Ford Model T tourer

This car, with a four-seat tourer body, was built by the Ford Motor Company in Detroit. Using mass production techniques, it was made affordable for a far greater number of people than ever before, and it allowed the motorcar to become an everyday item rather than the preserve of the relatively wealthy.

Introduced by Henry Ford (1863-1947) in 1908, the Model T was first made in a variety of colours at Ford's Piquette Avenue factory in Detroit. In 1910 production was moved to a new factory at Highland Park outside the city, where production lines were introduced.

In 1913 the production lines were motorised, and with these moving lines the Model T was produced in such quantities that in 1915 a tourer cost half the price it had been when first introduced in 1908. The new production methods were so speedy that only one paint, japan black enamel, would dry fast enough to prevent problems with car assembly, hence the remark attributed to Ford that 'Customers can have any color they want so long as it is black.'

Credit: Tuckett Brothers
Object no: 1997-1590