On This Day: The Last Ford Model T Rolls Off the Production Line
On May 26, 1927, Henry Ford watched the final Ford Model T roll off the production line at his factory in Highland Park, Michigan. 15 million Model Ts had been produced since 1908.
As the first mass produced car in history, the Model T had an enormous impact on personal transport, but it also revolutionized production, culture, and the face of the American landscape.
Modern drivers would hardly feel at home in a Model T. The gas pedal is used to operate the brakes, the brake pedal sends you into reverse, and pushing the clutch gives you first gear. The accelerator stuck out from behind the wheel like a modern day indicator stalk and was hand-operated. Controls modern drivers would recognize were not invented until 1916.
Cars had been coughing about since 1896, but only aristocrats and extremely wealthy businessmen could afford them. Henry Ford sought to rectify this and envisioned a car “so low in price that no man making a good salary will be unable to afford one.”
Over 15,000 orders were placed within the first few days of the Model T’s release - Ford could hardly keep up with demands.
Ford was always looking for ways to cut costs without lowering quality. William Klann, a Ford employee, was impressed by the efficiency with which slaughter house workers dressed beef. Each worker was assigned to one section of the conveyor and performed the same task all day. Klann explained this system to Ford, who then implemented a similar process in his factories in 1913. Production time fell from 12.5 hours per car to just 93 minutes; it was the first moving assembly line in the world.
Around the same time, Ford offered his workers a $5 a day working wage (around $120 today) – double what most of his workers were paid at the time. Ford also reasoned that well rested workers would be more productive and in 1926 implemented an 8 hour workday, and the 5 day workweek.
The Model T was described as a ‘go anywhere’ car (there was even a tractor conversion kit) as roads at the time were unpaved and little more than carriage trails. As Model Ts rolled out of the factory gates, road networks were laid down across America.
The Model T gave personal transport to the masses, and allowed working class families to travel wherever they wished, a privilege once unattainable for all but the wealthiest Americans.
