My family is avid car lovers and October 1st is Model T Day #ModelTDay, I would love to find a #CarShow to go walk around to celebrate Model Ts. Would you like to go with us/ Or do you know someone who own’s a Motel T that would take us for a ride which would be amazing?
Or at least let us get a picture sitting inside the Car? if so the only think missing for me would be my dad who would have loved sitting in a Model T. Although, if David’s dad is having a good day I could take him couldn’t I?
Model T Day is celebrated every year on October 1st to commemorate the day that changed how America traveled on its roads. The Model T was an iconic automobile that changed America’s streetscape. People absolutely love and respect Henry Ford for introducing the car to America and contributing to its progress. Celebrating Model T Day is our way of paying tribute to his extraordinary enterprise.
Modern cars began to be manufactured in the late 1800s in Germany and slowly made their way into America. However, most of these vehicles were simply out of reach of ordinary American folks. That was till 1908.
Determined to build an automobile for ordinary Americans, Henry Ford assembled a team of engineers and technicians in January 1907. On October 1st, 1908, the team successfully launched a mass-produced car that most Americans could buy which was the Model T.
On October 1st, 1908, the first Model T car rolled out of the Ford factory on Piquette Avenue in Detroit, Michigan. The car was arguably the first automobile in the world that ordinary middle-class folks could afford. America’s working-class warmed up to Henry Ford’s creation and the rest, as they say, is history.
Did you know the Ford Model T was a left-hand drive vehicle with an enclosed four-cylinder engine. I didn’t know that and neither did Charlie. The Model Ts body was fashioned out of vanadium alloy steel, giving it a sturdy exterior. A generous ground clearance endeared the Model T to rural drivers in America. For the first time, Ford had made a car with all parts built in-house.
The Model T became so popular that soon Ford Motor Company built a new 60-acre factory in Highland Park to manufacture Model Ts. The factory was arguably the biggest mass-production facility in those days.
Henry Ford created a moving assembly line for the manufacturing process that utilized conveyor belts which was a first in automobile production at that time. In six months, a Model T began to be made in a little less than six hours significantly less than the nearly 10 hours needed initially.
Fun Ways To Celebrate Model T Day
- Making a Model T with Lego pieces or Styrofoam, Thermocol, cardboard, etc., can be fun. To get the word out about making Model Ts hold a miniature-making session at your local Community Hall, in the Church, or at a friend’s place. Announce a contest for all folks who participate which would be a good opportunity for people in your community to bond.
- Make Model T Day memorable by arranging a quiz contest on Model T for all automobile fans. Collect facts and trivia from the internet and compile a set of questions. Ask your friends and neighbors to participate. Divide the participating group into teams and see the fun multiply!
- Kids and teenagers don’t know about how Henry Ford revolutionized America’s automobile landscape with the Model T. Gather them around for a story-telling session. Screen a documentary on the subject or simply project images on a wall. Watching the young ones gape in innocent amazement is pure joy!
Facts About The Model T
- To showcase the car’s sturdiness, Henry Ford engineered a publicity stunt in Scotland in 1911, where a Scottish car dealer’s son drove the Model T across the Scottish Highlands the British Isles’ highest Mountain at 4,411 feet.
- The Model T was given funny nicknames including ‘Tin Lizzie,’ ‘Old Liz,’ and ‘Leaping Lena.’
- The Model T was first priced at ~$850 in 1908, the Model T was available in 1925 at less than $300 equal to four months’ average wages.
- Henry Ford mandated that dealers sold a subscription of the “Ford International Weekly” along with each Model T, which resulted in it achieving circulation figures exceeded only by “The New York Post”.
- Between 1913 and 1927, the Ford Motor Company manufactured over 15 million Model Ts.
Why People Love Model T Day
- Henry Ford was the man that put America on wheels. Despite not being the inventor of automobiles, Henry Ford was the pioneer in creating assembly lines for automobiles. The large-scale production of automobiles brought about economies of scale, which ultimately lowered the prices of cars and brought it within the common American’s reach. Model T Day is a way to pay tribute to his vision.
- ‘The Model T, in those days, was a black stallion on wheels. The Model T was sturdy, could comfortably seat five people, could navigate most roads, and was affordable.
- People just love the Model T for giving Americans freedom to move.
- The Model T is an invention that is part of our history, and Henry Ford will always be remembered for it.
- We all aspire to do something that we will be appreciatively remembered for by future generations. Model T Dat gives us the inspiration to fulfill our aspirations. Who knows, perhaps in the future, a day could be dedicated to our invention!
Thank you,
Glenda, Charlie and David Cates
