Essay on Evolution of the Automobile Industry and Henry Ford

With the success of the assembly line, Ford was very please however he had a bigger goal set. Ford wanted to produce cheap cars for the common people to use. Ford made many different types of cars and experimented with each of them. They were all good but not good enough. After many different models, Ford achieved his goal with his invention of the Ford Model T. The Model T was a fully functional compact automobile with a good transmission and torque as well as comfort and size. Apart from that, the most important aspect of the Model T was that is was extremely cheap. As Sobel states,”...the model T was only worth $290 in 1924.” This was a huge

Ford’s dream was to produce a moderate priced, reliable, and efficient automobile, which came with the Model T in 1908.3 A company that started out small, now had over half of the car owners in America driving the Model T.1 It was easy to operate and maintain, it also handled good on rough roads. It was the most popular automobile in history, and over fifteen million were sold. With the Model T, Ford achieved his goal to make reasonable priced cars for the average person. 2

When Americans get into their vehicles every day to go to work or school, they do not normally think about how much transportation has evolved over the years. People started out walking and then later moved to horse and buggies. During the early 1800’s, railroads were being built from east to west in this country and trains began to take over. As cities grew, people looked for ways to travel more efficiently. The work of Henry Ford made a lasting impact on America in regards to both transportation and manufacturing.

The automobile industry made owning an automobile more available to the public. Factories began producing cars in higher numbers than one craftsman would ever be able to. “The first automotive production on a commercial scale began in France in 1980, but the United States in the 1900’s became equal to the European automobile factories. The Europeans used engineering and handcraft methods, while the U.S. had plants that used the assembly line” (The History). Frank Duryea of Springfield, Massachusetts developed the first gasoline powered automobile in the United States, and over the next twenty years 8 million cars were manufactured and sold (Clayton 501). On the other hand, Henry Ford’s first working gasoline engine was completed at the end of 1843, and “by 1896, he had completed his first horseless carriage, the Quadricycle, so called because the chassis of the four- horsepower vehicle was a buggy frame mounted on four bicycle wheels” (Curley 165). Ford revolutionized factory production with his assembly line methods (Curly 163). The assembly line remained hard on laborers, required them to perform routinely repetitive tasks for hours on end. To retain workers, Henry Ford paid workers five dollars a day, and employees only work eight hour days. Mass production techniques rapidly increased worker productivity and output, allowing more cars to be made and to sell for less money. By the 1920’s, the number of registered vehicles rose over fifteen million, because of Henry Ford’s assembly line, which made manufacturing automobiles more time efficient and less costly, making automobiles less expensive. In 1929, Ford, who was one of Thomas Edison’s greatest admirers, asked him to design a battery for a self-starter, to be introduced on the Model T, which was Ford’s car for the common man (Curley 139). At the time of his death in 1947, Henry Ford’s

The model T was the first affordable car for all people in America. It was a huge step in the advancements of Americans and allowed people to get things done a lot faster than the old ways of

In 1908 Henry Ford had constructed the Model T; the time it took him to create this automobile was 13 days. Now eager to achieve more, Ford knew that he needed a place to construct these cars. He also knew that to sell mass amounts he would have to sell cheap, and buy parts and supplies even cheaper (Douglas, 25). The construction of the first Ford Motor plant used the world’s only conveyer belt. This was part of the Fords plan to build fast, when he constructed the assembly line cars were pumped out in as fast as 15 minuets, this was down from 19 days. Ford was able to make the automobile a car for everyman, a working man with a family.

