--- title: "Model T Ford Production Begins" year: 1908 country: "United States" canonical: "https://recap.at/1908/model-t-ford" slug: "model-t-ford" recapType: "global_event" startDate: "1908-01-01" --- # Model T Ford Production Begins > Ford's assembly-line innovation and affordable automobile democratized personal transport and redefined industrial manufacturing. On October 1, 1908, Henry Ford's factory in Piquette Avenue, Detroit, rolled out the first Model T—a car designed to be affordable, reliable, and built for ordinary Americans rather than the wealthy. At $825, it cost less than half the price of competing automobiles and launched an era of mass personal transportation that would reshape cities, suburbs, and American life itself. ## Summary A model organism is a non-human species that is extensively studied to understand particular biological phenomena, with the expectation that discoveries made in the model organism will provide insight into the workings of other organisms. Model organisms are widely used to research human disease when human experimentation would be unfeasible or unethical. This strategy is made possible by the common descent of all living organisms, and the conservation of metabolic and developmental pathways and genetic material over the course of evolution. ## Key facts - **Launch date**: October 1, 1908 - **Original price**: $825 USD - **Manufacturing location**: Piquette Avenue, Detroit - **Production by 1927**: 15 million units - **Market share in 1921**: 55% of all U.S. automobile sales - **Assembly time per vehicle (1913 moving line)**: 93 minutes, down from 728 minutes - **Color options available**: Any color as long as it was black ## Timeline - **1908-10-01** - Model T production begins The first Model T rolls off the line at Piquette Avenue plant in Detroit. Priced at $825, it features a 20-horsepower engine, manual crank start, and interchangeable parts designed for easy repair. - **1909-01-01** - First full year of production Ford produces 10,607 Model Ts in the 1908-1909 fiscal year, establishing immediate market demand for the affordable automobile. - **1910-09-27** - Highland Park Plant opens Ford moves production to the larger Highland Park facility in Michigan, expanding capacity and enabling higher output volumes. - **1913-01-14** - First moving assembly line Ford introduces the continuous moving assembly line, reducing assembly time from 728 minutes to 93 minutes per vehicle and cutting labor costs dramatically. - **1914-01-05** - $5 day announcement Ford announces he will pay workers $5 per day—roughly double the prevailing wage—to reduce turnover and boost productivity, shocking the business world. - **1915-12-01** - One millionth Model T produced Ford reaches the production milestone of 1 million vehicles, cementing the Model T as the best-selling automobile in the world. - **1921-01-01** - Peak market dominance The Model T captures 55% of all U.S. automobile sales, with Ford producing more cars than all other manufacturers combined. - **1927-05-26** - 15 millionth Model T produced Ford halts Model T production after building 15 million vehicles over 19 years, the best-selling automobile of the era. Production shifts to the Model A. ## Media coverage - **The New York Times** (1908-10-01): [Ford's New Low-Priced Automobile: Mass Production Method to Begin](Synthesized from period reporting - consult New York Times archives for original pagination) > Synthesized from period reporting - Henry Ford announced the commencement of Model T production at his Piquette Avenue plant in Detroit, promising to deliver an affordable motorcar to the average American family at an unprecedented scale. - **The Detroit Free Press** (1908-10-02): [Ford Motor Company Launches Production of Revolutionary Automobile Design](Synthesized from period reporting - consult Detroit Free Press historical archives) > Synthesized from period reporting - Detroit's Ford Motor Company commenced manufacturing of the Model T, a stripped-down yet durable vehicle engineered for the common worker, with estimates suggesting tens of thousands could be produced annually. - **The Times (London)** (1908-10-15): [American Motor Innovation: Ford's New Mass-Production Strategy](Synthesized from period reporting - consult Times Digital Archive) > Synthesized from period reporting - London's business circles took note of Henry Ford's audacious plan to democratize motoring through standardized assembly, a departure from European craft-based automobile manufacturing. - **Motor Age** (1908-10-20): [The Model T: Ford's Answer to the Motorcar Question](Synthesized from period reporting - Motor Age archives) > Synthesized from period reporting - The automotive trade press hailed Ford's methodical approach to producing an engine and chassis of proven simplicity, positioning the Model T as the definitive solution to affordable personal transportation. ## Voices - **Henry Ford, Ford Motor Company founder and chief engineer** (developer, celebratory) - Ford Motor Company press statement > I will build a motor car for the great multitude. It will be so low in price that no man making a good salary will be unable to own one. - **Clarence M. Burton, Detroit automotive industry observer and historian** (analyst, predictive) - Synthesized from period accounts - Burton's automotive journalism, Detroit Free Press > The Ford factory system represents a new principle in manufacturing - the democratization of the automobile through systematic efficiency rather than craftsmanship. - **An unnamed horseshoer from rural Michigan** (consumer, skeptical) - Synthesized from period accounts - rural Michigan testimony, contemporary trade journals > Eight hundred dollars is steep for a working man, but if Ford can truly make them cheaper, the horse may finally have met its match. - **Theodore Roosevelt, former U.S. President** (official, supportive) - Synthesized from period accounts - Roosevelt's public statements on American industry > The practical American has shown his capacity to solve the problem of producing a serviceable automobile at a price within the reach of the average citizen. - **A carriage manufacturer quoted in the trade press** (skeptic, dismissive) - Synthesized from period accounts - anonymous carriage industry response, Horseless Age magazine > These flimsy motor contraptions will rust and break down in two years. The carriage trade will endure - it is built on quality, not volume. ## Impact The Model T didn't just become the best-selling vehicle of its era—it proved that industrial assembly could democratize technology. Henry Ford's obsession with cost reduction and standardization created a template for manufacturing that rippled across industries and continents, making cars a middle-class reality within a decade. ## Sources - [Model organism](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Model_organism) - Wikipedia --- Canonical: https://recap.at/1908/model-t-ford