Great Cars: MODEL T Ford

many believe that Henry Ford invented the automobile he didn't but it's a popular misconception it's a tribute to the man who made owning a car possible for millions a vast organizations sprang from his desire to make automobiles for the great multitude but one car stands above the rest the car that made it all possible the Model T [Music] thousands of people made a pilgrimage to Dearborn Michigan in June of 2003 to celebrate the hundredth birthday of the Ford Motor Company it was a remarkable five-day event that demonstrated the impact Ford has had on the world the fans had a chance to see the world's largest display of current and historic cars that have made it so famous [Music] company chairman William Ford the great grandson of Henry Ford and his cousin Edsel were there for the celebration it was a reminder that this is still a company that's connected to its namesake a caravan of Model T's arrived from around the country to kick off the affair some of these cars were nearly a hundred years old and were still running strong like the company that a restless young man Henry Ford started in 1903 [Music] Ford was born in 1863 on a farm in Dearborn Michigan during a time of turmoil the American Civil War while the war tore the country apart he would turn his love of machines and steam engines into something that would bring it together his father hoped his son would become a farmer but Henry hated the drudgery of farm work when he was twelve his father took him on a buggy trip to Detroit they passed a steam-powered locomotive [Music] Henry began to dream of building a lighter smaller version of this contraption to relieve the farmers Burton and help break the isolation of farm life he studied engineering in his free time and after high school became an engineer at the Detroit Edison lighting company he rented a garage on Bagley Avenue in Detroit and started work on making his dream a reality he switched from steam to gasoline power and began to tinker with internal combustion engines [Music] Ford wasn't the first person to think of a gasoline-powered buggy a few years earlier Daimler and Benz had introduced working models in Germany as had panhard in France while other pioneers targeted the wealthy Henry wanted an automobile that was cheaper faster and better in June of 1896 Ford finally opened the doors of his garage and out rolled his first attempt at an automobile the quadricycle it's four-cylinder engine sat on a small buggy body this motorized buggy rolled on heavy wire wheels that looked like they belonged on a bicycle [Music] while Henry worked to improve his invention with a radiator a better card wetter and increased power the new Detroit automobile company hired him to design experimental cars unfortunately the company failed [Music] Henry decided to focus his time and energy on a race car he thought a few wins would make a name for him and attract backers to fund his dream car in 1901 Ford built the sweepstakes and Ashe framed weode sled powered by a massive 8.8 liter two cylinder engine the car wasn't very fast and its handling was scary the steering had to be manually unwound after each turn because the technology for self-centering wheels hadn't been invented Ford and the sweepstakes won their first race in October 1901 he beat the leading manufacturer and reigning national champion driver of the day Alexander Winton the victory generated headlines all over the country Ford's next racer that mighty 999 brought Henry even more publicity on October 25th 1902 Barney Oldfield set a world record in the 999 he drove it a mile a minute and this phrase uttered in a new era [Music] in 1903 Ford the racing star was finally able to line up backers to launch his car company capitalizing on his fame they called it the Ford Motor Company [Music] within months the Ford Motor Company on Mac Avenue in Detroit was producing the model a a low priced car with an 8 horsepower engine orders came in faster than that could be filled after the Model A in 1903 Henry skipped a few letters had made it all the way to of models R and s by 1906 he outgrew his original Factory and moved to a much larger building at Paquette and beaubien streets in Detroit [Music] his cars were selling but Ford wasn't completely happy with them most were still Richmond's toys he said he wanted to build a car for the great multitude of the finest materials available by the best workmen that can be hired so that every man with a decent income can take a ride in the countryside and enjoy God's great pleasures while Henry was convinced a car for the common man was what was needed his investors disagreed [Music] tired of bickering he bought up all their shares in the company he finally had full control to do whatever he wanted [Music] he overhauled his Factory on Paquette Avenue to produce a new car the Model T [Music] he assembled a small team of draftsman who worked night and day in a 12 by 15 foot room at the back of the factory [Music] but then we secretive Ford installed a drafting table so his ideas could be drawn up and hidden from the prying eyes of competitors