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{{Infobox automobile
| image = 1919 Ford Model T Highboy Coupe.jpg
| assembly = [[Detroit, Michigan|Detroit]], US;<br/>[[Highland Park, Michigan|Highland Park]], US;<br/>[[Minneapolis, Minnesota|Minneapolis]], US;<br/>[[Saint Paul, Minnesota|St. Paul]], US;<br/>[[Dothan, Alabama|Dothan]], US;<br/>[[Buenos Aires]], [[Argentina]];<br/>[[Geelong]], [[Australia]];<br/>[[São Bernardo do Campo]], [[Brazil]];<br/>[[Toronto]], [[Ontario]], [[Canada]];<br/>[[Walkerville, Ontario]];<br/>[[Copenhagen]], [[Denmark]];<br/>[[Manchester]], [[England]];<br/>[[Berlin]], [[Germany]];<br/>[[Cork (city)|Cork]], [[Ireland]]
| weight = {{convert|1200|lb|kg}}
| wheelbase = {{convert|100.0|in|mm|0|abbr=on}}
| length = {{convert|134|in|mm|0|abbr=on}}
| designer = [[Henry Ford]], [[Childe Harold Wills]], [[Joseph A. Galamb]] and [[Eugene Farkas]]
| name = Ford Model T
| manufacturer = [[Ford Motor Company]]
| production = 1908–1927
| predecessor = [[Ford Model S]]
| successor = [[Ford Model A (1927–1931)|Ford Model A]]
| class = [[Full-size Ford]], [[economy car]]
| body_style = 2-door touring (1909–11)<br/>3-door touring (1912–1925)<br/>4-door touring (1926–1927)<br/>no door [[Roadster (automobile)|roadster]] (1909–11)<br/>1-door [[Roadster (automobile)|roadster]](1912–1925)<br/>2-door [[Roadster (automobile)|roadster]] (1926–1927)<br/>[[Roadster (automobile)|roadster]] [[pickup truck|pickup]] (1925–1927)<br/>2-door [[coupé]] (1909–1912, 1917–1927)<br/>2-door Coupelet (1915–17)<br/>Town car (1909–1918)<br/>C-cab [[Station wagon|wagon]] (1912)<br/>2-(Center) door [[sedan (automobile)|sedan]] (1915–1923)<br/>2-door [[sedan (automobile)|sedan]] (1924–1927)<br/>4-door [[sedan (automobile)|sedan]] (1923–1927)<br/> Separate chassis were available all years for independent [[coachbuilder]]s
| engine = 177&nbsp;[[Cubic inch|C.I.D.]] (2.9&nbsp;L) 20 hp [[straight-4|I4]]
| transmission = 2-speed [[planetary gear]]
| layout = [[FR layout]]

}}

The '''Ford Model T''' ([[colloquially]] known as the '''Tin Lizzie''', '''T‑Model Ford''', ''''Model T Ford'''', or '''T''') is an [[automobile]] that was produced by [[Henry Ford]]'s [[Ford Motor Company]] from October 1, 1908 to May 27, 1927.<ref name="Ford Motors">{{cite press release |title=Model T Facts |url=http://media.ford.com/article_display.cfm?article_id=858 |publisher=Ford |location=US |accessdate=2013-04-23}}</ref> <ref name="test">{{cite web |url=http://www.americanheritage.com/content/10-moments-made-american-business |title=10 Moments That Made American Business |date=2007-03-01 |accessdate=2012-12-24 |author=John Steele Gordon |publisher=americanheritage.com }}</ref> It is generally regarded as the first affordable [[automobile]], the car that opened travel to the common [[middle-class]] [[United States|American]]; some of this was because of Ford's innovations, including [[assembly line]] production instead of individual hand crafting.<ref>Ford also attempted a buy on time program to aid sales, resembling that of the [[Germany|German]] [[Kdf-Wagen]] (forerunner of the [[Volkswagen Beetle|Volkswagen Type 1]]). Ford's plan was not a success, either.</ref> The Ford Model T was named the world's most influential [[Car of the Century|car of the 20th century]] in an international poll.<ref>{{cite web |title=Joyrides: Car of the Century/ Ford's Model T, of course |date=1999-12-20 |accessdate=2012-10-21 |author=Richard A. Wright |publisher=detnews.com |url=http://apps.detnews.com/apps/joyrides/index.php?id=75}}</ref>

