Attributable To Assets Sold	0	0
Net Purchases/(Settlements)	1	0
Into Level 3	0	0
Out of Level 3	0	0
Fair Value at December 31	(2)	(3)
Non-U.S. Plans
Defined Benefit Plan Disclosure [Line Items]
Fair Value at January 1	5,323	4,434
Attributable To Assets Held at December 31	(57)	428
Attributable To Assets Sold	12	0
Net Purchases/(Settlements)	570	472
Into Level 3	5	39
Out of Level 3	(25)	(50)
Fair Value at December 31	5,828	5,323
Non-U.S. Plans | Equity [Member]
Defined Benefit Plan Disclosure [Line Items]
Fair Value at January 1	10	21
Attributable To Assets Held at December 31	0	0
Attributable To Assets Sold	0	1
Net Purchases/(Settlements)	(5)	(9)
Into Level 3	1	6
Out of Level 3	(5)	(9)
Fair Value at December 31	1	10
Non-U.S. Plans | U.S. companies
Defined Benefit Plan Disclosure [Line Items]
Fair Value at January 1	0	0
Attributable To Assets Held at December 31	0	0
Attributable To Assets Sold	0	0
Net Purchases/(Settlements)	0	0
Into Level 3	0	0
Out of Level 3	0	0
Fair Value at December 31	0	0
Non-U.S. Plans | International companies
Defined Benefit Plan Disclosure [Line Items]
Fair Value at January 1	10	21
Attributable To Assets Held at December 31	0	0
Attributable To Assets Sold	0	1
Net Purchases/(Settlements)	(5)	(9)
Into Level 3	1	6
Out of Level 3	(5)	(9)
Fair Value at December 31	1	10
Non-U.S. Plans | Commingled funds
Defined Benefit Plan Disclosure [Line Items]
Fair Value at January 1	0	0
Attributable To Assets Held at December 31	0	0
Attributable To Assets Sold	0	0
Net Purchases/(Settlements)	0	0
Into Level 3	0	0
Out of Level 3	0	0
Fair Value at December 31	0	0
Non-U.S. Plans | Fixed Income
Defined Benefit Plan Disclosure [Line Items]
Fair Value at January 1	180	176
Attributable To Assets Held at December 31	(7)	12
Attributable To Assets Sold	1	(1)
Net Purchases/(Settlements)	(25)	1
Into Level 3	4	33
Out of Level 3	(20)	(41)
Fair Value at December 31	133	180
Non-U.S. Plans | U.S. government
Defined Benefit Plan Disclosure [Line Items]
Fair Value at January 1	0	0
Attributable To Assets Held at December 31	0	0
Attributable To Assets Sold	0	0
Net Purchases/(Settlements)	0	0
Into Level 3	0	0
Out of Level 3	0	0
Fair Value at December 31	0	0
Non-U.S. Plans | U.S. government-sponsored enterprises
Defined Benefit Plan Disclosure [Line Items]
Fair Value at January 1	0	0
Attributable To Assets Held at December 31	0	0
Attributable To Assets Sold	0	0
Net Purchases/(Settlements)	0	0
Into Level 3	0	0
Out of Level 3	0	0
Fair Value at December 31	0	0
Non-U.S. Plans | Non-U.S. government
Defined Benefit Plan Disclosure [Line Items]
Fair Value at January 1	103	77
Attributable To Assets Held at December 31	(6)	9
Attributable To Assets Sold	1	2
Net Purchases/(Settlements)	28	(3)
Into Level 3	0	26
Out of Level 3	(4)	(8)
Fair Value at December 31	122	103
Non-U.S. Plans | Investment grade
Defined Benefit Plan Disclosure [Line Items]
Fair Value at January 1	15	28
Attributable To Assets Held at December 31	(1)	0
Attributable To Assets Sold	1	(2)
Net Purchases/(Settlements)	(7)	2
Into Level 3	3	5
Out of Level 3	0	(18)
Fair Value at December 31	11	15
Non-U.S. Plans | High yield