for good luck he brought in his mother's rocking chair he spent many long nights in it thinking about his new car finally his dream the Model T chucked out and into history on October 1st 1908 for call it the universal car millions of people affectionately called it the tin Lizzie many say Lizzie was named after a lizard looking like a fast little reptile the Model T was also called a flivver a name inspired from what the bouncy car did for the liver Lizzie had a four-cylinder 20 horsepower engine stood seven feet high and weighed only 1,200 pounds the chassis strong and light weight was made out of vanadium steel [Music] the Model T was by no means a racecar forty miles an hour was about all it could muster just right for the unpaved roads of the day it was a hit over 10,000 Model T's were sold in the first year an industry record these initial buyers could have their tin Lizzie in black red green French gray or pearl the initial price tag of the Model T was eight hundred and fifty dollars a steal considering the average car buyer could expect to spend about $2,000 one of the Model T's early brochures claimed the Ford is a better car not because it's cheap but because it's worth more ford had to ramp up production to keep pace with sales he experimented with different ideas separating assembly into simple repeatable tasks timing how long each step would take he needed to be efficient over 18,000 Model T's a year were flying out of the factory and orders kept coming in others noticed his success Billy Durant the founder of General Motors wanted to buy Ford motor but couldn't convince the bank's that it was worth the 18 million dollar asking price Ford remained independent and beat back a patent infringement lawsuit that others feared to fight George Sheldon and his syndicate had cowered most automakers into paying them royalties for every car they produced Ford refused and when a federal judge agreed the Selden patent was broken the automobile business could now flourish [Music] Ford felt the best part about the entire lawsuit was the publicity for his Model T the free publicity was just what he needed throughout the entire legal proceedings orders continued to pour in in 1908 to keep up with demand Ford asked famed architect Albert Kahn to design a massive new factory in Highland Park the Highland Park plant was the biggest job Kahn had ever attempted he didn't believe something of that magnitude could function efficiently but he gave it a try when the plant opened on New Year's Day 1910 it was dubbed the Crystal Palace the 860 foot structure had Windows running its entire length it was efficient and modern but within just a few years it too would become cramped [Music] by 1913 Henry Ford broke the 200,000 mark in Model T production the first moving assembly line made this possible conveyor belts transported small parts to the worker they perform a specific task and the piece would move on to the next work station Ford had developed this innovative system after hearing about a Chicago meat packer their slabs of meat on hooks move down the line and were basically disassembled Ford thought if they can disassemble a cow why not reverse the process and assemble cars by August of 1913 the chassis assembly line was moving Ford workers were able to complete a car in 93 minutes an astonishing speed considering most automakers were still measuring their production time in days in 1914 Henry Ford uttered those famous words the public can have any color so long as it's black the explanation the black enamel was the only finish that dried quickly enough for assembly line production Henry Ford was reluctant to make any changes in his dream car he thought it was absolutely perfect except for a little modification here or there one of the most astonishing changes was the drop in price by 1914 it cost only 490 dollars nearly half the original price prices fell as costs plummeted due to the efficiency of the assembly line and the use of standardized parts Ford was now building nearly 300,000 Model Ts every year the Model T was a phenomenon more than a half million Americans owned attend Lizzie the only paved street in most towns was usually Main Street often a one lane brick road but after Ford built the first stretch of concrete highway things began to change as Ford had hoped the Model T brought people off the farm and into the city it even took people out of the city and into the country as roads improved people started to take car trips vacations the Model T was being used for pleasure driving Model T production exceeded even Ford's wildest dreams and he began work on a dream house Henry and his wife Clara decided to build a million dollar estate fair lane on a parcel of land in Dearborn while Henry and Clara were living the good life Ford's 15,000 workers were becoming disenchanted assembly line production was boring and tedious he needed to stem absenteeism and keep his production lines humming On January 5th 1914 Ford implemented the $5 de double the existing minimum rate he also cut the workday from 10 hours to eat the announcement sparked a riot as