The early motorized vehicle was designed to be a more powerful workhorse for chores on the farm, and travel further than a horse. The Model T solved this problem better than any other vehicle because it was a better way to transport a family, it was easier to drive, and it was able to handle rough environments. All at a price everyday folks could afford. The Model T innovated by creating a new type of steel to make the car lighter. It created a new encapsulated way to ignite the engine. Being the best allowed it to become first in mind: the go-to option for anyone in America wanting a car. The Ford Company executed diverse marketing strategies to make it the first choice for American consumers. They innovated in manufacturing to produce 15 million Model Ts and created a network of dealers to sell them. They did all of this not unlike a startup would do it today, iterating their way towards a near-perfect product, and growing their distribution to get every possible American in the driver’s seat.
At the turn of the 20th century, average-income families wanted a motorized vehicle they could use for transportation, leisure, and completing work on the farm. There were a few challenges: (1) automobiles were expensive, (2) they were difficult to drive, and (3) many were too fragile to handle off-road driving, which was a common use case at the time.
The Model T solved this problem. It became (1) the most affordable four-seater on the market, (2) it was easier to drive than any other car, and (3) it was durable in off-road environments. The Model T was the best possible solution for many folks—due to its price, usability, and durability—which led it to be first in mind: the clear choice for families looking to purchase their first vehicle.
Automobiles were first introduced as mechanical replacements for biological modes of transport like horses. Before motorized vehicles, horses performed much of the heavy lifting in the quickly modernizing America. There are a few problems with horses. For one, they need to be cared for. Fed, watered, swept after, and treated like the living creatures they are, needing rest and time to recharge. They weren’t the best solution for a physician, getting a house call in the middle of the night, to wake up their steed and travel across town.
Originally the auto industry had only one audience: the wealthy. Motorized vehicles were expensive by necessity. The parts needed to assemble cars led to them costing $2,000 and more (roughly ~$75,000 in today’s money). And they were heavy, making them hard to drive. No power steering meant it took muscle to turn the car. And the lever-style transmissions at the time “required having a mental model of how the transmission worked to operate”. Original automobiles were too expensive for average-income people to afford and required specialized training. Imagine attending a special driver’s ed course to learn how to put your car into gear.
Farmers were the first clear American audience for automobiles. Cities remained resistant to the new technology. Due to noise and perceived safety, city dwellers preferred to stick with what they knew (horses). But farmers had a real need to perform work on the farm—to travel across a pasture, and haul hay and materials. Unlike the more established roads in European cities, in 1909, only 8.66 percent of U.S. highways were considered paved—and they were paved with gravel. The rest of the roads weren’t paved at all.
Because cars were heavy, and they were traveling mostly off-road, they were more likely to break. Wheels and suspension in earlier automobiles were beefed up to handle rocks and ravines, which put more strain on the chassis, causing parts to break often.
Henry Ford had a clear picture of the problem and would go down famously as one of the greatest innovators and entrepreneurs of our time. But the Model T wasn’t a foregone conclusion after its inception, lots of iteration and tradeoffs took place to create the car.
Ford started hiring metallurgists and engineers, both new (John Wandersee) and known (August Degener), to innovate on the distinct problems cars had at the time. The pair invented vanadium steel through a special heat treatment technique. Which answered the common startup question for them, “Build or buy?”. Standard steel was too heavy and brittle for what they needed. And the innovation allowed them to use less material while making the car stronger.
Ford cared about the amount of material in the car for both manufacturing and aesthetic reasons, “The less complex an article, the easier it is to make, the cheaper it may be sold, and therefore the greater number may be sold”. He’d also go on to say “The most beautiful things in the world are those from which all excess weight has been eliminated.” The Model T employed an unconventional three-way engine mount and suspension, thanks to the lighter material, that made it easy for it to go over rocks and through ravines. Solving the problem of unpaved driving.
They also integrated a magneto in a novel way. Before the Model T, a separate battery was needed to power the ignition and other electrical elements of the car. This was unreliable, as batteries often needed to be charged, were easily corroded, and didn’t work well in varying temperatures. The magneto was a reliable, self-contained way—free from dirt and dust—to provide current for the engine to generate a high-voltage spark. This was a trade-off, as no battery would mean no electricity to power lights. The compromise meant a more reliable car, and they used gas and oil lamps to illuminate the way.
The Model T also used a planetary gear transmission, which is more similar to a manual transmission today, It was easier to operate with foot pedals. And required less training.
The Ford Motor Company bundled these solutions— with one last innovation, a second row of seats—to solve the ultimate problem: an affordable, reliable vehicle, that could transport a family on any road without breaking.
After completing a 1,357-mile test drive with the final prototype, it was time to scale the design into millions of Model Ts. In order to solve the problem and deliver on an affordable car, the next round of innovation was set to take place: manufacturing.
