Jeong Ho Ha
Ross School
Modernity Through Model T of Ford Motor Company
The late 19th and early 20th centuries were the Age Modernity during which
societies withdrew traditional conventions/ideas and transformed into progressive ones
that sought novelty with flow of new ideas and innovations in breathtakingly fast rate.
While the science world reached its climax with series of new discoveries and aroused
feelings of uncertainty and lack of objectivity throughout the world, synergy of such
discoveries accelerated advancements in technology to its own heyday. Amidst ongoing
Industrial Revolution, production became heavily mechanized, and patent offices
overflowed with new inventions. Along such progress rose a mass culture in the cities,
which undermined traditional aristocratic values.
One of the most significant technological advancements during the modern era,
arguably, is the improvement in transportation. In 1908, to the world Henry Ford
introduced the Model T, and it was a “motor car for the great multitude"1 that
transformed daily lives of the commoners into nothing like before. The car granted quick
and inexpensive means of mobility to middle-class Americans, thanks to Ford’s efficient
moving assembly line production system. Henry Ford’s Model T, therefore, a lens
through which to view modernity as it was an integration of archetypal innovations of
modern era, designed in terms of modern values, manufactured through application of
cutting-edge production system that satisfied the demands of the mass society and
fostered modern culture. As the product of the Modernity Project, I will be replicating the
1923 Model T Roadster.
Model T was an automobile that fused together the new technologies that
constituted the Age of Modernity. The Industrial Revolution led to a proliferation of
manufacturing and invention. Many industries – notably textiles, steel, rubber, and
railway locomotives – saw expeditious improvements in material handling, machining
and assembling during the first half of the 19th century. Such progress accelerated itself,
and during the second half of the century, the momentum brought publication of more
1
"People and Discoveries; Ford Installs First Moving Assembly Line 1913." PBS Online. PBS, nd. Web. 29 Jan. 2014. 1 and more sophisticated innovations. For instance, Nikolaus August Otto invented the first
internal-combustion engine in 1860, and in 24 years, he built a fully operating four-stroke
gasoline engine that was equipped with electric ignition system.2 In this engine, he
applied a new scientific discovery, a piezoelectric effect, to reduce the much effort and
danger starting engines with manual cranks required. Likewise, many of the innovations
during the age of modernity involved integrating technologies from interdisciplinary
fields to derive new functions. A fusion of material science and optics invented camera,
and a mixture of railroad technology and chemistry invented refrigerated railroad cars.
Ford’s Model T, one can argue, ultimately exemplifies this concept. It combined Otto’s
internal combustion engine, Edison’s light bulbs, Goodyear’s rubber tires, and many
other modern technologies into making of the Model T. Not only Model T but also cars
in general were a representative invention of the modern era that combined variety of
newly developed technologies and marked a milestone in history of technology.
Ford’s Model T was not only a technological fusion of contemporary innovations
but also an integration of modern values; its rationalistic design and groundbreaking mass
production system that Ford developed to meet the demand of mass market very much
epitomize the modern ideas. The most profound modern philosophy behind Model T is
well credit to Ford’s determination to target the mass society. When he kick started the
Model T production, he was firmly aware who would be driving those cars - not the
aristocrats, but the average middle-classman. He was conscious of the fact, in the modern
world, the key to success in automobile industry lied not on the ability to manufacture the
best car in the world, but on the capability to manufacture functional cars at competitive
price. Henry Ford did not invent a new car; yet, he produced the first automobile that was
within the economic reach of the average American. While other manufacturers were
content to target a market of the wealthy, Ford developed a design and a method of
manufacture that steadily reduced the cost of the Model T. Model T’s design focused on
functionalism and standardization to maximize manufacturing efficiency and minimize
production cost. Ford’s goal was to produce cars under $2000 whose “only difference
from cars that cost over $2000 is the lack of embellishments.”3 Ford’s engineers took the
2
3
Voland, Gerard. Engineering by Design. 2nd ed. Upper Saddle River: Pearson Education, 2004. Print.
"Henry Ford Changes the World, 1908." Eyewitness to History. Ibis Communications, Inc., 2005. Web. 20 Jan. 2014.
2 first step towards this goal by designing the Model T, a simple and study car, “offering no
factory options—not even a choice of color.”4 The Model T, first produced in 1908, kept
the same design until the last one—number 15,000,000—rolled off the line in 1927.5
They further cheapened the production by standardizing auto parts that were being
produced and assembled in factories all across the world. Interchangeable parts replaced
handcrafted parts, enabling “steering wheel manufactured in Buenos Aires [to] fit with
chassis built in Detroit.”6 The most remarkable revolution behind the Model T, though,
was the implementation of assembly lines. Continuation of assembly flow, division of
labor, and reduction of wasted efforts all contributed to maximization of production
efficiency; Model T’s on conveyor belt skyrocketed its production speed up to more than
twice the original rate,7 while cutting the price down to $99 by the 6th year of
production.8 As a whole, Ford’s endeavor to establish revolutionary business models,
later termed Fordism, transformed the automobile from a luxury toy to a mainstay of
American society.
The availability of an affordable, durable automobile put the dream of unlimited
personal mobility within reach of a broad swath of society, setting the stage for the rise of
individualism and urbanization. Automobiles were no longer a novelty when the Model T
made its first appearance, but they were far from universal. By the time the last T left the
line, the automobile was fully integrated into everyday life. “I’m going to democratize
the automobile,”9 Ford once said in 1909. When it was sold for $575 in 1912, the Model
T was the first automobile to cost less than the prevailing average annual wage in the
United States.10 The price was so low that even Ford’s factory workers who built Model
T on the assembly lines were able to afford it. It opened accessibility to automobiles not
only to the elites but also to most members of the newly rising mass society, granting a
little more freedom at least to travel around as much as they wanted. Model T truly was
an individuals’ car as it was “large enough for the family, but small enough for the
individual to run and care for” that one could “enjoy with his family the blessing of hours
4
Gross, Daniel. Forbes Greatest Business Stories of All Time. New York: J. Wiley & Sons, 1996. Print.