Henry Ford was a very intelligent man throughout his life. Henry was only eleven when he began experimenting in his workshop (Barbara Mitchell,7). Henry grew up on the Ford farm just outside of Detroit (Barbara Mitchell,12). When he was sixteen he left the farm and went to live and work in Detroit (Mitchell Barbara,12). Henry wanted to learn more about technology so he can build the first motor vehicle. "At four o’clock one morning in the spring of 1896, Henry, Clara (Henrys wife) and a friend named Jim Bishop gathered around

In October of 1908 Henry Ford proclaimed “I will build a motor car for the common man, and that’s when the Model T was born. In the 19 years of the Model T’s existence, Ford built more than 15 million of the Model T and they were sold around the world. In fact in their time Model

In the early 1900’s there were very few car manufacturers in the United States and only the very wealthy owned a car. Henry Ford saw this as an opportunity to produce an affordable vehicle

It is hard to credit one single person for the invention of the automobile. There was over 100,000 people who created different versions of the automobile. The person who takes credit for the first is Nicolas-Joseph Cugnot, a French military engineer who built the steam-powered tricycle for hauling artillery in 1769. Tricycle means it only had three wheels. The single front wheel performed both wheel functions and steering. It could drive at a speed of 2.25 miles per hour with four passengers within 15 minutes. Henry Ford is also given credit for the first automobile. Henry Ford invented the Model T the Model T changed the way people lived, worked, and traveled the way that Ford made this was through an assembly line. Also the assembly line made the Model T affordable to the majority of America. This way that the average working man could afford the car and not just a wealthy man. There was more the 15 Million Model Ts built in Michigan. The Model T was built from 1908 until 1927. This was made so that it is a affordable transportation for the common man. This became very popular for the very low price, durability, versatility, and easy to maintenance. The use of the assembly line saved the cost from in 1908 of $850 all the was to $300 in 1925. Even before it lost popularity to larger, or more powerful, and more comfortable cars, it was known as “Tin Lizzy” and “flivver.” These had became American folkloric symbol, Ford's goal was to democratize the automobile. The Model T was offered in several different body styles. One of the cars was a two seater runabout car. Another car was a five seater car. The last one was a seven seat town car. All of these bodies were put onto a 100 inch wheelbase chassis. It was usually available to have a color of your choice but from 1913 through 1925 the only color they had manufactured was black. The fuel tank also held ten gallons. If the Model T was driven fast it would be less comfortable because of it rattling. People don't usually get in a car and think wow i wonder how this car was made. They will just go throughout the motion that they always do and think nothing about it. The only time you ever take a look and think about how it was made is when something bad happens.

Ford's car was designed with the needs of the buyers. The first buyers were mainly farmers and residents of small towns. One important fact was that the driver himself, without help of experts, could repair the model T’s simple mechanical system. Moreover, the mass of buyers were attracted by the immense enjoyment of driving. The model T reached almost everywhere, climbed steep terrain, even when they were no roads.

As time proceeded changes were made to the basic Model T and as you can see it came a long way as a two cylinder- eight horse powered vehicle. “The mass production techniques Henry Ford championed eventually allowed Ford Motor Company to turn out one Model T every 24 seconds” (History 3). This quote from the webpage indicates the impact his ideology had on his business and how much his company got done with such tactics. After

Henry Ford was an engineer from Detroit, Michigan who had an idea. By 1902, Ford had attempted several times to produce a gas powered vehicle, but with little capital, he realized that his attempts were futile. Ford approached a man by the name of Alexander T. Malcomson about the possibility of manufacturing an automobile. Malcomson, a friend of the family and wealthy coal merchant was reluctant at first but finally agreed with Ford, and decided to assit Ford financially with his endeavor. With Malcomsons investment and Ford's engineering skills a partnership was formed and in mid June of 1903, papers of incorporation for the Ford Motor Company were filed in Dearborn, Michigan.

Being priced this economically took cars from being toys owned by the more fortunate to tools for the everyday middle class. Many have gone as far as giving Henry Ford credit for allowing people to leave their immediate surroundings. The Model T was sold until 1927, ending its run at an astounding 15 million units sold (Automobiles).

Since the development of the steam engine people had been interested in creating self-powered vehicles, this manifested during the industrial revolution as the train. However, as time went on people became interested in creating a vehicle that wasn’t confined to tracks. The earliest attempts were moderately successful but served little practical purpose. Automobiles first began to truly spread with the invention of the electric motor which created cheaper, more powerful, and safer automobiles. Still the automobile still had numerous problems and were mainly in the hands of the rich. It was the development of the internal combustion engine and the assembly line that was truly able to create a practical vehicle that could be used by all and