The Model A was followed by the Model AC, the Model C and the Model B.
The Model AC had a larger engine than the original, the Model C had a front hood and a vertical radiator and the Model B at last was totally different as it reflected Alexander Malcomson’s ambition for a larger, more expensive car. It was a four-cylinder tourer with a 285ci (4670cc) engine. Henry Ford didn’t like the car at all as he wanted to build as many cheap cars as possible. The problems between Malcomson and Ford could only be solved by Henry elbowing his partner out of the company.
1923 Ford Model T © bsabarnowl/flickr.com
By 1906 100 cars were produced per day in the new factory on Piquette Avenue, Detroit. There were still three models on offer with the Model F being the final development of the Model C. The future though was lying in the Model N, because despite of having a 150ci (2458cc) four-cylinder engine it was not even half the price of the F. The big Model K with its six-cylinder engine was an expensive luxury car that again didn’t accord with Henry Ford’s ambitions. It was a hangover from the Malcomson days and Ford had to make the dealers take one for every ten of the Model Ns they ordered. In two years less than 600 Model Ks were sold.
The Models R and S were again keeping up more with Ford’s philosophy.
But all of these were dropped in October 1908 when the new car was launched – the Model T. It rather conventionally really, even though the new 178ci (2917cc) four-cylinder engine had a detachable cylinder head. But the very same two-speed epicyclical transmission was used as in every other model. A choice of different body styles, from a two-seater runabout to a seven-seater town car was available, and the Model T soon proved to be the most popular Ford yet.
Even though Henry Ford wasn’t the sole owner of his company, he was in full control and the ace up his sleeve was the new factory at Highland Park, outside Detroit. From August 1913 the Model T was produced there on moving assembly lines. Productivity boosted dramatically and the costs went down. In 1913 over 200,000 cars were built. In 1914 it was 300,000 cars and two years on even 738,811.
A result of the savings being made due to this mass-production, Ford was able to double the workers’ wages and the famous ‘Five Dollar Day’ gave Henry ford huge publicity. Crowds of job-seekers came to Detroit to work at the Highland Park plant even though the work was pretty hard as the pace of work was now dictated by the speed of the assembly line.
The cars also got cheaper of course. By 1915 the Model T tourer was only $440. The best year for the Ford Model T was in 1923 with over 1.8 million built and in 1924 it only cost $260. But even though in the early days people were happy to buy any car as long as it was cheap, customers became more demanding and now demanded four-wheel brakes, six-cylinder engines and a choice of different colours. So even Henry Ford had to admit that the Model T could not last forever and production was stopped in May 1927.
