Model of success

In October 1908, the Ford Motor Co. rolled out a car that would change America: the Model T.

More than any other car, this was the one that put America on wheels. Over the past century, its invention has come to symbolize the qualities the world reveres about its inventor: perseverance, ingenuity, imagination and vision.

"The Model T, sturdy, reliable and generic product of the perfection of mass production changed not only America, but civilization itself," say Alan Axelrod and Charles Phillips in their book, "What Every American Should Know About American History."

They note, "It fostered a consumer-driven society; it bestowed upon virtually all economic classes equal and unprecedented mobility; it began the unification of the nation through a vast network of roads; it began the suburbanization of the country; it dramatically changed the relation of labor and management; and it changed the nature of labor itself forever."

By 1918, half of all the cars in America were Model T's. Before production ceased in 1927, more than 15 million Model T's had been produced. The T is still prized among collectors of classic cars.

At The Henry Ford, the Dearborn museum dedicated to Ford's life and legacy, a yearlong celebration has honored "the car that changed the speed of life." The Model T, the museum folks say, "was a global phenomenon. It was the vehicle that real people could afford. It was the car that braved the Australian outback, that nudged its way through the Burmese jungles, that turned New York's little roadways into bustling thoroughfares."

Yes, it was drafty. It broke down occasionally. As for space — there was none, compared to what you get in a decent midsize car today. "But when you are assessing the impact of the Model T, those are insignificant concerns," they say at the museum. "The Model T was the car that made drivers of us all."

Had young Henry Ford been more inclined to agriculture than mechanics, it all would have been different. But growing up on a farm in what is now Dearborn, Mich., as the oldest of six children, young Henry showed early interest in all things mechanical and an intense dislike of farm work.

In 1879, at age 16, he left the farm to work as an apprentice machinist in nearby Detroit. Even though he periodically returned to the farm to help out, he much preferred overhauling his father's farm implements than working the fields.

Eventually, Ford became an engineer with the Edison Illuminating Co., and in his spare time began his own experiments with internal combustion engines. His first self-propelled vehicle, called the Quadricycle, came along in 1896.