Henry Ford had founded The Ford Motor Company in 1903, and the Model T Ford was not his first car on the road. But during the 19-year production life of the Model T, it became the most famous automobile in histroy, due to its fine workmanship, excellent materials, and especially its low price.
Early Ford Model T automobiles were produced in Detroit, Michigan at the plant on Piquette Avenue. Henry Ford's stated intention was to produce the first automobile affordable to the masses. Indeed, from its $850 initial pricetag in 1908, Ford's introduction of assembly-line mass production eventually lowered the price to under $300. By 1918, nearly half of the cars on the roads in America were Model T Fords.
The advent of assembly lines cut the average assembly time from around 12 hours per car to about one and a half hours. The oft-repeated legend that Henry Ford required all Model T's be painted black had a practical basis, in that the particular black paint in use dried much quicker than other sources, and thus further speeded production. The use of interchangeable parts not only speeded production, but reduced the cost of subsequent repairs.
The typical Model T seated five passengers, produced 20 horsepower in its 4-cylinder engine, achieved a top speed of 45 mph, and ran on either gasoline or ethanol. Fuel economy was 15 to 20 miles per gallon. Ethanol became outlawed during Prohibition and gasoline became extremely cheap, so all alcohol and battery-powered vehicles faded from the scene.
The Model T also became known as the Flivver or the Tin Lizzie. The original open touring car was soon joined by various closed models, and eventually small trucks. Early designers included Childe Wills, Harry Love, Eugene Farkas, Joseph Galamb, Gus Degner, and Peter Martin.
Most Model T's had only two forward gears and reverse. They had rear-wheel drives.The reverse gear often proved essential since the initial placement of the 10-gallon fuel tank was a good deal behind and a bit lower than its front-mounted engine. On steep hills, the car would often stall out when the tank wasn't completely full, leaving the driver to back up the hill in reverse in order to maintain the flow of fuel.
Model T's were incredibly durable and dependable. Even after the introduction of electric starters (activated by a peddle on the floor board), the hand-cranked magneto remained part of the design as a back-up starting method.
The wooden spokes on the artillery wheels with their pneumatic tires evolved to metal.
The Model T was not the twentieth model made by Ford, as the alphabet would dictate. But it was a refinement of a number of prior Ford creations. Ironically, when Model T production finally gave way to something new, Ford dubbed his new creation the Model A, saying it was a whole new start.
The Model A, however, never achieved the same massive impact of its predecessor. More than 15 million Model T automobiles were eventually manufactured. This world record was not surpassed until 1972 by the Volkswagen Beetle.
The first automobile was built in 1932 and was fast and durable (Vettraino, 2007). The Model T was the first commercially built car that had wide appeal for Americans. The car was so versatile that people used it for commercial purposes, for personal use and even modified these cars for their farm power. The automobile industry was launched with Henry Ford's manufacturing processes.
Around 1946 Ford adopted the scientific methodical control processes that helped to speed up production, increase efficiency and reduce mistakes (Hindo & Herbst, 2006). Through this method Ford was a major contributor to World War Two's success. They were able to crank out military machinery in both an efficient and cost effective method that was almost unseen by any of the European counterparts.
Ford's track record remained strong until the Pinto came production and it was viewed by the public as though Ford made a conscious choice of profits over safety (Bonamici, 2005). At this time Ford held the belief that the amount of lawsuits and payouts over a few deaths was more cost effective then putting in place safety controls. It was conscious decision that created a negative image of Ford but since there were few competitors it didn't seriously damage the company in the long-term.
Since this time Ford has been successful keeping pace with other automobile industries but as international competition with smaller versions of cars became a reality Ford, as well as other American auto manufacturers, began to suffer. The biggest downfall Ford realized was that they were not able to see the growing trends of globalization.
In today's world Japanese and Korean cars are a powerful force to be reckoned with and are increasing market share in both the U.S. and Europe (Bongard, 2006). The quality of these cars is high and the price is more affordable then many American brands which continue to lose market share year after year. As Ford slips further down the world's top three list the Company must make hard decisions.
Ford must rethink its global strategy in the face of a declining public image and increased international competition. Their vehicles need to have stronger appeal outside the United States if the company desires to be more then an American novelty. They may need to rethink their designs, cost, processes, labor management, and other aspect of their competitiveness.
The Company has come a long way since its original first 13 investors and it is doubtful that these investors would have any idea what a success their company became (Mortimer, 2003). It is also doubtful that they would have ever known about the challenges the company currently faces with post-war Japan.
Bonamici, K. (2005). 1872: Ford decides to let the Pinto explode. Fortune, 151 (13).
Bongard, A. (2006). Ten going on twenty. Ten going on twenty. Automotive News Europe, 11.
Foote, C., Whatley, W., & Wright, G. (2003). Arbitraging a discriminatory labor market: Black workers at the Ford Motor Company, 1918-1947. Journal of Labor Economics, 21 (3).
Hindo, B & Herbst, N. (2006). Timeline. Business Week, 3998.
Mortimer, J. (2003). In the beginning, the prospects were dim. Automotive News Europe, 8 (11).
Vettraino, J. (2007). Henry Ford could never have thunk it. AutoWeek, 57 (33).
Both Lawrence Bell & Murad Ali are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
Lawrence Bell has sinced written about articles on various topics from Ford. Lawrence R. Bell is Editor of The Antiques Bible at