"People and Discoveries; Ford Installs First Moving Assembly Line 1913." PBS Online. PBS, n.d. Web. 29 Jan. 2014. 6
Swan, Tony. "Ford's Assembly Line Turns 100: How It Really Put the World on Wheels." Car and Driver. Hearst Communications,
Inc., Apr. 2013. Web. 20 Jan. 2014.
7
"People and Discoveries; Ford Installs First Moving Assembly Line 1913." PBS Online. PBS, n.d. Web. 29 Jan. 2014.
8
Gross, Daniel. Forbes Greatest Business Stories of All Time. New York: J. Wiley & Sons, 1996. Print.
9
Gross, Daniel. Forbes Greatest Business Stories of All Time. New York: J. Wiley & Sons, 1996. Print.
10
Gross, Daniel. Forbes Greatest Business Stories of All Time. New York: J. Wiley & Sons, 1996. Print.
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3 of pleasure in God's great open spaces.”11. Its other contributions to building more
modern society were even more profound. The mobility which Model T bestowed to the
society enabled cities to grow bigger and bigger, both demographically and
geographically speaking. Before automobiles were omnipresent, city’s population was
limited by its packed resident spaces. However, Model T allowed workers who lived in
suburbs to commute to their work places, dozens of miles away from their homes, in less
than an hour. Simply, a lot more people were able to work in the cities. Moreover, as the
automobile traffic increased explosively, establishment of a national highway network
was at its hype. Following the 8th year of Model T production, United States government
passed the Federal Air Road Act of 1916, which provided $75 million over a five-year
period for the construction and improvement of public roads.12 In 1920s, United States
experienced unprecedented rapid growth of roadway system, a development more than
200,000 miles of interconnected highways.13 In this respect, Model T was, indisputably,
the blossom of the second industrial revolution that expedited city expansion and
nourished modern culture.
On Model T’s road to becoming a simple, reliable, and affordable car,
technological innovations were merged together. Assembly line that was introduced to
maximize the manufacturing efficiency was the archetypal outcome of modernity’s
innovative thinking. Commercialization of rather smaller and cheaper cars through
scientific management to target the middle to working class consumers led the modern
merchandise and capitalism. Henry Ford was the leader of capacitating mass production
and promoting mass consumption. Cultural differences between before Model T and after
Model T are remarkably significant, especially in terms of the daily lives and the working
experiences of overall people. Ultimately, Henry Ford’s Model T was not only a people’s
car but also the paradigm of the multi-disciplinary transformation during the age of
modernity.
"Henry Ford Changes the World, 1908." Eyewitness to History. Ibis Communications, Inc., 2005. Web. 20 Jan. 2014. Schwantes, Carlos A. Going Places: Transportation Redefines the Twentieth-century West. Bloomington: Indiana UP, 2003. Print.
13
Schwantes, Carlos A. Going Places: Transportation Redefines the Twentieth-century West. Bloomington: Indiana UP, 2003. Print.
11
12
4 Bibliography
Voland, Gerard. Engineering by Design. 2nd ed. Upper Saddle River: Pearson Education,
2004. Print.
Lichtenstein, Nelson, Susan Strasser, and Roy Rosenzweig. Who Built America ?:
Working People and the Nation's Economy, Politics, Culture and Society. Vol. 2. New
York: Worth, 2000. Print.
Kaes, Anton, Martin Jay, and Edward Dimendberg. "The Challenge of Modernity." The
Weimar Republic Sourcebook. Berkeley: University of California, 1994. 329-411. Print.
Nahum, Andrew, and Design Museum. Fifty Cars That Changed the World. London:
Conran Octopus, 2009. Print.
Guzzardi, Giuseppe, and Enzo Rizzo. Convertibles: History and Evolution of Dream
Cars. Edison, NJ: JG, 1998. Print.
Gross, Daniel. Forbes Greatest Business Stories of All Time. New York: J. Wiley &
Sons, 1996. Print.
"People and Discoveries; Ford Installs First Moving Assembly Line 1913." PBS Online.
PBS, n.d. Web. 29 Jan. 2014.
<http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aso/databank/entries/dt13as.html>.
Swan, Tony. "Ford's Assembly Line Turns 100: How It Really Put the World on
Wheels." Car and Driver. Hearst Communications, Inc., Apr. 2013. Web. 20 Jan. 2014.
<http://www.caranddriver.com/features/fords-assembly-line-turns-100-how-it-really-putthe-world-on-wheels-feature>.
"Henry Ford Changes the World, 1908." Eyewitness to History. Ibis Communications,
Inc., 2005. Web. 20 Jan. 2014. <http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/ford.htm>.
Davies, Alex. "Ford's Assembly Line Turns 100 Today - Here's What It Looked Like In
1913." Business Insider. Business Insider, Inc, 07 Oct. 2013. Web. 20 Jan. 2014.
<http://www.businessinsider.com/photos-of-the-ford-assembly-line-in-1913-2013-10>.
Schwantes, Carlos A. Going Places: Transportation Redefines the Twentieth-century
West. Bloomington: Indiana UP, 2003. Print.
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