Henry Ford's First Cars

[DnStClr]

 I suppose many of you have seen this, but for those who haven't, it's kinda neat.
( And btw, no- I wasn't on the assembly line. lol)


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S4KrIMZpwCY

[Lt.Del]

Cool vid Don, thanks for sharing.  Those vehicles were so simple then.  It reminds me of why  i loved my old mustangs so much.

[Blazin]

Had seen it years ago, but still a good watch, thanks for posting it.

[frito-bandito]

Cars are nowhere near as staightfoward as they used to be. You used to be able to learn everything about fixing cars with patience and hand tools. Now you have to have thousands of dollars worth of computer equipment.

[Stewart G Griffin]

Model T was/is overrated.

And secondly Oldsmoboggie, not ford, started the mass production auto line.

[frito-bandito]

Overrated?

[VileZambonie]

Overrated my butt! Not a modern Ford fan but there's no denying what they did and produced was revolutionary. Henry Ford improved the assembly line to make manufacturing and purchasing an automobile something that was not just for the wealthy.

[Lt.Del]

well said Vile.  There is a reason Henry Ford is a household name.

[78 Chevyrado]

Ford didn't invent the assembly line, he only perfected it.  Instead of 1.5 days to build a car, it took ninety minutes.  how's that overrated.

couple of cool articles

http://www.wanttoknow.info/050711carmileageaveragempg

http://www.popularmechanics.com/automotive/reader_rides/1267346.html

[frito-bandito]

I agree, if Henry Ford wouldn't have perfected the assembly line, it may not be used today.

[Lt.Del]

if i recall, he paid workers $5 a day when the average daily wage was much less than that.  yes it was monotonous work, doing the same task repeatedly over and over and over hundreds of times a day, but, they were well paid and knew it.

I would'nt say he "perfected" the assembly line, but, he made it much more efficient than it was.  AFter a while, the workers, even though paid well, were getting tired of doing the same thing over and over.  So, cross training came in, and workers learned other aspects eventually.  It was a good step in the right direction.

instead of the worker going to the car to work on it, the car came to the worker for that particular piece of equipment to be bolted on.   The moving assembly line.

[bobcooter]

I read somewhere that if a certain procedure was difficult or very hard to do, Henry Ford would find the laziest guy in the plant and make him do that step of the process. Usually the lazy guy would come up with a simpler and effective way to do it! Now that's smart!

[frito-bandito]

Lazy guy?? That's where I come into the picture.