The Model T set 1908 as the historic year that the automobile became popular. The first production Model T was produced on August 12, 1908<ref>{{cite web|url=http://library.thinkquest.org/27629/chronicle/1908.html |title=Chronicle of 1908 |publisher=Library.thinkquest.org |year=1908 |accessdate=2012-10-21}}</ref> and left the factory on September&nbsp;27, 1908, at the [[Piquette Plant]] in [[Detroit, Michigan]]. On May&nbsp;26, 1927, Henry Ford watched the 15&nbsp;millionth Model T Ford roll off the assembly line at his [[Highland Park Ford Plant|factory in Highland Park, Michigan]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.wiley.com/legacy/products/subject/business/forbes/ford.html |title=Henry Ford And The Model T |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |year=1996 |accessdate=2012-12-24}}</ref>

There were several cars produced or prototyped by Henry Ford from the founding of the company in 1903 until the Model T came along. Although he started with the [[Ford Model A (1903–1904)|Model A]], there were not 19 production models (A through T); some were only prototypes. The production model immediately before the Model T was the [[Ford Model S|Model S]],<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ritzsite.nl/FORD_1/05_eford.htm |title=Early Ford - models from the years 1903 - 1908; page 5 |first=André |last=Ritzinger |accessdate=212-12-24}}</ref> an upgraded version of the company's largest success to that point, the [[Ford Model N|Model N]]. The follow-up was the [[Ford Model A (1927–1931)|Ford Model A]] (rather than any Model U). Company publicity said this was because the new car was such a departure from the old that Henry wanted to start all over again with the letter A.

The Model T was the first automobile [[mass production|mass produced]] on moving assembly lines with completely [[interchangeable parts]], marketed to the [[American middle class|middle class]].{{citation needed|date=January 2010}} Henry Ford said of the vehicle:
<blockquote>
"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 care for. 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&nbsp;– and enjoy with his family the blessing of hours of pleasure in God's great open spaces."<ref>{{Harvnb|Ford|1922}}, [http://books.google.com/books?id=4K82efXzn10C&pg=PA73&f=false ''My life and work''] (1922), p. 73.</ref>
</blockquote>

== Characteristics ==
[[File:1908 Ford Model T.jpg|thumb|left|1908 Ford Model T advertisement]]

The Ford Model T car was designed by [[Childe Harold Wills]] and [[Hungarian people|Hungarian]] immigrants, [[Joseph A. Galamb]]<ref>{{cite web |url=http://media.ford.com/article_display.cfm?article_id=28540 |title=University students compete to create 21st century Model T |publisher=Ford |accessdate=2011-01-17}}</ref> and [[Eugene Farkas]].<ref>{{cite web |title=History Lesson: Hungary Celebrates the Ford Model T. |url=http://www.fadaweb.com/news_details.asp?id=n24705 |publisher=[[Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations of India]] |location=India |date=2006-02-27 |accessdate=2012-12-24}}</ref> Henry Love, C. J. Smith, Gus Degner and [[Peter E. Martin]] were also part of the team.<ref>{{Harvnb|Wik|1972}}.</ref> Production of the Model T began in the third quarter of 1908.<ref name="Clymer1950p100">{{Harvnb|Clymer|1950|p=100}}.</ref> Collectors today sometimes classify Model Ts by build years and refer to these as "[[model year]]s", thus labeling the first Model Ts as 1909 models. This is a retroactive classification scheme; the concept of model years as we conceive it today did not exist at the time. The nominal model designation was "Model T", although [[#Design changes|design revisions did occur]] during the car's two decades of production.

=== Engine ===
[[File:'26 Ford T engine.jpg|thumb|1926 Model T engine.]]
[[File:1910Ford-T.jpg|thumb|1910 Model T, photographed in [[Salt Lake City]].]]
[[File:Model T Ford epicyclic gearbox (Montagu, Cars and Motor-Cycles, 1928).jpg|thumb|Transmission]]
{{main|Ford Model T engine}}
The Model T had a {{convert|177|cuin|L|1|adj=on}} front-mounted [[inline-four engine|inline four-cylinder]] engine, producing {{convert|20|hp|kW|abbr=on}} for a top speed of {{convert|40|–|45|mph|abbr=on|0}}. According to Ford Motor Company, the Model T had fuel economy on the order of {{convert|13|-|21|mpgus|mpgimp L/100 km|abbr=on}}.<ref name="MediaFordCom">{{cite web |url=http://media.ford.com/article_display.cfm?article_id=858 |title=Model T Facts |publisher=Ford |accessdate=2012-12-24}}</ref> The engine was capable of running on [[gasoline]], [[kerosene]], or [[Ethanol fuel|ethanol]],<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/motoring/main.jhtml?xml=/motoring/2008/07/25/mnmodel125.xml |title=Ford Model T reaches 100 |publisher=[[The Daily Telegraph|The Telegraph]] |date=2008-07-25 |accessdate=2012-12-24 |first=Andrew |last=English}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://journeytoforever.org/ethanol.html#ethintro |title=Ethanol fuel: Journey to Forever |first=Keith |last=Addison |work=Journey to Forever |accessdate=2012-12-24}}</ref> although the decreasing cost of gasoline and the later introduction of [[Prohibition in the United States|Prohibition]] made ethanol an impractical fuel for most users.

