Figure 1.--At the turn nof the 20th century, cars were still rare. By the end of the 1900s decade, they were common olace in American cities. Here we see Chicaho in 1903 from Madison Ave. Americans were becoming interesed in cars even before Henry Ford introduced the Model-T. Put your curso on the image to see Chicago only 6 years later--a view of Madison from in 1909.

The autombile was invented in Germany. But it was seen as a novelty for well-to-do people. America changed that. At the turn nof the 20th century, cars were still rare (figure 1). By the end of the 1900s decade, they were common place in American cities. Here we see Chicago in 1903 from Madison Ave. Americans were becoming interesed in cars even before Henry Ford introduced the Model-T. Put your cursor on the image to see Chicago only 6 years later--a view of Madison from the Art Institute in 1909. Henry Ford changed all of this. Ford produced eight versions of cars before the revolutionary Model T (1908). He started out making high-priced cars like the other companies. The Model-T was different. Ford got the price down to $260. It turned the automobile from a luxury item and plaything for the wealthy. Ford's Model-T was within the price range of the average worker. This was accomplished not only by the design of the Model-T, affectionately called the 'Tin Lizzy', but by manufacturing techniques--princupally the assembly line. Instead of the workers moving, the car was amoved as it was assembled in theolant. These techniques were not widely adopted in Europoe. In fact the tradition of European craftsmanship, especially in Germany, rejected the very idea. Assembly line efficent manufacturing became standard in America. The Europeans continued to manufacture cars in small quantities for high-income consumers. The result was an even wider industrial disparity between America and Europe. Cars and trucks began crowding American streets while horse carts were more common in Europe. Ford's Model-T became a necessity for the average Joe meaning workers amd farmers. It was inepensive, versatile, and simple, meaning easy and innepensive to maintain.

Created: 7:39 PM 5/17/2019
Last updated: 6:38 AM 5/13/2021