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Every car company has its good and bad patches in terms of
product. Some end up as miserable failures, most are judged adequate,
while a handful are stunningly brilliant in both concept and execution. As one
of the oldest and most diverse car companies, Ford Motor Company
certainly had moments of genius. The history of the company can be
narrated in terms of historical events and personal milestones of its
people, but we thought we'd let the company's products do the talking.
Ford is now the owner of half a dozen companies, including
Mazda, Range Rover, Volvo and Aston Martin, each with its own
historically significant vehicles. Including any of those would be like
thinking of Arnold Schwarzenegger as a native American. We thus decided
to limit our list to only those that wear the blue oval.
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01.
1914 Model T.
This is the car that put Ford Motor Company in the history books,
and America on wheels. Henry Ford adapted the moving assembly
line used in other industries to automotive assembly, first using
a lashed up rope and windlass, then using a conveyor recessed into
the floor. The Model T was powered by a 2.9 liter inline-4 with
20 bhp. The T was produced so efficiently that its price was
affordable: it cost USD825 in 1908, or about USD16,200 in 2003
dollars. That was a bargain compared to other cars on the market,
but after mass production began in 1914, the price steadily went
down, to below USD259 in 1922. Indeed from 1914 to 1925, it was
"painted in any color, as long as it was black," because that was
the only paint that dried quickly enough for the assembly line.
More than 15 million Model Ts were sold. |
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02. 1928
Model A. Despite the enormous success of the T, car buyers
demanded more features from automobiles. The car was more
luxurious, more powerful and with better equipment than its
predecessors, including a 40-bhp 3.2-liter inline-4, four-wheel
brakes, improved steering, hydraulic shock absorbers and safety
glass windshields. Top speed was 100 km/h. Its lines were styled
after the luxury cars of the day, and that included a choice of
several colors. The model A sold 5 million units and allowed Ford
to recapture sales leadership from Chevrolet. The A was the first
car build at the mighty Rouge industrial complex, where coal and
iron arrived at one end and a finished automobile came out the
other. It's the first car to carry the now famous blue oval Ford
badge. |
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