Henry Ford Job Fair

May 1st, 2010

Henry Ford Job Fair

Question: Was Henry Ford the most influential inventor of the twentieth century?

Im doing an essay and i need a good argument for my thesis right now it is:
Henry Ford's introduction of the Model T automobile revolutionized transportation and car production internationally. Ford was the most impressive and influential inventor, who advanced the production of affordable, efficient and reliable vehicles, while providing good jobs and fair wages to all his workers.
what else could i argue? or how could i improve my argument?

Answer: Henry Ford was not an inventor. He did not invent the car or the assembly line. (Ransom Olds invented the automobile assembly line.)
Ford was a 'tinkerer' and a visionary who knew that if he could produce an affordable car for the masses, he would have a hundred fold advantage over his competitors. Ford was the ‘automobile Wal-Mart' of the early 20th Century.
Henry Ford did not have much compassion for the average factory worker. He did not increase his employees’ wages out of the kindness of his heart. Ford did nothing out of the kindness of his heart. He instituted the first $5 a day wage in 1914 for the company’s benefit rather than for his employees’ benefit. The $5 a day wage was more than twice the daily wage of the average factory worker in 1914.
Specifically, the turnover rate of employees on Ford’s assembly line was extremely high. Because of the low pay, hard work and long hours, many workers would quit, some in a month, others in weeks or days. This was a HUGE problem as, in 1914, demand for the Model T was peaking. This adversely affected production, i.e., the daily production could not keep up with the insatiable demand for the Model T. Ford knew he could sell more cars and he could only sell more cars by limiting turnover and keeping employees on the assembly line. Ford’s duplicitous $5 a day strategy worked although the general public was duped, or at the very least erroneously inferred, it was a magnanimous gesture by Ford. Applicants were lined up daily outside the Ford plant for months after this wage was implemented.
The HUGE demand for the Model T in 1913 – 1914 is also the reason Ford went with all black cars. No one really knows if Henry Ford ever said that the buying public could have Model T Fords "in any color, so long as it's black", but it is commonly attributed to him. Some people attribute the saying to a long-forgotten Ford salesman. Regardless, while this saying is true for model years 1913 - 1925, the first Model Ts cars were available in green (Brewster Green Medium), red (Carmine), blue (Midnight Blue) and gray. Ford switched to all black Model Ts in 1913 and it was likely due to Ford's further optimization of the assembly line, the demand for the car and to the fact that ‘Japan black’ paint was the fastest drying. This reduced the production time for each car. In 1926 colors other than black were once again offered in an attempt to boost sales for what had become an obsolete car after 19 years of production (over 15 million Model Ts were sold) with minimal design changes. Production of the Model T ceased in 1927 and replaced with the introduction of the more modern Model A Ford in 1928.
HANDSOME PROFITS:
“In October 1908, the first Model T Fords were sold for $950. As Henry Ford found new ways to reduce production costs, he passed the savings on to consumers as lower prices. By 1912, the car was selling for $575. It was the first time that a new car had sold for less than the average wage of U.S. workers. The price of the Model T would continue to drop during its 19 years in production, at one point dipping as low as $280. With each price cut, more and more consumers could afford to buy the cars.
This reduction in price meant that Ford's profit margins (on each Model T) decreased but its revenues increased. How was that possible? In 1909 the profit on a car was $220. By 1914, the margin had dropped to $99. But sales were exploding. While profit margins on individual cars were smaller, the added sales volume increased total profits. During this period, the company’s net income rose from $3 million to $25 million. Its U.S. market share rose from 9.4 percent in 1908 to a remarkable 48 percent in 1914.”
http://www.econedlink.org/lessons/index.php?lesson=692&page=teacher
P.S. Today, the average price of a new car is $23,543. Prior to the introduction of the Model T Ford, the average price for a new car in 1908, adjusted for inflation was $43,950.
Regarding the Model T, it cost $950 new in 1908, which is almost $20,000 in today’s dollars. However, due to constant improvements in and optimization of Ford’s assembly line, the Model T’s cost declined through the years until it cost less than $300 in the 1920s. $300 in 1927, adjusted for inflation, would be approximately $3,800 in today’s dollars.