1914 Ford Model T

The Model T has an in-line 4-cylinder L head engine of 177 cu in. producing about 21 HP.  (Adequate) It is coupled to a 2-speed planetary transmission.  (Minimal but again, adequate)  It sits on a 100 in wheelbase employing a single ½ elliptical spring in the front and another ½ elliptical spring in the rear. (Surprisingly adequate though bouncy and not great at cornering)  Capable of climbing any road hill that could be expected from a horse and maxing out at around 38-40 MPH. (Better than some)

Henry Ford was a visionary and by all accounts a bit of an odd duck.  He had one great passion and that was to make personal transportation for the average Joe possible.  In the early days of automobiles, owning a car was limited to a small slice of the population.  Henry’s plan from the beginning was to correct that.  He ran into many obstacles on his way, but is world renown for succeeding in this endeavor.

The general thinking in the industry was to build a car that was rugged enough to endure the punishment of the existing roads and complete the journey with as few break downs as possible.  That thinking had the basic design of building it tough and heavy enough to “plow” over the ground.  (Think massive linebacker doing battle on the gridiron)  Henry took a very different approach.  Make it simple, light and flexible. (Think “float like a butterfly, sting like a bee”)  With the advent of vanadium steel which was strong but flexible coupled with many design innovations, the Model T became a reality.

Driving a Model T vs almost any other car, the difference is quite obvious.  It is like comparing a slinky walking down stairs to a bowling ball banging its way down the stairs.  They both end up at the bottom unscathed but one method is elegant and the other is just brawny.

A Model T is made of surprisingly few parts, many time having a single part do double and even triple duty.   The basic car was in production more or less unmodified for eighteen years!  How many other models can make that claim?  Constant efforts to produce it faster and cheaper kept the price shrinking to the point that a Model T in 1910 cost $780 and by 1924 it could be had for $290.  (That’s a bit over $5000 in today’s money)

It is almost impossible to overstate the impact the Model T had on the industry, or for that matter, the world.