Facts about The Ford Model T
- 09
Ford's magneto ignition system on the Model T could be operated by hand lever, allowing drivers to adjust engine timing while driving to compensate for different fuel qualities and weather conditions.
- 08
Drivers could purchase a Model T for $290 by 1927, less than one-third of its original 1908 price due to Ford's continuous manufacturing improvements and economies of scale.
- 07
Rubber tires on the Model T cost $35 per set in 1908, representing nearly 5 percent of the vehicle's total purchase price and wearing out after approximately 8,000 miles of driving.
- 06
Vanadium steel, used exclusively in Model T engines, provided superior strength and durability compared to conventional steel, allowing Ford to reduce engine weight while increasing reliability throughout the vehicle's 19-year production span.
- 05
Model T owners could purchase a $25 crank starter motor in 1912, eliminating the dangerous hand-crank starting method that frequently caused broken arms and wrists.
- 04
Only two colors were available for the Model T throughout most of its production run: black and dark green, though Ford famously declared that customers could have any color as long as it was black.
- 03
At $825 in 1908, the Model T cost roughly equivalent to the annual wage of an American factory worker, making it the first automobile affordable to the middle class.
- 02
Henry Ford reduced Model T assembly time from 12 hours in 1908 to 93 minutes by 1920 using his revolutionary moving assembly line.
- 01
Between 1908 and 1927, Ford produced 15 million Model T automobiles, accounting for roughly half of all cars sold worldwide during that period.