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N0KFQ > TODAY 10.12.13 18:04l 50 Lines 2238 Bytes #999 (0) @ WW
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Subj: Today in History - Dec 10
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Sent: 131210/1555Z 8412@KB0WSA.MO.USA.NA BPQK1.4.57
Dec 10, 1915:
Ford builds its 1 millionth car
On December 10, 1915, the 1 millionth Ford car rolls off the
assembly line at the River Rouge plant in Detroit.
At first, Henry Ford had built his cars like every other
automaker did: one at a time. But his factories' efficiency and
output steadily increased, and after he introduced the moving
assembly line in 1913 the company's productivity soared. Ford was
determined to build what he called "a motor car for the great
multitude," and that's just what he did: By mass-producing just
one kind of car--from 1908 on, that car was the Model T--Ford
could take advantage of economies of scale that were unavailable
to smaller carmakers and pass the savings on to his customers.
Between 1908 and 1927, Ford sold more than 15 million Model Ts in
all; they cost $850 at first (about $20,000 in today's dollars)
but by the end of their run, Ford had managed to reduce the price
to just $300 (about $3700 today).
No one paid much attention to the 1 million milestone. ("With
twenty-five assembly plants...and with a big factory in Detroit
assembling so many Ford cars a day," said The Ford Times, "we
passed the million mark without knowing it.") The 10 millionth
Ford, on the other hand, traveled back and forth from New York to
San Francisco and from Los Angeles to Chicago in the summer of
1924, inspiring raucous celebrations everywhere it went. The
company even made a movie of this goodwill tour, called "Fording
the Lincoln Highway." Along with the 15 millionth Ford in 1927
came another milestone: the company's announcement that it was
discontinuing its classic but no-longer-beloved Model T. Compared
to that news, the release of the 20 millionth Ford was fairly
dull: emblazoned with the words "TWENTY MILLIONTH" and the Ford
logo on both sides and the top, that car went on a national
barnstorming tour in 1931, then directly to the Henry Ford Museum
in Dearborn, Michigan.
Revolutionary as it was at the time, Ford's early production rate
was nothing compared to its modern-day output. In 2008, even in
the midst of a global financial crisis, Ford produced nearly 6
million cars.
73, K.O. n0kfq
N0KFQ @ KB0WSA.MO.USA.NA
E-mail: kohiggs@gmail.com
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