It was 100 years ago today, Mr. Ford taught the World to play....

[Mikado]

On March 19th 2008, a historically significant anniversary passed without any real fanfare; namely the 100th anniversary of the public introduction of the Model-T Ford; the car that, more than any, put the World on wheels. Contrary to popular perception, Henry Ford did not invent the automobile, nor was the Model-T the first mass-produced auto, it was however, the first car to be mass produced on a moving assembly line, however, that wasnt until 1913!
When Ford began producing cars in 1903, he was building "toys for the rich", as were other auto makers of the time; however, in the back of his mind, he was planning something new, a car for the masses......even if he had to fight every other director in his company to do so!(And he did, of course) What made the T unique, for it's day, was that it offered so much more, for so much less money! At a time when fenders, doors, windsheilds and even headlights were optional on most cars, they were standard on the Ford, not to mention 4 cylinders, which beat Fords "low-priced" competion, most of which made due with 1 or 2 cylinder engines! (And, while most other cars of the day were made of wood, iron and thin sheet steel, the Ford was made of the finest alloy materials!)
Thus, by 1913, a full half of the cars in the World were Model-T Fords;
which led to a new problem, they couldnt make enough of them to match orders. the answer was to be the production line; supposedly modelled on the conveyor belt system of the Chicago slaughter houses.....only, in reverse!!
(Instead of taking animals apart as they moved along a line, Ford planned to put Ts together!) The line led to riches all around , both for the Ford motor co and to Ford workers; and led to the mass-produced World that we live in today!
Model T production ended in 1927 after just over 17 million T cars were built, a record for a single model, until finally eclipsed by the VW Beetle, in 1972....except, the T did it in 20 years, wheras, it took 34 years for the Beetle to do the same.
Note: At the time, Henry Ford took all the credit for the assembly line but, we now know that credit for it's design and engineering should go to his production supervisor, Charles E. Sorensen, who actually built it. (Though likely, the idea WAS Ford's)

[Max Whittaker]

They don't make them like that anymore...

[ponytail]

This reminds me of a old Jerry Reed song, Lord Mr. Ford.

http://www.cmt.com/lyrics/jerry-reed...1/lyrics.jhtml

[AB]

Interesting article!

[Mikado]

Originally Posted by annball1957

Interesting article!

Thanks Ann, I guess I've always had a secret desire to write for a car magazine! I'm glad you like my writing style

[tv star collector]

Very timely. I was just reading an article this morning about Ford's Motel T
in the June-July 2008 issue of Reminisce magazine.

[Mikado]

Maybe you can post some quotes from the article in here, or in my classic cars thread

[DLevine2]

Originally Posted by Mikado

On March 19th 2008, a historically significant anniversary passed without any real fanfare; namely the 100th anniversary of the public introduction of the Model-T Ford; the car that, more than any, put the World on wheels. Contrary to popular perception, Henry Ford did not invent the automobile, nor was the Model-T the first mass-produced auto, it was however, the first car to be mass produced on a moving assembly line, however, that wasnt until 1913!
When Ford began producing cars in 1903, he was building "toys for the rich", as were other auto makers of the time; however, in the back of his mind, he was planning something new, a car for the masses......even if he had to fight every other director in his company to do so!(And he did, of course) What made the T unique, for it's day, was that it offered so much more, for so much less money! At a time when fenders, doors, windsheilds and even headlights were optional on most cars, they were standard on the Ford, not to mention 4 cylinders, which beat Fords "low-priced" competion, most of which made due with 1 or 2 cylinder engines! (And, while most other cars of the day were made of wood, iron and thin sheet steel, the Ford was made of the finest alloy materials!)
Thus, by 1913, a full half of the cars in the World were Model-T Fords;
which led to a new problem, they couldnt make enough of them to match orders. the answer was to be the production line; supposedly modelled on the conveyor belt system of the Chicago slaughter houses.....only, in reverse!!
(Instead of taking animals apart as they moved along a line, Ford planned to put Ts together!) The line led to riches all around , both for the Ford motor co and to Ford workers; and led to the mass-produced World that we live in today!
Model T production ended in 1927 after just over 17 million T cars were built, a record for a single model, until finally eclipsed by the VW Beetle, in 1972....except, the T did it in 20 years, wheras, it took 34 years for the Beetle to do the same.
Note: At the time, Henry Ford took all the credit for the assembly line but, we now know that credit for it's design and engineering should go to his production supervisor, Charles E. Sorensen, who actually built it. (Though likely, the idea WAS Ford's)

Who would of enjoying driving in this car 100 years ago? This car is so cool to look at from the picture of it.

[Mikado]

Originally Posted by DLevine2

Who would of enjoying driving in this car 100 years ago? This car is so cool to look at from the picture of it.

About 1/2 the cars in the World were Ts at one time....one thing you might find interesting is that model Ts were driven very differently than a modern car:

While the Model T does have three pedals on the floor, none of them is an accelerator. From left to right, they’re the clutch (for the two forward gears), a pedal for reverse gear and the brake.

The accelerator is that little lever on the right side of the steering column, where the turn signals are on a modern car. It’s right across from that left-side lever, which is the spark advance.

Then there’s that whole business about cranking the Model T – literally – to start it, using an actual crank that sticks out below the radiator.

There’s a right way to do that, too. Crank it incorrectly – with a thumb wrapped around the crank instead of under it – and the crank can break a thumb – or worse.

Of course, if one hasn’t set the long, floor-mounted hand brake on the left side of the driver’s seat, the car can run over the operator as it’s cranked and a sore thumb will be the least of his or her problems.

Releasing the hand brake and pushing the clutch pedal all the way to the floor engages low gear. (There’s no gear shift lever since the Model T has a planetary transmission.)

Staying in low gear means keeping one’s foot down on the clutch pedal as long as the car is in that gear, a position that Labadie said can create leg cramps during long and slow-moving parades.

On the open road, shifting into high gear meant letting the clutch pedal all the way out.

Braking is another matter. That involves finding the middle or neutral position between low and high gear so the right-hand brake pedal can be depressed without stalling the car. Done properly, this brings the T to a leisurely halt.

http://media.ford.com/newsroom/relea...?release=28516

[80sTrivia]

Wow... I wonder what kind of gas mileage it got... we might see them coming back to the road in the not-too-distant future!

[Mikado]

Originally Posted by 80sTrivia

Wow... I wonder what kind of gas mileage it got... we might see them coming back to the road in the not-too-distant future!

I'm not sure.....ill have to look that up!