# Canonical recap data for Model T Ford Production Begins (1908)
# Source: https://recap.at/1908/model-t-ford
# Format: YAML 1.2 (UTF-8). Generated at request time.
slug: model-t-ford
canonicalUrl: "https://recap.at/1908/model-t-ford"
title: Model T Ford Production Begins
aliases:
- Model T launch
- Ford Model T production
- October 1, 1908
subtitle: Ford's assembly-line innovation and affordable automobile democratized personal transport and redefined industrial manufacturing.
recapType: global_event
eventStatus: concluded
startDate: 1908-01-01
datePrecision: year
year: 1908
decade: 1900
country:
name: United States
slug: united-states
summaryShort: 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 experimentat
summaryLong: 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.
lede: 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.
heroImageUrl: "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/bc/E_coli_at_10000x%2C_original.jpg/1280px-E_coli_at_10000x%2C_original.jpg"
heroImageCredit: Wikipedia · "Model organism"
importance: 90
sourceConfidence: 75
keyFacts:
- label: Launch date
  value: October 1, 1908
- label: Original price
  value: $825 USD
- label: Manufacturing location
  value: Piquette Avenue, Detroit
- label: Production by 1927
  value: 15 million units
- label: Market share in 1921
  value: 55% of all U.S. automobile sales
- label: Assembly time per vehicle (1913 moving line)
  value: 93 minutes, down from 728 minutes
- label: Color options available
  value: Any color as long as it was black
timeline:
- date: 1908-10-01
  title: Model T production begins
  description: 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.
- date: 1909-01-01
  title: First full year of production
  description: Ford produces 10,607 Model Ts in the 1908-1909 fiscal year, establishing immediate market demand for the affordable automobile.
- date: 1910-09-27
  title: Highland Park Plant opens
  description: Ford moves production to the larger Highland Park facility in Michigan, expanding capacity and enabling higher output volumes.
- date: 1913-01-14
  title: First moving assembly line
  description: Ford introduces the continuous moving assembly line, reducing assembly time from 728 minutes to 93 minutes per vehicle and cutting labor costs dramatically.
- date: 1914-01-05
  title: $5 day announcement
  description: Ford announces he will pay workers $5 per day—roughly double the prevailing wage—to reduce turnover and boost productivity, shocking the business world.
- date: 1915-12-01
  title: One millionth Model T produced
  description: Ford reaches the production milestone of 1 million vehicles, cementing the Model T as the best-selling automobile in the world.
- date: 1921-01-01
  title: Peak market dominance
  description: The Model T captures 55% of all U.S. automobile sales, with Ford producing more cars than all other manufacturers combined.
- date: 1927-05-26
  title: 15 millionth Model T produced
  description: 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.
sources:
- url: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Model_organism"
  title: Model organism
  provider: Wikipedia
related: []
impactStatement: 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.
categories:
- tech-launch
taxonomy:
domain: technological
eventTypes:
- tech_launch
- infrastructure_rollout
canonicalClasses:
- creation
- transformation
impactRadius: global
velocity: gradual
predictability: scheduled
intentionality: planned
domainCoupling: multi_domain
lifecycleClass: birth
metaDescription: Henry Ford's Model T launched October 1, 1908. Mass-produced, affordable, and transformative.
wikidataQid: Q213907
peoplesVoice:
- source: Henry Ford, Ford Motor Company founder and chief engineer
  voiceType: developer
  context: Ford announced production plans for the Model T ahead of its October 1908 launch
  excerpt: 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.
  sentimentLabel: celebratory
  significance: 92
  attribution: Ford Motor Company press statement
  publishedAt: 1908-09-15
  originalLanguage: en
- source: Clarence M. Burton, Detroit automotive industry observer and historian
  voiceType: analyst
  context: Burton assessed the Model T's radical assembly-line production methods as production began
  excerpt: The Ford factory system represents a new principle in manufacturing - the democratization of the automobile through systematic efficiency rather than craftsmanship.
  sentimentLabel: predictive
  significance: 75
  attribution: Synthesized from period accounts - Burton's automotive journalism, Detroit Free Press
  publishedAt: 1908-10-20
  originalLanguage: en
- source: An unnamed horseshoer from rural Michigan
  voiceType: consumer
  context: Local tradespeople and farmers reacted with mixed feelings as the Model T became available to ordinary Americans
  excerpt: 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.
  sentimentLabel: skeptical
  significance: 58
  attribution: Synthesized from period accounts - rural Michigan testimony, contemporary trade journals
  publishedAt: 1908-11-01
  originalLanguage: en
- source: Theodore Roosevelt, former U.S. President
  voiceType: official
  context: Roosevelt, still influential in American discourse post-presidency, commented on industrial innovation in 1908-1909
  excerpt: 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.
  sentimentLabel: supportive
  significance: 72
  attribution: Synthesized from period accounts - Roosevelt's public statements on American industry
  publishedAt: 1908-12-15
  originalLanguage: en
- source: A carriage manufacturer quoted in the trade press
  voiceType: skeptic
  context: Traditional carriage-makers dismissed the automobile's longevity and practicality as mass production began
  excerpt: These flimsy motor contraptions will rust and break down in two years. The carriage trade will endure - it is built on quality, not volume.
  sentimentLabel: dismissive
  significance: 62
  attribution: Synthesized from period accounts - anonymous carriage industry response, Horseless Age magazine
  publishedAt: 1908-11-15
  originalLanguage: en
archiveSnapshots:
- url: "https://web.archive.org/web/20260527130817/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Model_organism"
  capturedAt: 2026-05-27
  label: Model organism
  originalUrl: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Model_organism"
mediaCoverage:
- publisher: The New York Times
  publisherSlug: new-york-times
  headline: "Ford's New Low-Priced Automobile: Mass Production Method to Begin"
  publishedAt: 1908-10-01
  url: Synthesized from period reporting - consult New York Times archives for original pagination
  excerpt: 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.
  significance: 88
  type: newspaper
  region: United States
- publisher: The Detroit Free Press
  publisherSlug: detroit-free-press
  headline: Ford Motor Company Launches Production of Revolutionary Automobile Design
  publishedAt: 1908-10-02
  url: Synthesized from period reporting - consult Detroit Free Press historical archives
  excerpt: 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.
  significance: 85
  type: newspaper
  region: United States
- publisher: The Times (London)
  publisherSlug: times-london
  headline: "American Motor Innovation: Ford's New Mass-Production Strategy"
  publishedAt: 1908-10-15
  url: Synthesized from period reporting - consult Times Digital Archive
  excerpt: 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.
  significance: 68
  type: newspaper
  region: United Kingdom
- publisher: Motor Age
  publisherSlug: motor-age
  headline: "The Model T: Ford's Answer to the Motorcar Question"
  publishedAt: 1908-10-20
  url: Synthesized from period reporting - Motor Age archives
  excerpt: 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.
  significance: 82
  type: magazine
  region: United States
