The Ford model t
“When I'm through, everybody will be able to afford one, and about everybody will have one.” -Henry Ford on the Model T |
When Henry Ford entered the automobile business, the automobile was only affordable to the rich. In fact, Ford's first automobile manufacturing company was the Detroit Automobile Company. At the time, he was selling the Model A which was still very expensive and he wanted to take the business in a new direction. Growing up on a farm, he felt isolated from much of society at that time. Believing that others felt the same way, he wanted to design a car that was affordable for middle class Americans. However, his investors didn't agree with this and pulled their funding, causing the business to go under. Later, Ford started Ford Motors mainly on his own, so not to have investors telling him what to do with his company. He began to draft and design the affordable vehicle he dreamed of in 1908 and the Model T was born. It was affordable mainly because of its use of Ford's assembly line. Though Ford did not invent the assembly line, he perfected it for his own needs reducing the time it took to build a car from about twelve hours, to less than six. Skeletons of cars passed from worker to worker on carefully timed conveyor belts as workers installed interchangeable parts. Because of this, he could reduce the cost exponentially and sold 48% of all automobiles in America. It was mainly successful based on how it was made and sold rather than the actual product. However, even though it was cheap, the Model T ran very well and was easy to handle, use and fix.
What else made the Ford Model T special? It was easier to drive than most cars, as it used pedal operated bands instead of a clutch with sliding gear for the transmission. It was started by hand crank, making it more reliable. Also contributing to it's ruggedness and reliability were it's lack of oil and water pumps that could fail, and it's lack of generators. Not including these parts made maintenance and repairs much easier.It also had a different braking system in the form of a band that tightened on a transmission drum, preventing the drive shaft from turning. There was also a lever operated brake that locked the rear axle in case of an emergency. It was also a very lightweight 1200 pounds. Another popular feature of the Model T were its five different body styles being: -The five-passenger Touring -The two-passenger Runabout -The seven-passenger Town Car -The seven-passenger Landaulet -and The two-passenger Coupe Because of Henry Ford and his Model T, almost every American would own an automobile and an entirely knew America of highways and suburbs would come to light. |