| Many people think that Henry Ford invented the | | | | new Model T was down to $260. The reason for this |
| automobile and the assembly line, but that is not | | | | was that as more cars were made, the price was |
| correct. He did change the world by using the | | | | dropped. By 1913 the Ford company could put together |
| assembly line to manufacture cars and put America | | | | a car in 93 minutes, and sold 200,000 vehicles. |
| on wheels. From 1909 until 1927, Ford turned out the | | | | Top speed for the 1927 Model T was between 35 to |
| Model T. The 1927 Model T gave way finally, to the | | | | 40 miles per hours, which was pretty good considering |
| Model A. However, from its beginning to end, more | | | | that the paved road was still off in the future. Engine |
| than 15 million Model T cars were made. Henry Ford | | | | cooling was very primitive as was lubrication. The gas |
| almost singlehandly transformed America's social and | | | | tank was situated under the front seat with fuel fed to |
| economic outlook in the 20th Century. | | | | the engine by gravity. Foot pedals were used to |
| The 1927 Model T represented a basic formula for | | | | operate the two speed transmission. Rims became |
| success. It was a simple and durable car that was | | | | available for $25 in 1919. Ford's better idea took his |
| turned out of the factory more economically than | | | | company from making 10,000 cars per year in 1908 to |
| another other vehicle of the time, because of Ford's | | | | 2 million cars just 15 years later. Ford was outproducing |
| use of the assembly line. The Model T while made on | | | | all of the other American car makers put together. |
| the cheap, was not cheaply made. For instance, the | | | | In the first years of Ford Car making, the only color |
| engine was cast en bloc, whereas other car makers | | | | that Model T cars came in was black. Ford is alleged |
| made one cylinder at a time and put them together. | | | | to have said, the public can have any color it wants, as |
| Ford also came up with the removable cylinder head. | | | | long as its black! Kind of funny now, but back in those |
| Many feared incorrectly that the cylinder would leak, | | | | days, Japan black enamel paint was the only paint that |
| but that was not the case. Model T initially cost $825 | | | | would dry fast enough to keep up with the helter |
| when made in 1909. But by 1927 the price of a brand | | | | skelter pace inside the Ford plant on the assembly line. |