The [[ignition system]] used an unusual [[trembler coil]] system to drive the [[spark plug]]s, as used for stationary [[gas engine]]s, rather than the expensive [[ignition magneto|magneto]]s that were used on other cars. This ignition also made the Model T more flexible as to the quality or type of fuel it used. The need for a starting battery and also Ford's unusual use of an AC [[alternator]] on early cars encouraged the adoption of electric lighting, rather than oil or acetylene lamps, but it also delayed the adoption of electric starting.

=== Transmission and drive train ===
[[File:1925.ford.model.t.arp.750pix.jpg|thumb|1925 Ford "New Model" T Tudor Sedan]]
[[File:Ford Speedster T.JPG|thumb|Ford Speedster T]]
The Model T was a [[rear-wheel drive]] vehicle. Its transmission was a [[planetary gear]] type billed as "three speed". In today's terms it would be considered a two-speed, because one of the three speeds was reverse.

The Model T's [[Transmission (mechanics)|transmission]] was controlled with three foot pedals and a lever that was mounted to the road side of the driver's seat. The [[throttle]] was controlled with a lever on the [[steering wheel]]. The left pedal was used to engage the gear. With the floor lever in either the mid position or fully forward and the pedal pressed and held forward the car entered low gear. When held in an intermediate position the car was in neutral. If the driver took his foot off the left pedal, the Model T entered high gear, but only when the lever was fully forward- in any other position the pedal would only move up as far as the central neutral position. This allowed the car to be held in neutral while the driver cranked the engine by hand. The car could thus cruise without the driver having to press any of the pedals. There was no separate [[clutch|clutch pedal]].

When the car was in neutral, the middle pedal was used to engage reverse gear, and the right pedal operated the transmission brake - there were no separate brakes on the wheels. The floor lever also controlled the [[parking brake]], which was activated by pulling the lever all the way back. This doubled as an emergency brake.[[File:Model T pedals.jpg|thumb|The three pedal controls of the Model T]]

Although it was uncommon, the drive bands could fall out of adjustment, allowing the car to creep, particularly when cold, adding another hazard to attempting to start the car: a person cranking the engine could be forced backward while still holding the crank as the car crept forward, although it was nominally in neutral. As the car utilized a [[wet clutch]], this condition could also occur in cold weather, where the thickened oil prevents the clutch discs from slipping freely. Power reached the [[differential (mechanical device)|differential]] through a single [[universal joint]] attached to a [[torque tube]] which drove the rear [[axle]]; some models (typically trucks, but available for cars as well) could be equipped with an optional two-speed Ruckstell rear axle shifted by a floor-mounted lever which provided an underdrive gear for easier hill climbing. All gears were [[vanadium|vanadium steel]] running in an [[oil bath]].

=== Suspension and wheels ===
[[File:Ford model t suspension.triddle.jpg|thumb|The suspension components of a Ford Model T. The coil-spring device is an aftermarket accessory, the "Hassler shock absorber".]]

Model T suspension employed a transversely mounted semi-elliptical spring for each of the front and rear axles, which was a solid beam axle, not an [[independent suspension]], which still allowed a great deal of wheel movement to cope with the dirt roads of the time.

The front axle was [[drop forged]] as a single piece of vanadium steel. Ford twisted many axles eight times and sent them to dealers to be put on display to demonstrate its superiority. The Model T did not have a modern service brake. The right foot pedal applied a band around a drum in the transmission, thus stopping the rear wheels from turning. The previously mentioned parking brake lever operated [[band brake]]s on the outside of the rear brake drums.

Wheels were wooden [[artillery wheel]]s, with steel welded-spoke wheels available in 1926 and 1927.

