CarBrandLogos archive · Ford · 1908

FordModel T

The car that made the motor car ordinary, and the factory system that did it.

Photo: ModelTMitch · Public domain

The story

A defining chapter in Ford history.

Explore the ideas, engineering and context that shaped the Ford Model T, then continue into its specifications and place in the marque's lineage.

Origins

Before 1908 the automobile in America was an expensive machine for people who could afford a mechanic. Henry Ford's stated ambition was the opposite — a car for the great multitude, cheap enough for a working family and simple enough that the owner could fix it. The Model T, introduced in October 1908, was designed backwards from that goal by a small team including Childe Harold Wills, Joseph Galamb and Eugene Farkas.

1908 Ford Model T · User Rmhermen on en.wikipedia · Public domain

Design and engineering

Every decision served durability and cost. The 177 cubic inch four-cylinder engine was cast in one piece with a detachable head, which was unusual and cheap. The two-speed planetary transmission was operated by pedals rather than a gate, so the car could be taught to anyone. Ford used vanadium steel extensively, giving high strength at low weight — important because American roads outside cities were largely unpaved tracks, and the T's high ground clearance and flexible chassis let it cross them. The whole car was designed to be repaired with basic tools and parts ordered by post.

1916 Ford Model T touring car · Stephen Foskett (Wikipedia User: sfoskett) · CC BY-SA 3.0

In production

The deeper change came at Highland Park in 1913, when Ford installed a moving assembly line. Chassis assembly time collapsed from many hours to a fraction of that, and the price of the car fell year after year as volume grew — a reversal of normal industrial practice that Ford deliberately pursued. In 1914 he doubled the daily wage to five dollars, which cut the ruinous labour turnover the line had caused and had the side effect of making his own workers customers. The famous line about any colour so long as it is black comes from this period, and it was a manufacturing statement: black japan enamel dried fastest.

1915 Ford Model T · OlliFoolish · CC BY-SA 3.0

Legacy

What followed was a change in how a country lived. Rural isolation ended, roads were built to meet demand rather than the reverse, and a vast supporting economy of fuel, tyres, garages and roadside businesses appeared. More than fifteen million were built at plants across America and abroad, and for years the Model T accounted for a majority of the cars on earth. Its weakness was its virtue. Ford refused to change the car while rivals added colours, closed bodies and instalment credit, and by the mid-1920s the T looked ancient. Production ended in August 1927, and the company shut down for months to retool for the Model A. No single product has done more to shape the twentieth century's physical landscape.

At a glance

The facts that define it.

Engine

177&nbsp

Designer

Childe Harold Wills

Body

collapsible list

Technical specification

The Model T, in detail.

Production: October 1908 – August 1927
Class: Economy car
Body style: collapsible list; 2-door touring (1909–1911) ; 3-door touring (1912–1925) ; 4-door touring (1926–27) ; no door Roadster (automobile); roadster (1909–1911) ; 1-door roadster (1912–1925) ; 2-door roadster (1926–27) ; Roads
Layout: FMR layout
Engine: 177 C.I.D. (2.9 L) 20 hp I4
Transmission: 2-speed planetary gear
Designer: Childe Harold Wills, main-engineer Joseph A. Galamb and Eugene Farkas
Assembly: collapsible list; United States: ; Detroit, Michigan ; Highland Park, Michigan ; Dothan, Alabama ; Atlanta, Georgia ; Denver, Colorado ; Los Angeles, California ; San Francisco, California ; Minneapolis, Minnesota ; Sain
Manufacturer: Ford Motor Company