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WHEELS FOR ALL MANKIND.

In many ways the tale of Henry Ford and the product associated with his name is a microcosm of American economic history – a story of trial and error, of innovation and ultimate success.

A farmer with a penchant for mechanical things, the young Ford quit school at 17, began building small steam engines, and drove his first bicycle-wheeled, engine-driven device in 1896.

It was a primitive affair, much simpler than cars already on the roads in Europe, and it was not until 1901 that the stubborn tinker, after several false starts, got enough financial support to start the Henry Ford Automobile Company. Financial disputes arose and Ford left. Two years later, with new backers, he established the Ford Motor Company. (When in 1919 Ford bought all outstanding shares, original investors reaped heavy rewards; a share that cost $ 100 was then worth $ 260000).

Ford was convinced that he could produce a good car at a reasonable price, and on October 1, 1908, he realized his dream with the unveiling of the Ford Model T. This was a straightforward, sturdy machine made of the best metals young Henry could obtain and propelled by a single 4-cylinder, 22-horsepower, 167-cubicinch engine. As early as 1913, his company was able to produce an astonishing 1000 Ts per day.

The T was an instant success and within months was outselling other American cars combined. What is more, Ford made good his pledge to reduce the T’s price. From $ 850 in 1909, the price dropped steadily to $ 260 for some models by 1924. By then, however, other manufacturers’ inexpensive cars with better methods of changing gears and more speed were outperforming the T on America’s improved roads.

Recognizing this, Ford and his engineers went to work, and in late 1927 they were ready with the company’s second breakthrough – the Model A. The car caught America’s imagination, and like its predecessor, the Model T, was an instant success. There was nothing revolutionary about the engine, but the car’s classical good looks and sturdiness endeared it to millions. Today the Model A Restorers Club has thousands of members, who proudly drive their prizes.

So in the 1920s, the car people called a “baby Lincoln” took America by storm. Some 4,5 million Model A’s were built in 5 years and even the most expensive version sold for under $ 600.

But times were changing. The Detroit manufacturers realized that the mass market was not only growing but would buy a wide variety of cars. This trend was encouraged by General Motors, which began to make annual model changes, supported by intensive advertising campaigns. The Detroit design syndrome was soon established. Each year the new models had to be sufficiently different from the ones before, to set them clearly apart (so that one’s neighbours would be sure to know that a car was new); yet it could not be drastically changed as to put out of character with previous models.

Today the Big Three-General Motors, Ford, and Chrysler - manufacture many different products. But the automotive industry owes an enduring debt to a mechanical genius named Henry Ford, the man who first put Americans on wheels.


Date: 2015-01-12; view: 960


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