Overview

""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 take care of. 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 blessings of hours of pleasure in God's great open spaces.""-Henry Ford First rolled out in 1908 with an $850 price tag, the Model T Ford was the nation's first mass-produced, affordable, and versatile motor vehicle. It made Americans mobile as never before, spurred a revolution in manufacturing methods, and marked a sea change in automotive design and engineering. Originally written for the centennial celebration of the Model T, Robert Casey captures the remarkable story of that car's history and development and of its long-lasting impact on America. Here are the people who built the Model T and how, the folks who purchased it and why, and the profound technological leaps in mass production and mass consumption that we rightly associate with Ford's automobile. Casey discusses how the car was designed, built, sold, and driven, as well as how owners tinkered with it. He describes the experience of driving a Model T and explains how a few engineering innovations-a one-piece cylinder block with detachable cylinder head, a clever flexible suspension system, the use of lightweight vanadium alloy steel-led to the car's reliability and popularity and spurred innovations across the motor vehicle industry. Richly illustrated with archival photos from The Henry Ford, The Model T is the definitive history of an iconographic piece of American technology.

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9781421421179

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Reviews

In this commemorative volume, Ford Museum Curator Robert Casey describes how the Model T came to be, against the backdrop of transportation of the day. He features chapters on creating the Model T in concept, manufacturing it, selling it, and owning and driving it. * History Wire * An extremely handsome, short, informative book about Henry Ford's great creation... A masterpiece. * Weekly Standard * If one had to buy or read one book about the Model T, this should be the book, for its intelligent text and informative, enjoyable graphics. * Choice * The Model T: A Centennial History is that rare automotive book that will appeal to scholars and buffs alike. * Michigan Historical Review * This gripping history is a fine pick for any library including transportation history books on the shelf. * Midwest Book Review * If there is room on any bookshelf for just one work about Henry Ford's Model T, this is the book that belongs in that space. * Technology and Culture * All credit to Robert Casey for a well balanced and enjoyable read. -- Gordan Nolan * T Topics * Just in time for the centennial celebration of the Model T, Robert Casey captures the remarkable story of that car's history and development and of its long-lasting impact on America. -- Howard Gustavson * Model T Times * Casey's The Model T is a concise and excellent read. -- Larry D. Lankton * IA: The Journal of the Society for Industrial Archaeology * A short, well-written, lavishly illustrated, and elegant history... [Robert Casey] has met a great need and done it well. -- Tom McCarthy * Michigan Historical Review *

In this commemorative volume, Ford Museum Curator Robert Casey describes how the Model T came to be, against the backdrop of transportation of the day. He features chapters on creating the Model T in concept, manufacturing it, selling it, and owning and driving it. * History Wire * An extremely handsome, short, informative book about Henry Ford's great creation... A masterpiece. * Weekly Standard * If one had to buy or read one book about the Model T, this should be the book, for its intelligent text and informative, enjoyable graphics. * Choice * The Model T: A Centennial History is that rare automotive book that will appeal to scholars and buffs alike. * Michigan Historical Review * This gripping history is a fine pick for any library including transportation history books on the shelf. * Midwest Book Review * If there is room on any bookshelf for just one work about Henry Ford's Model T, this is the book that belongs in that space. * Technology and Culture * All credit to Robert Casey for a well balanced and enjoyable read. -- Gordan Nolan * T Topics * Just in time for the centennial celebration of the Model T, Robert Casey captures the remarkable story of that car's history and development and of its long-lasting impact on America. -- Howard Gustavson * Model T Times * Casey's The Model T is a concise and excellent read. -- Larry D. Lankton * IA: The Journal of the Society for Industrial Archaeology * A short, well-written, lavishly illustrated, and elegant history... [Robert Casey] has met a great need and done it well. -- Tom McCarthy * Michigan Historical Review *

In this commemorative volume, Ford Museum Curator Robert Casey describes how the Model T came to be, against the backdrop of transportation of the day. He features chapters on creating the Model T in concept, manufacturing it, selling it, and owning and driving it. * History Wire * An extremely handsome, short, informative book about Henry Ford's great creation... A masterpiece. * Weekly Standard * If one had to buy or read one book about the Model T, this should be the book, for its intelligent text and informative, enjoyable graphics. * Choice * This gripping history is a fine pick for any library including transportation history books on the shelf. * Midwest Book Review * If there is room on any bookshelf for just one work about Henry Ford's Model T, this is the book that belongs in that space. * Technology and Culture * All credit to Robert Casey for a well balanced and enjoyable read. -- Gordan Nolan * T Topics * Just in time for the centennial celebration of the Model T, Robert Casey captures the remarkable story of that car's history and development and of its long-lasting impact on America. -- Howard Gustavson * Model T Times * The Model T: A Centennial History is that rare automotive book that will appeal to scholars and buffs alike. * Michigan Historical Review * Casey's The Model T is a concise and excellent read. -- Larry D. Lankton * IA: The Journal of the Society for Industrial Archaeology * A short, well-written, lavishly illustrated, and elegant history... [Robert Casey] has met a great need and done it well. -- Tom McCarthy * Michigan Historical Review *

In this commemorative volume, Ford Museum Curator Robert Casey describes how the Model T came to be, against the backdrop of transportation of the day. He features chapters on creating the Model T in concept, manufacturing it, selling it, and owning and driving it. History Wire An extremely handsome, short, informative book about Henry Ford's great creation... A masterpiece. Weekly Standard If one had to buy or read one book about the Model T, this should be the book, for its intelligent text and informative, enjoyable graphics. Choice The Model T: A Centennial History is that rare automotive book that will appeal to scholars and buffs alike. Michigan Historical Review This gripping history is a fine pick for any library including transportation history books on the shelf. Midwest Book Review If there is room on any bookshelf for just one work about Henry Ford's Model T, this is the book that belongs in that space. Technology and Culture All credit to Robert Casey for a well balanced and enjoyable read. -- Gordan Nolan T Topics Just in time for the centennial celebration of the Model T, Robert Casey captures the remarkable story of that car's history and development and of its long-lasting impact on America. -- Howard Gustavson Model T Times Casey's The Model T is a concise and excellent read. -- Larry D. Lankton IA: The Journal of the Society for Industrial Archaeology A short, well-written, lavishly illustrated, and elegant history... [Robert Casey] has met a great need and done it well. -- Tom McCarthy Michigan Historical Review

Author Information

Robert Casey is the retired John and Horace Dodge Curator of Transportation at The Henry Ford. He has written widely about technology and industry for academic journals and popular media.

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