thousands showed up to claim one of the high paying jobs the pay raise shocked the editors of the New York Times they asked Ford if he was a socialist The Wall Street Journal was aghast Ford shrugged his shoulders he found that better paid workers could also buy his cars if you cut wages you just cut the number of your customers he said to some Ford was a revolutionary the Model T started a rural revolution his $5 a day started a social revolution and the moving assembly line an Industrial Revolution [Music] but this revolutionary wanted to make sure the employees who were paid $5 a day deserved it he set up a sociological department to make sure they were able to cope with their earnings and that their home life fit in with what Ford deemed proper investigators would tell people how to keep house and how to handle personal situations at first employers thought this program was beneficial but soon realized it was an intrusion while people were in love with the Model T some was starting to lose respect for Henry Ford they didn't like how involved he became in his employees lives and some were upset with the virulent anti-semitic articles published in his newspaper the Dearborn independent Ford eventually apologized for these remarks but by then the damage was done [Music] one person who probably was offended by the papers anti-semitism was Albert Kahn but the Jewish architect was not about to criticize Ford one of his best and oldest clients especially when things were starting to roll with a new factory along Detroit's Rouge River Ford wanted the new factory near his Fairlane estate he envisioned single-story buildings to house all car production the factory that unloaded raw iron core at his docks at one end and turned out cars at the other an industrial breakthrough during World War one force factories made Eagle boats or submarine chasers and other armaments for the war effort Ford also supplied vehicles for the ambulance corps the American field service and American Red Cross driven by volunteers like Ernest Hemingway this go-anywhere vehicle proved it was ready to serve the Model T was recommended for the Distinguished Service Cross by this time Henry Ford was not only rich he was a mega celebrity people listening to his friends Thomas Edison and Harvey Firestone joined him on a radio show his circle included celebrities inventors and politicians he set up camping trips with a few of his special friends known as the vagabonds the group erupted in the wilderness with cars stoves refrigerators and teams of servants [Music] the vagabonds included Thomas Edison president warren g harding Harvey Firestone and naturalist John Burroughs [Music] toward the end of the decade Ford started making a few more changes to his Model T such as lowering the body and frame for a more sleek appearance [Music] overall it was basically the same car Ford might have been too involved with other ventures to notice that the Model T was growing old in 1924 he was 61 it was 16 On June 15th the 10 millionth Lizzy left the factory and was snapped up at the lowest price ever two hundred and ninety dollars other automakers were now making comparable cars but the Model T was still selling six to one over other marks however it would soon begin to lose ground [Music] Chevrolet's cost a hundred and fifty dollars more but appealed to younger people who wanted to be Martin they used buick was about the same price and had more features comfort and status finally Ford had to concede that the race was over for the Model T on May 27th 1927 the last one rolled off the assembly line the Model T was missed by people around the world the widow of novelist st. Clair Lewis later wrote that her husband was prouder of his model T than his Nobel Peace Prize millions of cars have come out of the Ford factories since the Model T was introduced classics like the Mustang and the Thunderbird and a few flops like the Edsel Ford became the largest producer of trucks and the second largest producer of cars and trucks combined it sells more than 80 different vehicles worldwide including the fabled marks Aston Martin Jaguar Land Rover and Volvo but no matter what Ford goes on to produce it's unlikely that it will ever create a car that was more important than the Model T it literally put the world on wheels uniting people from all walks of life it's occurred the automobiles future [Music] you

Channel: King Rose Archives

Views: 68,754

Rating: 4.8731217 out of 5

Keywords: Henry Ford, Tin Lizzie, Highland Park Factory, Edsel Ford, moving assemblyline, five dollar a day wage, American legend, Any color as long as its black, mass production, Model A Ford

Id: mon6kfQAgUg

Length: 25min 4sec (1504 seconds)

Published: Thu Oct 26 2017

Reddit Comments

[u/the_last_carfighter]

Ford during Model-T production specified what type of wooden crate he wanted his front glass to be shipped in, the supplier was more than happy to oblige, didn't ask questions. After all what do they care if that was odd, they were making money like they had never seen before. The crate was then used as part of the Model-T's floorboard.