Happy 100th Ford Model T!

Consumer Reports News: October 01, 2008 02:45 PM

One hundred years ago today the first Model T was produced. The car and its mass production assembly line rapidly put Americans on the road and forever influenced how cars were built.

A humble machine by today's standards, the rear-drive Model T had a 20-horsepower, four-cylinder engine capable of approximately 45 mph top speed. It had a 10 gallon fuel tank and returned from 13 to 21 mpg. The price tag for that 1909 model was $825. Because of new efficiencies like Ford's moving assembly line (introduced in 1913) and sheer volume, by 1925 the price of a Model T had dropped to $260.

The list of innovations connected to the Model T is storied and long: it was the first automobile that had standard and interchangeable parts. It was easy to maintain and sturdy enough to navigate the less-than-perfect roads of its era. Perhaps most significantly, it was the first car that many Americans could afford and arguably created the car culture we continue to live in today. Henry Ford paid his production line workers higher than many competing factory jobs, and some social historians claim that he helped create the middle class. In fact, Ford factory salaries were high enough so that workers could buy the car themselves.

Fifteen million Model Ts later, production ceased in 1927. And for the record, only 12 million were black.

Happy 100th, Tin Lizzie.

—Desiree Calamari