Tires were [[pneumatic tire|pneumatic]] clincher type, 30 in (76&nbsp;cm) in diameter, 3.5 in (8.9&nbsp;cm) wide in the rear, 3 in (7.5&nbsp;cm) wide in the front. Clinchers needed much higher pressure than today's tires, typically {{convert|60|psi|abbr=on}}, to prevent them from leaving the rim at speed. Horseshoe nails on the roads, together with the high pressure, made flat tires a common problem.

Balloon tires became available in 1925. They were {{convert|21|x|4.5|in|cm|abbr=on}} all around. Balloon tires were closer in design to today's tires, with steel wires reinforcing the tire bead, making lower pressure possible – typically {{convert|35|psi|abbr=on}} – giving a softer ride. The old nomenclature for tire size changed from measuring the outer diameter to measuring the rim diameter so {{convert|21|in|abbr=on}} (rim diameter) × {{convert|4.5|in|abbr=on}} (tire width) wheels has about the same outer diameter as 30 in (76&nbsp;cm) clincher tires. All tires in this time period used an [[inner tube]] to hold the pressurized air; "tubeless" tires were not generally in use until much later.

[[Wheelbase]] was 100&nbsp;inches (254&nbsp;cm); while standard tread width was 56 in (142&nbsp;cm), 60 in (152&nbsp;cm) tread could be obtained on special order, "for Southern roads".

=== Design changes ===
[[File:1913 Ford Model T Touring 01 2012 DC 00476.JPG|thumb|1913 Ford Model T Touring equipped with an electric starter in place of a hand crank, and electric headlights in place of acetylene gas ones.]]
Early Ts had a brass radiator and headlights. The horn and numerous small parts were also brass. Many of the early cars were open-bodied [[touring car]]s and runabouts, these being cheaper to make than closed cars. Prior to the 1911 model year (when front doors were added to the touring model), US - made open cars did not have an opening door for the driver. Later models included closed cars (introduced in 1915),<ref name="Clymer1950p37">{{Harvnb|Clymer|1950|p=37}}.</ref> sedans, coupes, and trucks. The chassis was available so trucks could be built to suit. Ford also developed some truck bodies for this chassis, designated the [[Ford Model TT|Model TT]]. The headlights were originally [[acetylene]] lamps made of brass (commonly using [[Prest-O-Lite]] tanks),<ref name="Clymer1950p100"/> but eventually the car gained electric lights after 1910, initially powered from the magneto until the electrical system was upgraded to a battery, generator, and starter motor, when lighting power was switched to the battery source.

The [[#Production|Model T production system]], the epitome of [[Fordism]], is famous for representing the rigidity of early mass production systems that were wildly successful at achieving efficiency but that could accommodate changes in product design only with great difficulty and resistance. The story is more complicated;<ref name="Hounshell1984pp273-278">{{Harvnb|Hounshell|1984|pp=273–278}}.</ref> there were few major, publicly visible changes throughout the life of the model, but there were many smaller changes. Most were driven by [[Design for manufacturability (disambiguation)|design for manufacturability]] considerations, but styling and new features also played more of a role than commonly realized. In fact, one of the problems for the company regarding design changes was the T's reputation for not changing and being "already correct", which Henry Ford enjoyed and which was a selling point for many customers, which made it risky to admit any changes actually were happening.<ref name="Hounshell1984p275">{{Harvnb|Hounshell|1984|p=275}}.</ref> (The idea of simply refining a design without making radical visible changes would resurface, and score even greater production success, with the [[Volkswagen Beetle|VW Type 1]].)<ref>It would also apply to the [[Porsche 911]].</ref>

=== Colors ===
By 1918, half of all the cars in the US were Model T’s. However it was a monolithic bloc; Ford wrote in his autobiography that he told his management team in 1909 that in the future “Any customer can have a car painted any color that he wants so long as it is black”.<!-- DO NOT TRY TO COPY EDIT THIS QUOTE; IT IS ALREADY *VERBATIM* AND ALREADY ACCEPTABLY WRITTEN. --><ref>{{Harvnb|Ford|1922}}, [http://books.google.com/books?id=4K82efXzn10C&pg=PA72&f=false p. 72.]</ref>

However, in the first years of production from 1908 to 1914, the Model T was not available in black<ref>{{Harvnb|McCalley|1994}}</ref> but rather only grey, green, blue, and red. Green was available for the touring cars, town cars, coupes, and Landaulets. Grey was only available for the town cars, and red only for the touring cars. By 1912, all cars were being painted midnight blue with black fenders. It was only in 1914 that the "any color so long as it is black" policy was finally implemented. It is often stated that Ford suggested the use of black from 1914 to 1926 due to the cheap cost and durability of black paint. During the lifetime production of the Model T, over 30 different types of black paint were used on various parts of the car.<ref>{{Harvnb|McCalley|1994}}</ref> These were formulated to satisfy the different means of applying the paint to the various parts, and had distinct drying times, depending on the part, paint, and method of drying.

