Wow thank you so much!

For anyone else out there with a similar issue here is my final as I had some mistakes/typos in my classes:

$models = Manufacturer::where( 'manufacturer_name', 'ford' )->first()->relatedtoModel;

Class Manufacturer extends Eloquent {

protected $table = 'manufacturers';
protected $primaryKey = 'manufacturer_id';
protected $guarded = array('manufacturer_id');
protected $fillable = array('manufacturer_name');

public function relatedtoModel(){

	return $this->hasMany('Model','manufacturer_id');

}

}

Class Model extends Eloquent {

protected $table = 'models';
protected $primaryKey = 'model_id';
protected $guarded = array('model_id');
protected $fillable = array('manufacturer_id','model_name');

public function relatedtoManufacturer(){

	return $this->belongsTo('Manufacturer','manufacturer_id');

}

}