Ford Model T
After a couple of weeks of civil engineering topics, I am ready to get back to some mechanical achievements. This week I have decided to discuss the Ford Model T automobile. The Model T was the first ever car to be mass produced. It was introduced in September are manufactured until October 1927.
For some background, the Model T was made by the Ford Motor Company of Detroit and is also known as the “Tin Lizzie”. The Ford MC was founded in 1903 by Henry Ford. Initially all cars were hand made, with companies only producing a few cars a day. This made cars very expensive and most middle class Americans could not afford them.
Then comes the Model T. The reason for it’s naming was rather simple. There were nineteen models (models A-S) that Ford either tried to market or used as a prototype. The reason the Model T was so revolutionary is how it was made. Ford implemented an assembly line format to make the building of the cars more efficient and cheaper. In referring to the Model T, Henry Ford has this to say:
“I will build a car for the great multitude. It will be large enough for the family, but small enough for the individual to run and care for. It will be constructed of the best materials, by the best men to be hired, after the simplest designs that modern engineering can devise. But it will be so low in price that no man making a good salary will be unable to own one – and enjoy with his family the blessing of hours of pleasure in God’s great open spaces.”
It was Ford’s dream to make a car that anyone could afford. And he did that. The initial price was very steep, $850 in 1909 which calculates to around $21000 in today’s dollars, but by the 1920’s, the process has become more efficient and the volume of production had gotten so high that the price had fallen to $260, which is around $3,000 in today’s money. You cannot even get a decent used car for that now.
The first Model T left the Piquette Plant in Detroit, Michigan on September, 27th 1908. Initially a Model T took 12.5 hours to assemble, but Ford expanded in 1914 to include more man power and shorten production intervals so that it took only 93 minutes for one to be made and leave the production floor. At its peak production in 1925, between 9000 and 10000 were produced in a day. The Model T was so successful that Ford did purchase any advertising between 1917 and 1923. Henry Ford felt that the Model T was all the car anyone needed, all other companies could do was provide more luxury or comfort. When other companies began to offer the luxury and comfort at a more competitive price, Ford was forced to end the Model T’s production. It was replaced with the Model A which offered a more comfort for the driver.
The Model T revolutionized how the car was made. Ford got through the depression and is still around today thanks to the innovations and success of this early automobile.
Sources:
Milestones in Engineering History 
Interesting article. Do you know why Fod didn’t just alter the Model T to be more comfortable and luxury, while maintaining a competitive price? From the article, it seems like he just just got rid of it as soon as other cars started to compete with it.
The design was pretty similar, it just had a new name with updated features to cater to what the buyer wanted.
It’s pretty crazy how cheap the model T was back then. I can’t imagine going out and buying a car for $3,000 today. Do you know how the production time of the model T compares to the processes that most car manufacturers use today?
Because cars are more advanced now it does take longer. A typical time is around 24 hours.