This Week In American History: On October 1, 1908 Henry Ford’s Model T went on sale for the first time. Sold by the Ford Motor Company, it was the first car designed to be affordable for ordinary people.
The Model T and the Emergence of Affordable Motor Vehicles
Modern cars were first built in Germany by Karl Benz in 1885. Meanwhile, the first American cars were built in Springfield, Massachusetts in 1893 by Charles and Frank Duryea. However, most ordinary people couldn’t afford them.
Ford Motor Company’s Model T, in circulation from 1908 to 1927, changed that. The Model T made owning a motor vehicle accessible to the average American. In fact, it was so popular at one point, a majority of Americans owned one. This directly helped rural Americans become more connected with the rest of the country and led to the numbered highway system.
Henry Ford Creates A Working Gasoline Engine
For years Henry Ford worked at creating a working gasoline engine. Finally, on Christmas Eve 1893 he successfully tested it. While the engine only worked for 30 seconds, it worked long enough to confirm for Ford he was making progress.
Ford developed the Quadcycle, a self-propelled vehicle, in 1986. On June 16, 1903 he started the Ford Motor Company. Previously, he served as chief engineer at Edison Illuminating Company of Detroit.
Official Model T Development Begins
Nearly four years later, in January 1907, official Model T development began. The Model T design incorporated various aspects of eight different car models that came before it. Ford assembled a team in his Detroit factory to bring the Model T to life. This team included engineer Childe Harold Willis, machinist C.J. Smith and draftsman Joseph Galamb.
The Model T Is Released
The Ford Model T was released on October 1, 1908. A self-starting vehicle, it was the first Ford to have all its parts built by the company itself. Although originally sold for $850, Ford aimed to continue lowering prices. Although considered reasonable, $850 was still slightly higher than the income of the average American worker.
The Highland Park Factory Is Built
In 1913 Ford built a new 60-acre factory in Highland Park to keep up with the demand of producing Model Ts. Ford’s Highland Park factory was considered the biggest in the world. Due to the new factory, Ford’s numbers of employees doubled.
In the Highland Park factory the first ever moving assembly line, utilizing conveyor belts, was constructed. This improved the assembly line of the manufacturing process.
Eventually each aspect of assembly was transformed into moving assembly. This improved efficiency and cut manufacturing time. In just six months the time to build a Model T went from nearly ten hours for one motor to just under six.
Ford divided his factory into sections. Each sections assembled a single part of the Model T. Eventually, the Highland Park factory featured 500 of these departments in its assembly line.
The Model T Makes Way For the Model A
Unfortunately, all good things most come to an end. In the mid-1920s other affordable motor vehicles came on the market. Although the Model T attempted to compete, sales dropped.
In 1927, Ford announced his company would no longer manufacture Model Ts. In the Model T’s place, Ford debuted the Model A in December of 1927.
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Info Source: History.com
Photo Source: Pixabay.com
