- Despite the myths, the design of the Model T did change some throughout its production:
- For example, the body became progressively less angular in 1915 and 1917.
- In 1923, the whole car was lowered and the body was made more curvaceous.
- Ford began to produce closed-body Model T's, named Tudor and Fordor.
- Ford believed that price could overcome any slowing of the sales rate.
- Ford didn't offer credit because Henry thought it to be immoral.
- Tin Lizzie was its most common nickname.
- The immediate appeal of the T was based on its sturdiness, power, and value for the money.
- When it was introduced in 1908 for $825, it really wasn't that inexpensive - In 1908, a teacher's annual salary was $850.
- In 1986, the sticker on a Model T, costing $825, would work out to about $9400. Ford's closest modern equivalent at that time was the Tempo, which sold at just under $7000. The Tempo has since been replaced by the Contour, which starts off today at around $14,000.
- A four-cylinder, 20 horsepower engine with a semiautomatic transmission powered the Model T.
- The T's wheelbase was 100 inches and it weighed 1200 lbs., and its gas tank held 10 gallons.
- People usually named their Ts - more often than not with a female name.
- Supplying accessories for the car became an industry in and of itself - in the early 1920's, the Sears and Roebuck catalogue featured 5,000 different items for it.
- The original models came without a speedometer, windshield wipers, doors, and gas gauges.
- The Model T was made flexible to deal with the poor roads - if you drove it diagonally over railroad tracks, you could actually feel it bend.
- It was said that "The Model T converted a plaything of the European rich into the birthright of the American masses, and it started off that strangest of love affairs, the enduring emotional relationship between the American and his car." (Lacey 98)
- Demand for the Model T pushed the need for more efficient production. This was realized in the form of the moving assembly line.
- Ford's quality of machine parts facilitated its high degree of interchangeability - this was required for high volume production.
- In the beginning, assembly line production allowed the T to be built in 12 and half hours per unit. After myriad streamlining, this time per car was reduced to 93 minutes.
- The T was built on a single chassis design, but came with nine body styles.
- Model Ts were used as snowmobiles, to power farm machinery, sausage grinders, and newspaper presses.
Sources: Henry Ford: Mass Production, Modernism and Design Ford: The Men and the Machine The Henry Ford Museum The Press newspaper
Thanks to Brian Jorden for finding these quotes-
It is not the employer who pays the wages. Employers only handle the money. It is the customer who pays the wages. Henry Ford
Before everything else, getting ready is the secret of success. Henry Ford
There is one rule for the industrialist and that is: Make the best quality of goods possible at the lowest cost possible, paying the highest wages possible. Henry Ford
Time and money spent in helping men to do more for themselves is far better than mere giving. Henry Ford
Wealth, like happiness, is never attained when sought after directly. It comes as a by-product of providing a useful service. Henry Ford Most people spend more time and energy going around problems than in trying to solve them. Henry Ford
The highest use of capital is not to make more money, but to make money do more for the betterment of life. Henry Ford
The man who will use his skill and constructive imagination to see how much he can give for a dollar, instead of how little he can give for a dollar, is bound to succeed. Henry Ford
The only real security that a man can have in this world is a reserve of knowledge, experience and ability. Henry Ford
There are no big problems, there are just a lot of little problems. Henry Ford
|