Defined Benefit Plan Disclosure [Line Items]
Fair Value at January 1	20	19
Attributable To Assets Held at December 31	0	1
Attributable To Assets Sold	0	(2)
Net Purchases/(Settlements)	(10)	4
Into Level 3	0	0
Out of Level 3	(10)	(2)
Fair Value at December 31	0	20
Non-U.S. Plans | Other credit
Defined Benefit Plan Disclosure [Line Items]
Fair Value at January 1	0	7
Attributable To Assets Held at December 31	0	0
Attributable To Assets Sold	0	0
Net Purchases/(Settlements)	0	(7)
Into Level 3	0	0
Out of Level 3	0	0
Fair Value at December 31	0	0
Non-U.S. Plans | Mortgage/other asset backed
Defined Benefit Plan Disclosure [Line Items]
Fair Value at January 1	34	43
Attributable To Assets Held at December 31	0	2
Attributable To Assets Sold	1	0
Net Purchases/(Settlements)	(24)	0
Into Level 3	1	2
Out of Level 3	(6)	(13)
Fair Value at December 31	6	34
Non-U.S. Plans | Commingled funds
Defined Benefit Plan Disclosure [Line Items]
Fair Value at January 1	8	0
Attributable To Assets Held at December 31	0	0
Attributable To Assets Sold	0	1
Net Purchases/(Settlements)	(8)	7
Into Level 3	0	0
Out of Level 3	0	0
Fair Value at December 31	0	8
Non-U.S. Plans | Derivative Financial Instruments
Defined Benefit Plan Disclosure [Line Items]
Fair Value at January 1	0	2
Attributable To Assets Held at December 31	0	0
Attributable To Assets Sold	(2)	0
Net Purchases/(Settlements)	(4)	(2)
Into Level 3	0	0
Out of Level 3	0	0
Fair Value at December 31	(6)	0
Non-U.S. Plans | Alternatives
Defined Benefit Plan Disclosure [Line Items]
Fair Value at January 1	753	248
Attributable To Assets Held at December 31	(28)	25
Attributable To Assets Sold	11	0
Net Purchases/(Settlements)	600	480
Into Level 3	0	0
Out of Level 3	0	0
Fair Value at December 31	1,336	753
Non-U.S. Plans | Hedge funds
Defined Benefit Plan Disclosure [Line Items]
Fair Value at January 1	711	244
Attributable To Assets Held at December 31	(31)	23
Attributable To Assets Sold	11	0
Net Purchases/(Settlements)	362	444
Into Level 3	0	0
Out of Level 3	0	0
Fair Value at December 31	1,053	711
Non-U.S. Plans | Private equity
Defined Benefit Plan Disclosure [Line Items]
Fair Value at January 1	31	4
Attributable To Assets Held at December 31	(3)	0
Attributable To Assets Sold	0	0
Net Purchases/(Settlements)	95	27
Into Level 3	0	0
Out of Level 3	0	0
Fair Value at December 31	123	31
Non-U.S. Plans | Real estate
Defined Benefit Plan Disclosure [Line Items]
Fair Value at January 1	11	0
Attributable To Assets Held at December 31	6	2
Attributable To Assets Sold	0	0
Net Purchases/(Settlements)	143	9
Into Level 3	0	0
Out of Level 3	0	0
Fair Value at December 31	160	11
Non-U.S. Plans | Other
Defined Benefit Plan Disclosure [Line Items]
Fair Value at January 1	4,380	3,989
Attributable To Assets Held at December 31	(22)	391
Attributable To Assets Sold	0	0
Net Purchases/(Settlements)	0	0
Into Level 3	0	0
Out of Level 3	0	0
Fair Value at December 31	4,358	4,380
Ford Werke GmbH [Member] | Non-U.S. Plans | Other Pension Benefit Plan Asset Insurance Contracts [Member]
Defined Benefit Plan Disclosure [Line Items]
Fair Value at December 31	$ 3,406	$ 3,371