October 1, 1908: Also known as the Tin Lizzie, the Leaping Lena, and the “flivver,” the Model T was designed to be an accessible automobile for the masses. Inventor Henry Ford innovated the car making process by implementing assembly line production (as opposed to handcrafting), making the cars more affordable for the middle class and signaling the advent of America’s age of modernization.
In his autobiography My Life and Work, Ford stated, “I will build a car for the great multitude. It will be large enough for the family, but small enough for the individual to run and care for. It will be constructed of the best materials, by the best men to be hired, after the simplest designs that modern engineering can devise. But it will be so low in price that no man making a good salary will be unable to own one – and enjoy with his family the blessing of hours of pleasure in God’s great open spaces.”
Sources: Wikipedia, My Life and Work by Henry Ford & Samuel Crowther
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