The History of the Ford Model T

It bears repeating that the Model T was not the first car ever made. That distinction goes to the Benz Patent Motorcar in 1885, 23 years before the Model T. In fact, one could argue the first self-propelled vehicle that you could call an automobile arrived as early as 1770 in France. It was a steam-powered three-wheeled machine, developed by Nicholas-Joseph Cugnot.

But this three-wheeled, two-seat machine was a far cry from what we think of as an automobile. The Cugnot looked like it was cobbled together from horse-drawn wagon parts, because much of it was. The Benz Patent vehicle was more refined and used narrow-spoke wheels wrapped in rubber tires, elliptic springs and power was routed to the wheels via a chain drive.

The Benz vehicle had a one-cylinder four-stroke engine that was mounted horizontally behind the driver and passenger. Its output was just three-quarters of a single horsepower. A four-wheeled version would arrive in 1883 with a new-and-improved three-horsepower motor. Automobiles continued to evolve in slow, incremental steps, with outputs in the single digits. They became the exclusive playthings of the elite who could not only afford them, but could afford to deal with their temperamental engines. The world was in dire need of an affordable, reliable automobile for the masses.

The Model T wasn’t even the first “production” automobile. That distinction goes to the Oldsmobile Curved Dash in 1901. But before the Model T, early automobiles were hand-crafted with parts coming from other outfits across town. A batch of parts could vary wildly in quality and size, and the craftsmen would have to make that batch of parts work for that vehicle. As a result, there were hundreds of small automobile companies throughout Europe and North America.

Before becoming a titan of industry, Henry Ford worked for another titan, Thomas Edison. Ford was the Chief Engineer at Edison Illuminating Company in Detroit. He left to work on a vehicle in 1899, but had been working on the vehicle concept as far back as 1896 and the motor for it even before then.

After a very short stint with Detroit Automobile Company, he formed the Henry Ford Motor Company. Shortly thereafter, he resigned and also managed to retain the naming rights. The remaining elements of that company would evolve and go on to become Cadillac.

Around the turn of the century, there were multiple types of fuels competing to be the preferred method for automobiles, including gasoline, electric and diesel. Electricity was showing promise near cities that already had a grid, while gas and diesel were more practical for rural areas without as much infrastructure. Many early cars also required a dedicated mechanic to keep them on the road. All this meant that building an all-new mass-produced vehicle for the masses was a huge risk.

As you may have noticed, the alphabet does not start with the letter T. Ford made multiple versions of the car until they found the best design. The iterations were not just improving the car, they were improving the production process and speeding up assembly times. Production officially commenced in January of 1907.

Henry Ford did not create any of the methods used to make the Model T. He simply saw what others didn’t and used the methods that would produce consistent parts every time. This resulted in a vehicle that did not require a skilled laborer to assemble.

The Ford Model T went on sale on October 1, 1908, and sold for $850, or roughly $26,000 in today’s money. That’s still economy-car territory and was far less than other vehicles of the day. Ford’s aim was to continue lowering the price of the vehicle to make it attainable to the masses.

In order to promote the Model T, Henry Ford routinely performed publicity stunts. He would drive the Model T to remote locations, including to the top of Pikes Peak and up the steps of the Tennessee State Capitol building.

On purchasing his Model T, Henry Ford is famously quoted as saying customers could have any color car, "as long as it’s black." This was because Henry Ford was focused on (obsessed with) speed-to-market, and the paint-spraying process initially only worked with black paint. The earliest hand-built cars were available in multiple colors, and the additional color options would return as the mass-assembly process developed.

When production started, a task cycle (or the time it took for an employee to repeat a task, or how long it took to make a Model T), was essentially eight hours. Just six months later, that cycle time was down to five hours and 53 minutes.

The key to the affordable, reliable car and the moving assembly line was having a steady stream of interchangeable parts. In the past, a machine shop would produce a series of parts, and then the next batch would either come from another supplier, or the hand-crafted parts had slight differences from the previous batch. Instead, Ford built the machinery to create his own supply of consistent components. Not only did this make mass assembly possible, it meant an owner could purchase a part and replace it without having to be a skilled craftsman.

This meant that designing an entirely new car would cost much, much more. It required developing new machines and new tooling. In fact, to this day, when automakers are considering a new car, there is not only a large R&D cost, but the cost of setting up a new assembly line. And so the Model T production run went on for 20 years.

