FREE ESSAY ON RESEARCH ON FORD

RESEARCH ON FORD

Research Report on Ford's Model A
Henry Ford was initially stubborn about car sales on his first car the Model T, not to
mention resentful. His theory was that dealers, not his car, were to blame for the
decline in sales. However, the invincible man finally came to terms with reality. As well
as the rearrangement of the Ford plants where it would be produced. Production of the
Model T ceased at the end of May 1927, a few days after the 15 millionth car had come off
the assembly line. 
The most interesting thing of Ford's plunge into the future was that the old car expired
before the new car had been born. No matter what vehicle that they might come up with, no
one knew how it would be powered because no plan for an engine existed. Nevertheless,
movement in the direction of a totally new car went ahead. Henry Ford's basic concept was
for a car that would deliver speed, power and comfort -- suited to the improved roads and
the quick-paced life of that day. It would be lower than the T, longer, wider, more
pleasing in its proportions, available in a variety of models and an assortment of
colors. 
And it would be named after the first car made by Ford Motor Company back in 1903 --the
Model A.
Months were required to reach agreement on the engine design. The one finally adopted was
a 4-cylinder, 200-cubic-inch, L-head engine, only a little larger than that of the T but
developing 40 horsepower. This new engine had aluminum alloy pistons and cylinder head,
3-bearing counterbalanced crankshaft, and battery distributor ignition. Model T's
outdated planetary transmission gave way to a 3-speed sliding gear type with gears of
heat-treated chromium steel; clutch and transmission. The wheelbase of the new Model A
was 103.5 inches, the tread was 56 inches, and road clearance 9.5 inches. The steel body
was brought down to reduce the car's height. Its weight was heavier than the T, running
from 2,000 to 2,500 pounds. A 10-gallon gas tank was an another part of the plan. The
radiator shell was contoured like that of the Lincoln, and the lines of the car in
general suggested those of its rich sibling--sufficiently so that the Model A was often
called the baby Lincoln. Body colors were Niagra Blue, Arabian Sand, Dawn Gray, and
Gunmetal Blue, with the four-door Sedan being offered in Balsam Green, Copra Drab, Rose
Beige, and Andalusite Blue --all a new change from the black Model T, available only in
black between 1914 and 1925. 
Wire wheels with steel spokes were offered in a contrasting color. They were fitted with
balloon tires and internal-expanding mechanical brakes all around. All features on the
new Model A included hydraulic shock absorbers and safety glass windshield, bumpers,
automatic windshield wipers, tilt-beam headlights, and a Bendix self-starter.
Like its brother (The Model T), the Model A could go anywhere and do anything on 20 miles
to the gallon but with greater safety and far superior comfort for those aboard. Yet, it
was offered at prices very close to those of the Model T. For example, the Phaeton was
sold for $395.00 and the Tudor Sedan sold for $495.00.
To produce a car assembled from 5,580 parts that were almost all entirely new. According
to one historian, a changeover of this scope and urgency was, at the time, unknown in
American industrial history. And yet, the change was accomplished. Highland Park's final
assembly line was moved to the Rouge in September 1927. Tools of radical new design were
laid in by the thousands; there were 53,000 at the Rouge by the time production of the
Model A began. Factory space amounting to 1.5 million square feet was added. Electrical
welding of important parts such as the rear end assembly was developed to replace the
bolting. This new practice ultimately became universal in the automobile industry.
So tremendous was the demand for parts that Ford had to back away from his policy of
total Ford's dependable parts and purchase from outside manufacturers parts such as
wheels, body panels, piston rings, and some parts such as pumps and distributors that the
company had never made.
During the five months between the time ford stopped production of Model T and delivery
of the first Model A, 400,000 orders had piled up for a new car that no single customer
had even seen. The lack of cars available and orders on hand had mounted to 800,000 by
the spring of 1928.
Ford made almost two million Model A's in 1929. But Black thursday came on October 24th
of that year, ushering in the Great Depression, and from that time on it was downhill all
the way. In 1931, sales dropped to 620,000 units. Production of Model A was shut down in
August, and early the following year, the new order took over in the form of the
radically different Ford V-8. By that time well over 20 million Fords had been
manufactured, and almost 5 million of these had been the brilliant little Model A's.
Bibliography
Bibliography 
www.ford.com
www.fordvechiles/`ModelA.htm
www.fordhistory.net
Ford's Mechanical History Booklet available at Al Packer West
www.ModelA/`vechiles.htm
Ford's History of Cars Booklet available thorough Ford