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1908 Model-T
It's the year 1908. A little known American businessman has followed
a dream and done the unthinkable - brought the convenience of four
wheels to the masses. Henry Ford and his Model T would go on to
become legends in their own right, but on that fateful day of September
27th 1908 who would have thought that the car would go
on to change how cars were manufactured forever. The first production
Model T rolled out of Ford Motor Company's Piquette plant in Detroit,
Michigan in the USA and people took an instant liking to it. Ford
had invented neither the automobile nor the assembly line - all
he did was re-think both to create a fusion that enabled him to
build the Model T as inexpensively as possible. He even paid his
workers proportionate to the cost of the car, all the while creating
a ready market for the car also known as the Tin Lizzie. The advent
of the Model T turned the car from a luxury to a necessity. The first Model T designed by Childe Harold Wills, Joseph A Galamb and Eugene Farkas was powered by a 2.9 litre inline four motor producing 20hp that could propel the car to a top speed of about 70km/h. The car returned decent fuel efficiency (for the time) too - 5 to 9 kmpl as claimed by the company. Drive was given to the rear wheels via a transmission with two forward and one reverse gear. Ford went on to sell over 15 million Model Ts during its production run that lasted till 1927 in a variety of body styles including a pick up, station wagon, convertible and coupe among others.
The Model T was hard to start, uncomfortable to ride and thanks to its unusual two-speed gearbox it had a potential for behaving in an unexpected manner. But more than 15 million were sold and it put on of the greatest nation in the world on wheels.
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