===Diverse applications in a world not yet widely paved, motorized, or electrified===
When the Model T was designed and introduced, the infrastructure of the world was quite different from today's. Pavement was a rarity except for sidewalks and a few big-city streets. (The sense of the term "pavement" as equivalent with "sidewalk" comes from that era, when streets and roads were generally dirt and sidewalks were a paved way to walk along them.) Agriculture was the occupation of many people. [[Power tool]]s were scarce outside factories, as were power sources for them; [[electrification]], like pavement, was found usually only in larger towns. [[Rural electrification]] and motorized [[mechanization]] were embryonic in North America and Europe, and nonexistent elsewhere.

Henry Ford oversaw the [[requirement]]s and design of the Model T based on the realities of that world. Consequently, the Model T was (intentionally) almost as much a [[tractor]] and [[portable engine]] as it was an automobile, that is, a vehicle dedicated solely to road use. It has always been well regarded for its all-terrain abilities and ruggedness. It could travel a rocky, muddy farm lane, [[ford (crossing)|ford]] a shallow stream, climb a steep hill, and be parked on the other side to have one of its wheels removed and a [[pulley]] fastened to the hub for a [[flat belt]] to drive a [[bucksaw]], [[threshing machine|thresher]], [[silo|silo blower]], [[conveyor system|conveyor]] for filling [[corn crib]]s or [[hayloft]]s, [[baler]], water pump (for [[water well|wells]], [[mining|mine]]s, or swampy farm fields), [[electrical generator]], and countless other applications. One unique application of the Model T was shown in the October 1922 issue of Fordson Farmer magazine. It showed a minister who had transformed his Model T into a mobile church, complete with small organ.<ref>{{cite book|last=Casey|first=Robert|title=The Model T A Centennial History|year=2008|publisher=The Johns Hopkins University Press|location=Baltimore|isbn=978-0-8018-8850-2|page=148}}</ref>

[[File:Model T tractor.png|thumb|left|A Model T [[Tractor#Automobile-conversion tractors and other homemade versions|homemade tractor]] pulling a plow.]]
During this era, entire automobiles (including thousands of Model Ts) were even hacked apart by their industrious owners and reconfigured into custom machinery permanently dedicated to a purpose, such as [[Tractor#Automobile-conversion tractors and other homemade versions|homemade tractors]], ice saws,<ref>{{cite web |title=1926 Ford Model T Ice Saw |url=http://www.ohtm.org/eng_ticesaw.html |accessdate=2012-12-24 |publisher=Owl's Head Transportation Museum}} Used for harvesting winter ice from ponds in [[Maine]].</ref> or many others. Dozens of [[aftermarket (automotive)|aftermarket]] companies sold [[prefabrication|prefab]] kits to facilitate the T's conversion from car to tractor.<ref name="PrippsMorland1993p28">{{Harvnb|Pripps|Morland|1993|p=28}}</ref> In a world mostly without mechanized [[cultivator]]s, Model Ts filled a vacuum. [[Row-crop tractor]]s such as the [[Farmall]] did not become widespread until the 1930s. Like many popular car engines of the era, the Model T engine was also used on home-built aircraft (such as the [[Pietenpol Sky Scout]]) and [[motorboat]]s.

Many Model Ts were converted into vehicles which could travel across heavy snows with kits on the rear wheels (sometimes with an extra pair of rear-mounted wheels and two sets of [[continuous track]] to mount on the now-tandemed rear wheels, essentially making it a [[half-track]]) and skis replacing the front wheels. They were popular for rural mail delivery for a time. The common name for these conversions of cars and small trucks was '''Snowflyers'''. These vehicles were extremely popular in the northern reaches of Canada where factories were set up to produce them.<ref>{{cite journal |url=http://books.google.com/books?id=yt8DAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA878 |title=Snowflyers Replace Dogs in Frozen North |work=Popular Mechanics |issue=December |year=1934 |page=878 |accessdate=2012-12-24}}</ref>

== Production ==
=== Mass production ===
The knowledge and skills needed by a factory worker were reduced to 84 areas. When introduced, the T used the building methods typical at the time, assembly by hand, and production was small. Ford's Piquette plant could not keep up with demand for the Model T, and only 11 cars were built there during the first full month of production. More and more machines were used to reduce the complexity within the 84 defined areas. In 1910, after assembling nearly 12,000 Model Ts, Henry Ford moved the company to the new [[Highland Park Ford Plant|Highland Park complex]].

