OT Model A OT

[pflaming]

All auto mfg'rs had cars out with Ford and the Model A. Why did the Model A become such an Iconic car? Was it a better car or was Ford just that far ahead of the others in production methods and dealerships? Or were they?

My son asked what the difference was between the Model A and the Model T which precipitated this question.

[Plymouthy Adams]

car for the masses..cheap to build and flood the market with a low price entry level car...Japanese done this in the not to distant past..

[Frank Elder]

And when Henry built his metal/wooden trucks, he used the wooden crates that his parts came in as as truck panels to save money also..............

[desoto1939]

The model T basically was the start of the production line model for Ford. Ford did have a Model A that proceeded the Model a's from 1928 to 31.

The Model T's had the palentary gear system which you sued foot pedals to do the shiftinh instead of the floor mounted shift. If I remember corretly this was up until around 1926-27 and then he swithced to the floor mounted shift on these model T.

Also until till around 1915 the T's had gass lights and then they switched to electric lights.

Rich Hartung

[Jim Saraceno]

All auto mfg'rs had cars out with Ford and the Model A. Why did the Model A become such an Iconic car?

Well there were many manufacturers making cars at that point but not all. Chrysler for instance had yet to get into the car business.

The Model T was the first mass produced car that was affordable to the average worker. It was first brought out in 1909 at a cost of $850-$1000. There were continuous improvements in the car and the prices constantly lowered. Production ended in 1927 when they sold for $360-$545. I don't remember the numbers but many were made and many are still on the road today. Many consider it the car with the largest impact for the 20th century.

The Model A was the next big improvement for Ford. It was manufactured from 1927-1931. Again they outsold most other manufactures by a large margin and even though the hot rod guys keep chopping them up, there are many still owned today.

[Uncle-Pekka]

Well there were many manufacturers making cars at that point but not all. Chrysler for instance had yet to get into the car business.

Jim, what do you mean Chrysler was not around by then? - As you said, model A was sold 1928-31, the first Chrysler car was introduced 1924 and Walter P. set up the Chrysler company in 1925, thus it was there to compete at very same venue with model A.

Why model A became so popular was very simple: It offered the best value for money by far. Ford build 1.14 million model A's in 1930, almost half of the US total car production that year. Chevrolet was the second with 640 000 cars. Dodge, for instance, made 22 000 cars and the Dodge six cost more than two Ford tudor's.

Why model A is so popular as a collector car today, 80 yrs later?

- Well for one reason a full steel body stands firm over the decades and is very simple to restore compared to wood framed bodies of the other makes of that era. Also the huge production numbers have ensured availability of spares over the years. Also the ford L-head four is a simple and reliable unit, easy to fix.

Simple reasons, plain to understand - isn't them?

[JIPJOBXX]

They were built simple so a commen man could work on one. They were built to last and were cheap to buy! The big difference between a Model T and Model A was that the T had a 24 horse power engine and the A had a 40 hp.

[TodFitch]

Well there were many manufacturers making cars at that point but not all. Chrysler for instance had yet to get into the car business.

Chrysler, around as a manufacturer since 1924 got in to the low priced market by introducing the Plymouth in the summer of 1928. So Plymouth was around to compete with the Model A Ford which was introduced 6 months earlier.

However Ford had a strong brand identity having sold the Model T for all those years: At one point about 90% of all cars on the road in America were Model T Fords. That is pretty astounding market share. And the Model A Ford was cheaper than the competing Chevrolet and Plymouth. Between brand loyalty and price, Ford was in a good position to sell lots of cars.

[eric wissing]

It took a lot of persuading by Edsel to get his Dad to improve the "T" up to the "A". The "A" really has some nice lines to it. It was already being outsold by Chevrolet but it was built better. There are something like 250,000 "T's" still registered!!! That says something. My brother and I had an "A" in the early 70s. It was fun. Eric

[Plymouthy Adams]

one has but wonder how many of the 250,000 are fiberglass renditions of the real car out there is pure rodding form..the T-bucket comes to mind..not tomention a few roadsters added in for good measure..

there are more Cobra's on the road in just about any one state than was ever produced..and the reason they went to the big block was because they were getting their butt kicked all over the race track by another Shelby interest vehicle...this was a subject of a very high powered threat by Ford..

[Tim Keith]

Ford had an extensive dealer network and kept to simple designs. He did not like the costs of six cylinder crankshafts, so he worked overtime overcoming casting issues for the V8 block, which was more like a four. Ford was not fond of scholarly trained engineers, preferring to tinker with the designs himself. Having created his V8 he had an image which maintained the Ford as the leader in the low priced field. Only Plymouth increased market share during the 1930s. Henry himself became a cultural icon like Thomas Edison. The public identified with Ford's quirky hero status, which might have been impossible if Ford were a publically held, rather than family owned company.

