Vehicle Description
The Ford Model T has an extensive history in the automotive market
lasting for nearly 20 years. It is often called the 'Tin Lizzie'
and the 'Flivver' and is credited with 'putting America on wheels.'
During the early 1900's, the automobile was very new and the market
place was adjusting to having these horseless carriages carry its
passengers rather than bicycles or horses. Steam, electricity, and
gasoline were the three means of powering the vehicles. Up until
about 1915, no one really knew which would be the favorable
power-source. Steam provided many benefits such as being quiet,
clean, and cheap. Gasoline or kerosene fuel was used to heat water
in a boiler; the steam produced was channeled to the cylinders,
where the pressure drives the pistons up and down. The shortcomings
were that it took a while to start, having to wait for the steam to
prepare. It was dangerous, often exploding and causing injury. It
had a limited range, lasting about 20-40 miles before requiring a
refueling. Electricity was popular but it too had a limited range.
It was easy to start and was very popular with the ladies for
driving around town. Then there was gasoline, which was dirty and
hard to start. It required fueling stations which were sometimes
difficult to find in this new and evolving marketplace. The main
benefit of the gasoline engine was that it had the most potential
and an ever increasing amount of power. It was said that how a
vehicle finished on the race track often determined the success of
sales. With gasoline engines winning most of the races, the other
sources of power were eventually doomed. There were over 200
automobile manufacturers during the early 1900's. The average
production figures for a factory were a couple hundred vehicles a
year. This of course varied greatly due to the complexity and
prestige of the vehicle being produced. Henry Ford, founder of the
Ford Motor Company, produced a vehicle that was affordable, but
more importantly, mass produced. By using an assembly line to
construct parts, rather than the traditional hand assembly, the
process was streamlined. Using an assembly line process was not
new, it had been done before in the meat packing industry. William
C. Klan had visited a slaughterhouse in Chicago. Upon returning
from his visit, he proposed the idea to Peter Martin. A team was
assembled and perfected through trial and error. The assembly line
did not begin operation on the Model T until 1914. The assembly
line process streamlined the production greatly, now averaging just
over 90 minutes to assemble a car. During 1914, there were more
Ford's produced than all other manufacturers combined. At that
point 'you get it in any color you wanted so long as it was black'.
Henry Ford favored the black color because it dried the fastest.
During the years 1917 through 1923, Ford did not do any
advertising, with 9 out of 10 cars being Fords, none was necessary.
He paid his workers a wage proportionate to the cost of the
automobile, so they would be able to buy what they produced. By
introducing these innovations, his factories were able to out
produce and outsell the rest of the industry and mobilize the
country. When production of the Model T began, the cost was around
$850, around $1200 less than most cars. By the early 1920's, the
price of the Model T cost about $300. Ford had found many ways to
cut costs and offer the least-expensive product. He instructed his
suppliers how to assemble the wood crates that were used to ship
him parts. The crates were then dismantled and used within the
bodies of the car. The scrapes were made into charcoal and sold
under the name 'Kingsford'. The first Model T was produced on
September 27th, 1908 at the Piquette Plant in Detoit, Michigan.
There are two classes of the Model T, those that were produced
before 1919 and after 1919. The pre-1919 Model T's are known as
veteran cars while the later models are called vintage cars.