[[File:Ford assembly line - 1913.jpg|left|thumb|Ford assembly line, 1913]]
As a result, Ford's cars came off the line in three-minute intervals, much faster than previous methods, reducing production time by a factor of eight (requiring 12.5 hours before, 93 minutes afterwards), while using less manpower.<ref name="Georgano1985">{{Harvnb|Georgano|1985}}</ref> By 1914, the [[assembly process]] for the Model T had been so streamlined it took only 93 minutes to assemble a car. That year Ford produced more cars than all other automakers combined. The Model T was a great commercial success, and by the time Henry made his 10 millionth car, 50 percent of all cars in the world were Fords. It was so successful that Ford did not purchase any advertising between 1917 and 1923; more than 15&nbsp;million Model Ts were manufactured, reaching a rate of 9,000 to 10,000 cars a day in 1925, or 2&nbsp;million annually,<ref>{{cite book |first=Martin |last=Sandler |title=Driving Around the USA: Automobiles in American Life |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2003 |page=21}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |first=Douglas |last=Brinkley |title=Wheels for the world: Henry Ford, his company, and a century of progress, 1903–2003 |publisher=Viking |year=2003 |page=475}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=My forty years with Ford |first1=Charles E. |last1=Sorensen |first2=David Lanier |last2=Lewis |first3=Samuel T. |last3=Williamson |publisher=Wayne State University Press |page=4}}</ref> more than any other model of its day, at a price of just $240. Model T production was finally surpassed by the [[Volkswagen Beetle]] on February 17, 1972.

Henry Ford's ideological approach to Model T design was one of getting it right and then keeping it the same; he believed the Model T was all the car a person would, or could, ever need. As other companies offered comfort and styling advantages, at competitive prices, the Model T lost market share. [[#Design changes|Design changes]] were not as few as the public perceived, but the idea of an unchanging model was kept intact. Eventually, on May 26, 1927, Ford Motor Company ceased production and began the changeovers required to produce the [[Ford Model A (1927–1931)|Model A]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Michigan History |url=http://info.detnews.com/history/story/index.cfm?id=189&category=business |work=Detroit News}}{{dead link|date=December 2012}}</ref>

Model T engines continued to be produced until August 4, 1941. Almost 170,000 were built after car production stopped, as replacement engines were required to service already produced vehicles. Racers and enthusiasts, forerunners of modern hot rodders, used the Model T's block to build popular and cheap racing engines, including [[Cragar]], [[Navarro (hot rodder)|Navarro]], and famously the [[Frontenac (racing car)|Frontenac]]s ("Fronty Fords") of the [[Chevrolet]] brothers, among many others.

The Model T employed some advanced technology, for example, its use of [[vanadium]] steel alloy. Its durability was phenomenal, and many Model Ts and their parts remain in running order nearly a century later. Although Henry Ford resisted some kinds of change, he always championed the advancement of materials engineering, and often mechanical engineering and industrial engineering.

In 2002, Ford built a final batch of six Model Ts as part of their 2003 centenary celebrations. These cars were assembled from remaining new components and other parts produced from the original drawings. The last of the six was used for publicity purposes in the UK.

Although Ford no longer manufactures parts for the Model T, many parts are still manufactured through [[Privately held company|private companies]] as replicas to service the thousands of Model T's still in operation today.

=== Price ===
The standard 4-seat open tourer of 1909 cost $850;<ref name="Ward1974p1562">{{Harvnb|Ward|1974|p=1562}}.</ref> in 1913, the price dropped to $550 and $440 in 1915. Sales were 69,762 in 1911; 170,211 in 1912; 202,667 in 1913; 308,162 in 1914; and 501,462 in 1915.<ref name="Georgano1985" /> In 1914, an assembly line worker could buy a Model T with four months' pay.<ref name="Georgano1985" />

By the 1920s, the price had fallen to $260<ref name="MediaFordCom" /> because of increasing efficiencies of assembly line technique and volume.