The Model T’s design was created at a time when most know-how evolved from horse-drawn carriages. Early automobiles were known as “horseless buggies,” and you can see it in the rudimentary design. It featured transversely mounted leaf springs at the front and rear, which allowed the wheels to jostle up and down through various types of terrain. The wheels were wooden artillery wheels, and the braking was performed by applying a band around a drum in the transmission.

The Model T featured an inline four-cylinder engine making 20 horsepower. It routed its output to the rear wheels through a two-speed transmission with planetary gear sets, as well as a reverse gear. In ideal settings, you could get it up to 45 mph. The Model T featured a retractable carriage top. Other than the windshield and putting the top up, it was an open-air vehicle and required bundling up in the winter.

Operating a Model T is not the same as hopping in your modern family sedan, pressing the start-stop button and driving off. In fact, operating it was more akin to that of a tractor. First, you had to hand-start the Model T, using a crank on the front. It should be noted that there were electric vehicles around in the first few decades of the 20th Century, and one of their selling points was not having to use this heavy crank.

There are three pedals on the floor, but the right pedal is the brake, the middle pedal is reverse and the left pedal is the clutch. The gas “pedal” is actually a stock on the right side of the steering wheel. The Model T had a 10-gallon fuel tank, but no fuel gauge in the dash. It averaged about 20 mpg, so you’d have to plan out your trip and have an idea of when you’d need to refuel.

Thanks to its affordability and Ford’s numerous publicity stunt, the Model T was an instant success. The easy operation and you-can-do-it maintenance made it realistic for many to own. Sales steadily grew from more than 10,000 in its first year to 170,000 a year by 1913, half a million in 1916 and more than a million per year in 1922. Ford sold 2.1 million vehicles in 1923. Such popularity would only ever be matched by one other vehicle, the Volkswagen Beetle.

We may look at a Model T and see a delicate antique, but it was surprisingly rugged. It could traverse mountain roads, farmland and snow-covered roads. This durability helped in its popularity, as city-dwellers and farmers alike could live with the Model T, which was affectionately referred to as “Tin Lizzy.”

A large part of its popularity and mass appeal was the choice of different versions. You could get the standard five-passenger touring car, a three-passenger roadster, a two-passenger runabout, a two-passenger coupe with an enclosed cabin and a six-passenger town car with an open-air driver area in the front and enclosed passenger compartment behind it.

The Model T was also capable as a utility vehicle. The Model TT featured a longer frame and heavy-duty running gear. Businesses could use it as a pickup truck, a box truck, a bus and more. Military versions were developed as ambulances, transports and even tracked versions.

As mentioned, there were hundreds of car companies throughout Europe and North America before the Model T. Companies that would have to adapt to Henry Ford’s style of production just to keep up. Many of these companies could not, and they are no longer around today.

But some companies chose to build cars the old-fashioned way because that’s what their extremely well-heeled customers wanted. Manufacturers like Rolls-Royce and Bentley built their brands around hand-crafted luxury, and that (albeit expensive) personalization elevated such automakers as elite luxury brands.

Other companies (not just automakers) would come and observe Ford’s moving assembly line. Just like Francis Cabot Lowell going to England to observe textile mills in London and bringing his lessons back to the States, these competitors would eventually adapt to Ford’s methods. It took some time, but by the 1950s, the moving assembly line was the standard.

In fact, the methods developed by Ford would be honed and perfected by companies like Toyota. The Japanese automaker would even go a step further, perfecting supply chains with its “just-in-time” production philosophy.

Henry Ford and his Model T changed the makeup of American society, and some could say even the societal makeup of much of the developed world. The Model T allowed Americans to spread out across our Great Nation, but Ford’s production processes influenced countless industries. Moving from skilled laborers to assembly line workers meant that automakers might view their employees as a disposable asset that could be laid off the moment demand did not require their presence. And those laid-off employees did not have a skill set to bring to another job.

It’s not hard to look at Henry Ford’s innovation and see great opportunity for many. However, there were many union-vs-management fights through the years over wages and job security. Yet, the automobile provided countless opportunities. Be it employment, or the empowerment to move somewhere new or even just get to work. The assembly line changed how and where people worked, likely influencing career choices and the futures of many. The impact that the Ford Model T had on the history of America and the world cannot be understated.

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