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N0KFQ > TODAY 26.05.12 17:06l 53 Lines 2518 Bytes #999 (0) @ WW
BID : 22878_KB0WSA
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Subj: Today in History - May 26
Path: IZ3LSV<IW0QNL<IK6ZDE<I0OJJ<VE3UIL<N0KFQ<KB0WSA
Sent: 120526/1545Z 22878@KB0WSA.MO.USA.NA BPQK1.4.50
May 26, 1927:
Last day of Model T production at Ford
On this day in 1927, Henry Ford and his son Edsel drive the 15
millionth Model T Ford out of their factory, marking the famous
automobile's official last day of production.
More than any other vehicle, the relatively affordable and
efficient Model T was responsible for accelerating the
automobile's introduction into American society during the first
quarter of the 20th century. Introduced in October 1908, the
Model T_also known as the "Tin Lizzie"_weighed some 1,200 pounds,
with a 20-horsepower, four-cylinder engine. It got about 13 to 21
miles per gallon of gasoline and could travel up to 45 mph.
Initially selling for around $850 (around $20,000 in today's
dollars), the Model T would later sell for as little as $260
(around $6,000 today) for the basic no-extras model.
Largely due to the Model T's incredible popularity, the U.S.
government made construction of new roads one of its top
priorities by 1920. By 1926, however, the Lizzie had become
outdated in a rapidly expanding market for cheaper cars. While
Henry Ford had hoped to keep up production of the Model T while
retooling his factories for its replacement, the Model A, lack of
demand forced his hand. On May 25, 1927, he made headlines around
the world with the announcement that he was discontinuing the
Model T. As recorded by Douglas Brinkley in "Wheels for the
World," his biography of Ford, the legendary carmaker delivered a
eulogy for his most memorable creation: "It had stamina and
power. It was the car that ran before there were good roads to
run on. It broke down the barriers of distance in rural sections,
brought people of these sections closer together and placed
education within the reach of everyone."
After production officially ended the following day, Ford
factories shut down in early June, and some 60,000 workers were
laid off. The company sold fewer than 500,000 cars in 1927, less
than half of Chevrolet's sales. The Model A's release beginning
in select cities that December was greeted by throngs of
thousands, a tribute to Ford's characteristic ability to make a
splash. No car in history, however, had the impact_both actual
and mythological_of the Model T: Authors like Ernest Hemingway,
E.B. White and John Steinbeck featured the Tin Lizzie in their
prose, while the great filmmaker Charlie Chaplin immortalized it
in satire in his 1928 film "The Circus."
73, K.O. n0kfq
N0KFQ @ KB0WSA.MO.USA.NA
E-mail: n0kfq@winlink.org
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