=== Recycling ===
Henry Ford used wood scraps from the production of Model T's to create charcoal. Originally named Ford Charcoal, the name was changed to [[Kingsford (charcoal)|''Kingsford Charcoal'']] after Ford's relative E. G. Kingsford brokered the selection of the new charcoal plant site.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.kingsford.com/our-heritage/ |title=Our Heritage |publisher=Kingsford |accessdate=2012-12-24}}</ref>

=== First global car ===
The Ford Model T was the first automobile built by various countries simultaneously since they were being produced in [[Ford Motor Company of Canada|Walkerville]], Canada and in [[Trafford Park]], [[Greater Manchester]], England starting in 1911 and were later assembled in [[Ford Germany|Germany]], [[Ford Motor Company of Argentina|Argentina]],<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.autohistoria.com.ar/Historias/Ford%20Historia.htm |title=Historia de Ford en Argentina |trans_title=History of Ford in Argentina |language=Spanish |accessdate=2012-12-24 |publisher=Auto Historia}}</ref> France, Spain, Denmark, Norway, Belgium, Brazil, Mexico, and Japan, as well as several locations throughout the US.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.autoatlantic.com/Sept08/Sept08_Ford-Model-T-is-100.html |title=Celebrating the Ford Model T, only 100 years young! |work=Auto Atlantic |accessdate=2012-12-24 |date=2008-09}}</ref> Ford made use of the [[knock-down kit]] concept almost from the beginning of the company.

The [[Aeroford]] was an [[England|English]] [[automobile]] manufactured in [[Bayswater]], London, from 1920 to 1925. It was a Model T with distinct hood and grille to make it appear to be a totally different design, what later would have been called [[badge engineering]]. The Aeroford sold from £288 in 1920, dropping to £168-214 by 1925. It was available as a two-seater, four-seater, or [[coupé]].<ref>David Culshaw & Peter Horrobin: ''The Complete Catalogue of British Cars 1895–1975''. Veloce Publishing plc. Dorchester (1999). ISBN 1-874105-93-6</ref>{{page needed|date=September 2011}}

== Advertising, marketing, and packaging ==
Ford created a massive publicity machine in Detroit to ensure every newspaper carried stories and advertisements about the new product. Ford's network of local dealers made the car ubiquitous in virtually every city in North America. As independent dealers, the franchises grew rich and publicized not just the Ford but the very concept of automobiling; local motor clubs sprang up to help new drivers and to explore the countryside. Ford was always eager to sell to farmers, who looked on the vehicle as a commercial device to help their business. Sales skyrocketed&nbsp;– several years posted 100% gains on the previous year.

Sales passed 250,000 in 1914. By 1916, as the price dropped to $360 for the basic touring car, sales reached 472,000.<ref name="Lewis1976pp41–59">{{Harvnb|Lewis|1976|pp=41–59}}.</ref>

== Car clubs ==
[[File:1919 Ford Model T Pickup.JPG|thumb|1919 Ford Model T Pickup]]

Cars built before 1919 are classed as [[veteran car]]s and later models as [[vintage car]]s. Today, four main clubs exist to support the preservation and restoration of these cars: The Model T Ford Club International,<ref>[http://www.modelt.org/ The Model T Ford Club International]</ref> the Model T Ford Club of America<ref>[http://www.mtfca.com Model T Ford Club of America]</ref> and the combined clubs of Australia. With many chapters of clubs around the world, the Model T Ford Club of Victoria<ref>[http://www.modeltfordclubvic.org.au Model T Ford Club of Victoria]</ref> has a membership with a considerable number of uniquely Australian cars. (Australia produced its own car bodies and therefore many differences occurred between the Australian bodied tourers<ref>[http://www.modeltcentral.com/Model-T-Ford-Australian-tourers.html Model T Central - Model T Ford Australian Tourers]</ref> and the US/Canadian cars). In the UK, the Model T Ford Register of Great Britain celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2010. Many steel Model T parts are still manufactured today, and even [[Glass-reinforced plastic|fiberglass]] replicas of their distinctive bodies are produced, which are popular for [[T-bucket]] style [[hot rod]]s (as immortalized in the [[Jan and Dean]] [[surf music]] song "Bucket T," which was later recorded by [[The Who]]).

