Automobiles · Vol. III|Ford Model T|1908 (car); 1913 (moving line)
Ford Model T
1908 (car); 1913 (moving line)
The Model T was not the first car. It was the first car many families could buy. High ground clearance, simple mechanics, and a falling price — $850 in 1908, under $300 in the 1920s — put five million, then fifteen million, on the road. The moving assembly line of 1913 made the price possible. The product and the factory invented each other.
Henry Ford; Highland Park engineers · Detroit
How it works
- A standardized chassis rolls past stations.
- Each worker adds a few parts with specialized tools.
- Volume spreads the cost of the plant across many identical cars.
Why it mattered
- Turned the automobile from a luxury into infrastructure.
- Exported mass production as a global method.
- Rewired wages, suburbs, and oil demand.
What it unlocked
For further study
- The Henry Ford museum. Highland Park line.
- Hounshell, From the American System to Mass Production. Fordism.
Check
Why does a moving line require interchangeable parts?