12 Aug: Ford Puts The World On Wheels
The Ford Model T rolled into production on 12th August, 1908, still hand-assembled in much the same way as its rivals. But Henry Ford’s ambition for the car was bigger: to create a reliable, durable motor that ordinary Americans could realistically afford – a dream he later realised by deploying a moving assembly line.
Built from tough vanadium steel, the car could cope with the rutted, muddy roads of early 20th-century America better than many rivals. It had a 20-horsepower engine which was easy to maintain and could run on petrol, kerosene or ethanol, while a top speed of around 45 miles per hour. Adapted into a bewildering variety of body styles, it became everything from a family runabout to an ambulance, fire engine and military vehicle. By the time production ended in 1927, more than 15 million Model Ts had been sold.
In today’s episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly discover how Ford’s need for less skilled workers counterintuitively meant doubling his workers’ wages; explain how a trip to a slaughterhouse influenced his Detroit factory; and reveal why customers could have any colour – so long as it was black…
Further Reading:
• ‘Henry Ford – Case Study of an Innovator’ (The Henry Ford Museum, 2021): https://www.thehenryford.org/collections/explore/articles/henry-ford-case-study-of-an-innovator
• ‘US bids farewell to era of Model T’: (Financial Times, 2008): https://www.ft.com/content/36fe2ac2-58f1-11dd-a093-000077b07658
• ‘Driving a Ford Model T Is a Lot Harder Than You’d Think! We Tried It’ (Bloomberg, 2016):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MLMS_QtKamg
#Motoring #Inventions #1900s #US