== In popular media ==
* [[John Steinbeck]]'s ''[[Cannery Row (novel)|Cannery Row]]'' contains a passage about the Model T:
<!-- the original quote includes the word clitoris. read the book or do a web search on
"Two generations of Americans knew more about the Ford coil" -"Cars built before 1919 are classed as veteran cars and"
(the second half is to ignore copies of wikipedia) -->
<blockquote>
"Someone should write an erudite essay on the moral, physical, and aesthetic effect of the Model T Ford on the American nation. Two generations of Americans knew more about the Ford coil than about the [[clitoris]], about the planetary system of gears than the [[Solar System|solar system of stars]]. With the Model T, part of the concept of private property disappeared. Pliers ceased to be privately owned and a tire iron belonged to the last man who had picked it up. Most of the babies of the period were conceived in Model T Fords and not a few were born in them. The theory of the Anglo Saxon home became so warped that it never quite recovered."
</blockquote>
* In [[Aldous Huxley]]'s ''[[Brave New World]]'', where Henry Ford is regarded as a messianic figure, graveyard crosses have been truncated to T's. Additionally, the calendar is converted to an "A.F." system, wherein the first calendar year leads from the introduction of the Model T.

== See also ==
* [[NZR RM class (Model T Ford)|New Zealand RM class (Model T Ford)]] – a 1925 experimental [[railcar]] based on a Model T powertrain

== Notes ==
{{Reflist|colwidth=30em}}

== Bibliography ==
* {{Cite document | last = Clymer | first = Floyd | year = 1955 | title = Henry’s wonderful Model T, 1908-1927 | publisher = McGraw-Hill | location = New York, NY, USA |postscript=. | lccn = 55010405 | ref = harv}}
* {{Cite document | last = Clymer | first = Floyd | year = 1950 | title = Treasury of Early American Automobiles, 1877–1925 | publisher = McGraw-Hill | location = New York, NY, USA |postscript=. | lccn = 50010680 | ref = harv}}
* {{Ford1922}}
* {{Cite document | last = [[G.N. Georgano|Georgano]] | first = G. N. | year = 1985 | title = Cars: Early and Vintage, 1886–1930 | publisher = Grange-Universal | location = London, UK | isbn = | id = |postscript=. | ref = harv}}
* {{Hounshell1984}}
* {{Cite book | last = Lacey | first = Robert | year = 1986 | title = Ford: The Men and the Machine | publisher = Little, Brown | location = Boston, MA, USA | isbn = 978-0-316-51166-7 |postscript=. | ref = harv}}
* {{Cite book | last = Lewis | first = David | year = 1976 | title = The Public Image of Henry Ford: An American Folk Hero and His Company | publisher = Wayne State University Press | location = Detroit, MI, USA | isbn = 978-0-8143-1553-8 |postscript=. | ref = harv}}
* {{Cite book | last = McCalley | first = Bruce W. | year = 1994 | title = Model T Ford: The Car That Changed the World | publisher = [[Krause Publications]] | location = Iola, WI, USA | isbn = 0-87341-293-1 |postscript=. | ref = harv}}
* {{Cite book |last=Pripps |first=Robert N. |last2=Morland |first2=Andrew (photographer) |year=1993 |title=Farmall Tractors: History of International McCormick-Deering Farmall Tractors |series=Farm Tractor Color History Series |publisher=MBI |location=Osceola, WI, USA |isbn=978-0-87938-763-1 |postscript=. |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book | last = Reynolds | first = David | year = 2009 | title = America, Empire of Liberty: A New History of the United States | publisher = Basic Books | isbn = 978-1-84614-056-3 |postscript=. | ref = harv}}
* {{Cite document | last = Ward | first = Ian (ed) | year = 1974 | title = The World of Automobiles | volume = 13 | publisher = Orbis | location = London, UK | isbn = | id = |postscript=. | ref = harv}}
* {{Cite book | last = Wik | first = Reynold M. | year = 1972 | title = Henry Ford and Grass-Roots America | publisher = University of Michigan Press | location = Ann Arbor, MI, USA | isbn = 978-0-472-97200-5 |postscript=. | ref = harv}}

== External links ==
{{Commonscat}}
* [http://www.fordmodelt.net FordModelT.net - Resource for Model T Owners and Enthusiasts]
* [http://www.mtfca.com Model T Ford Club of America (USA)]
* [http://www.modelt.org Model T Ford Club International]
* {{imcdb vehicle|make=Ford|model=Model+T|Ford Model T}}

{{Ford}}

[[Category:1900s automobiles]]
[[Category:1910s automobiles]]
[[Category:1920s automobiles]]
[[Category:Convertibles]]
[[Category:Culture of Detroit, Michigan]]
[[Category:Ford vehicles|Model T]]
[[Category:Full-size vehicles]]
[[Category:History of the United States (1865–1918)]]
[[Category:Industrial designs]]
[[Category:Motor vehicles manufactured in the United States]]
[[Category:Pickup trucks]]
[[Category:Vehicles introduced in 1908]]
[[Category:1927 disestablishments]]

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