Ford’s factory would become the fertile crescent of the automotive industry. The moving assembly line was created in 1913, a major improvement from the then-standard stationary assembled vehicle, workers would stay in the same place while the car rolled to greet them. Employees would specialize in one aspect of assembly and their proficiency in this task would grow over time, unlocking the industrial giant’s stride. Model T parts were also interchangeable, which simplified the assembly process as parts didn’t need individual adjustments to fit. The Ford Motor Company was also one of the first to vertically integrate. They owned steel mills, forests, mines, rubber plantations, and a transportation infrastructure. All to assist the production process by getting them the materials and necessities they needed to deliver the product at a better price than competitors.
Given the constraints at the time, Ford churned out the best possible product for reliable family transportation like a modern industrial orchestra. A best in class product doesn’t sell itself, but being the best helps it become first in mind. First in mind means that when someone wants something, the product is the first solution you think of.
Model T marketing was legendary. Over decades, the Ford Motor Company engaged in parallel schemes that would make the Model T perceived as the only car you should buy. Ford toggled between head “To-day’s light, strong, Vanadium-built Ford is tomorrow’s car” and heart “Make Pleasure Island a Treasure Island for the Whole Family”. The car’s advertising was Norval Hawkins’ brainchild, stating “A man’s emotions, not his thoughts, control his desires”.
Ford would set the automotive speed record in 1904. And win a transcontinental race in 1909, with the winner performing press on the way back to the starting line. Ford also targeted women as a specific market, using lines like “Freedom for the woman who owns a Ford” in their ads. They created a network of dealers and agencies to sell their cars, cracking the whip for the lowest-performing salesmembers.
Before the Model T, American cars had steering wheels on both the left and right side of the machine, despite Americans driving on the right side of the road like they do today. This was until Ford advertised. There were two images side by side. On the left side was a Model T with the steering on the left side of the car, with a woman getting out safely onto the curb, the caption read “The Model T Way”. Pictured to its right was another car with the steering on the right side of the car, and a woman in the middle of the street. The caption read, “The Old Way”. There’s a strong case to be made that the reason American cars drive on the left side is because of the Model T.
They also pushed the car to be perceived as a commodity “like the piano”. Due to pressure on the lack of financing for the Model T (a service offered by other manufacturers)—in a principled stance by Henry Ford—they did something a little different. The company employed a $5-a-day wage policy, a large increase in the average minimum wage at the time. This move was designed to make the cars affordable to the workers who built them. This accidentally became one of Ford’s most valuable marketing moves. Ford became the hero of the everyman, paying workers more and signaling that everyone should, and could, buy a Model T. They road this wave and stopped running advertising for six years. They said that they were passing the extra dollars back to customers in the form of a more reliable, less expensive carriage.
The Model T could “cancel distance and conquer weather” and was “dependable as the doctor himself”. The combination of clever targeting, marketing, advertising, and performance-based spectacles made the Model T first in mind for anyone looking for a car, and even those who didn’t know they wanted one.
The Model T became a successful product, a solution to a problem that would improve and evolve over decades. It became the baseline for experimentation, for Ford and its competitors, as it was understood that the Model T was the best possible solution anyone had come up with. Other companies would iterate on the platform of the Model T, creating a solid body sedan to protect people from the elements. Roads got better. Which Dodge took advantage of. They created an even lighter and more flexible suspension to deliver more comfort and speed than the previously needed heavier parts for rougher roads. Urban centers became more accustomed to cars, which meant eventual changes to the transmission to drive at lower speeds.
Once electrical systems got more reliable, Ford would reintroduce batteries to power lights (instead of lamps) and improve the starting even more. In the 1920s, Ford introduced laminated glass for their windshields, improving safety in the case of an accident.
All of this happened because Henry Ford deeply understood the problem. People wanted a reliable way to transport their families, which gave them more freedom. They wanted a car that didn’t break and was easy enough to drive. They wanted it all at a price they could afford. They created the Model T by being relentless, going so far as to invent a new type of steel to make the car lighter, which directly correlated with its problem-solving ability. They iterated on other ways to make the car easier to drive, like improving the durability of the engine with the magneto and swapping the transmission with an easier-to-use version. All of this feels similar to the trope of a nights-and-weekends coder trying to create a better solution and unseat an incumbent.
For decades, the Model T represented the most reliable machine for work and transportation, in a way that was reliable and affordable to most. It was the best possible solution due to iteration and tradeoffs given the constraints, which made it first in mind for anyone needing, or thinking they might want an automobile for transportation. They were the first to get their hands dirty and create a car that millions of people wanted. The Model T’s run lasted for decades before they lost their prime mover advantage. But not before they made the decision for Americans to drive on the left side of the car.