[Jerry Roberts]

The early history of Ford makes good reading , you don't have to buy the book , the library has it .

[B-Watson]

The Model T had the planetary transmission to the bitter end in 1927. The Model A had the normal clutch and sliding gear transmission but hung onto the transverse leaf suspension.

The Model A engine survived, with improvements, into the V8 era. Ford also built an assembly plant for the Russians in the early 1930's for production of Model A cars and trucks for Russia (the GAZ). The Model A engine was used in Russia's version of the Jeep into the 1960's, just as the 1926 Willys Whippet 4 engine was used in American Jeeps into the late 1960's.

Bill

Vancouver, BC

[pflaming]

Jerry, don't have to go to the library, go to Google. I found a lot of information there, things I didn't realize. Henry Ford spent 100,000,000 in research and development on the Model A, that's correct, million.

To my recollection there were a number of spinoffs from Ford: Fergeson was a brother-in-law and invented the three point hitch, had to sue to keep ownership from Henry; Firestone was another, and Kingsford Briquets.

[Niel Hoback]

Don't forget the poor guy that invented the wiper delay system.

[greg g]

The Model A was the first "modern" car available inexpensively for the masses. Not talking high tech or out standing engineering, but things like roll up windows, decent 4 wheel brakes, reliable electric starting, good heater and wipers, and other thing which made driving less of adventure than in model T's or other of the time. Even the ladies could just get in and drive.

[Jim Saraceno]

Jim, what do you mean Chrysler was not around by then? - As you said, model A was sold 1928-31, the first Chrysler car was introduced 1924 and Walter P. set up the Chrysler company in 1925, thus it was there to compete at very same venue with model A.

Hmmmm.... I have no idea why I said that?! Brain cramp... I knew that.

Hey, don't blame me for what I say, my brain has a mind of its own:rolleyes:

[Uncle-Pekka]

Hey Jim,

I did not meant to be aggressive on you, I suppose my lines were not, but cannot be sure because english is but my third language.

One could also argue with on my writing there "Chrysler competed at same venue with model A..." - same venue only timevise, but surely in different league. I am definetely not a fan of ford cars, but we have to admit, that in the 20's and probably 30's as well they delivered the best value for common man's money in cars.

I co-owned an unrestored model A in 2006, we serviced and drove it an year. It was actually fun to drive and surprisingly powerful (tremendous low-rew torque) but having then acquired the D24, I do not miss the model-A a bit. D24 is like a Mercedes compared to Jeep as the ford...

cheers,

Pekka

[Jim Saraceno]

Hey Jim,

I did not meant to be aggressive on you,

Not to worry, I didn't take that as an insult. You are correct and really had no idea why I said Chrysler wasn't making cars in the late 20's. Like I said, I just had a brain cramp.

We're all good!

I suppose my lines were not, but cannot be sure because english is but my third language.

You English as a third language is better that many of us who's English is our only language.

[maurice wade]

One incident I remember reading about Henry Ford and his empire. Henry was having trouble getting his point across to his different managers in the company. One morning the staff came to work to find the entire floor empty, Henry during the night had all their office furniture moved from the building. Henry was a powerful man. I owned 4 different Model A's over my years, and enjoyed all of them.

[B-Watson]

One incident I remember reading about Henry Ford and his empire. Henry was having trouble getting his point across to his different managers in the company. One morning the staff came to work to find the entire floor empty, Henry during the night had all their office furniture moved from the building. Henry was a powerful man. I owned 4 different Model A's over my years, and enjoyed all of them.

That incident was apparently back in the early 1920's. Sales were good and both the sales and accounting departments were in need of more room. Edsel, Henry's son and titular head of the company, requested permission to go ahead and build a new, larger building for the expanding departments.

Old Henry thought otherwise and one night had the desks, etc. of the accounting people moved out to make more room for the sales people.

Old Henry had the 19th century mid-western agrarian distrust of banks, bankers and accountants. When Henry II took control in 1945 his new assistants were shocked to find out the department heads had no idea how their departments were doing financially. One department weighed the invoices they issued and the bills they received. If the invoices weighed more than the bills, they said they made money. If not, they lost money.

Henry determined whether or not the company made money by adding up all the money in the banks, bonds, etc. If the new year total was greater than the year previous, Ford Motor Company had made a profit.

Needless to say it took Henry II and the Whix Kids months to clean out dead wood and bring in modern accounting procedures. If Henry I had continued on, it is believed the Ford Motor Company would have been bankrupt by 1947, so heavy was the cash flow out of the company.

Bill

Vancouver, BC