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Cover image of The Model T
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The Model T

A Centennial History

Robert Casey

Publication Date
Binding Type

How Henry Ford’s Model T changed the world.

2009 Michigan Notable Book, Library of Michigan

"I will build a car for the great multitude. It will be large enough for the family, but small enough for the individual to run and take care of. It will be constructed of the best materials, by the best men to be hired, after the simplest designs that modern engineering can devise. But it will be so low in price that no man making a good salary will be unable to own one—and enjoy with his family the blessings of hours of pleasure in God’s great open spaces."—Henry Ford

First rolled out in 1908 with an...

How Henry Ford’s Model T changed the world.

2009 Michigan Notable Book, Library of Michigan

"I will build a car for the great multitude. It will be large enough for the family, but small enough for the individual to run and take care of. It will be constructed of the best materials, by the best men to be hired, after the simplest designs that modern engineering can devise. But it will be so low in price that no man making a good salary will be unable to own one—and enjoy with his family the blessings of hours of pleasure in God’s great open spaces."—Henry Ford

First rolled out in 1908 with an $850 price tag, the Model T Ford was the nation’s first mass-produced, affordable, and versatile motor vehicle. It made Americans mobile as never before, spurred a revolution in manufacturing methods, and marked a sea change in automotive design and engineering.

Originally written for the centennial celebration of the Model T, Robert Casey captures the remarkable story of that car’s history and development and of its long-lasting impact on America. Here are the people who built the Model T and how, the folks who purchased it and why, and the profound technological leaps in mass production and mass consumption that we rightly associate with Ford’s automobile.

Casey discusses how the car was designed, built, sold, and driven, as well as how owners tinkered with it. He describes the experience of driving a Model T and explains how a few engineering innovations—a one-piece cylinder block with detachable cylinder head, a clever flexible suspension system, the use of lightweight vanadium alloy steel—led to the car’s reliability and popularity and spurred innovations across the motor vehicle industry.

Richly illustrated with archival photos from The Henry Ford, The Model T is the definitive history of an iconographic piece of American technology.

Reviews

Reviews

In this commemorative volume, Ford Museum Curator Robert Casey describes how the Model T came to be, against the backdrop of transportation of the day. He features chapters on creating the Model T in concept, manufacturing it, selling it, and owning and driving it.

An extremely handsome, short, informative book about Henry Ford's great creation... A masterpiece.

If one had to buy or read one book about the Model T, this should be the book, for its intelligent text and informative, enjoyable graphics.

The Model T: A Centennial History is that rare automotive book that will appeal to scholars and buffs alike.

This gripping history is a fine pick for any library including transportation history books on the shelf.

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About

Book Details

Publication Date
Status
Available
Trim Size
7
x
10
Pages
168
ISBN
9781421421179
Illustration Description
102 halftones, 8 line drawings
Table of Contents

Foreword, by William Clay Ford Jr. and Patricia E. Mooradian
Acknowledgments
Introduction
1. Automobility in 1908
2. Creating the Model T
3. Manufacturing the Model T
4. Selling the Model T
5. Owning &

Foreword, by William Clay Ford Jr. and Patricia E. Mooradian
Acknowledgments
Introduction
1. Automobility in 1908
2. Creating the Model T
3. Manufacturing the Model T
4. Selling the Model T
5. Owning & Driving the Model T
6. The Meaning of the Model T
Notes
Further Reading
Index

Author Bio
Featured Contributor

Robert H. Casey

Robert Casey is the retired John and Horace Dodge Curator of Transportation at The Henry Ford. He has written widely about technology and industry for academic journals and popular media.
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