1920 - 1930 The Ford Model A Pickup Truck

     Today, we see many Ford pickup trucks on the road, specifically the Ford F-150. Well, this pickup truck was the ride that started it all. Built in 1926, this would be the Ford Motor Company’s next big success after the Model T.

The Ford Model A Pickup Truck basically adapted the cockpit design of the Model T, but extended the rear end to create an area to hold items. At this time, agriculture and other production work to produce consumer goods had increased. For this reason, the pickup truck sold well to people in the consumer good production industry. This was often referred to as a “tractor” by farmers and was essential to crop and grow agriculture.

What made this pickup truck new was, well, it was the first pickup truck. It provided room in the cockpit for a full family and had space left over in the back to place goods and items in. As agriculture boomed, so did the production of the car. This vehicle was created to sell to the people as a new and innovative way to travel and do work at the same time. This influenced other car companies such as Chrysler to start developing pickup trucks also.

This new Ford vehicle represented the American toughness as the market for consumer goods boomed. The pickup truck contributed to the advancements of technology such as radio’s and vacuums. Agriculture was valuable, and it could never have been done so efficiently without the For Model A Pickup truck. This truck stood out of the rest as it was the first of it’s kind and came from a company that had made it’s name number 1 in the automotive industry.

Although this is a great ride to get around in the 1920’s, it doesn't tell us the contributions it made to the cause of the Great Depression due to the dust bowl. Many voices when it first came out of the factory supported the truck and wanted to use it. However, this car doesn't tell us that on it’s own. This was the mainstream car of the time due to agricultural developments.  

1910 - 1920 The Model A

We're all familiar with the Ford Motor Company. Famously known for it's powerful muscle cars such as the Ford Mustang and the trucks such as Ford F-150. But, we're going to take it back a little, like, around 100 years back to 1913, when designer Henry Ford produced the Ford car, the Ford Model A.

Henry Ford had a reason for designing this car, he said "I will build a car for the great multitude." Simply put, he invented the automotive technology in a way that the common person would be able to afford it. Until his time, inventors such as Rudolf Diesel and Nikolai Tesla had already patented different kinds of motors. Henry Ford based his ideas off of these past works to create the 4 flat L cylinder engine for his Model A. The motor required a hand crank in substitution to modern times car batteries. The car’s transmission was automatic and had 3 gears. The body design was a 4 person cabin. Depending on what model you buyed, the car would cost 385$ to 1400$. Higher end cars would have better interior finishing and attracting features such as heating and rear view mirrors . The car also included 4 wheel drum brakes (not as effective as our modern disk brakes mind you). This was a great affordable car for the common people.

    In Henry Ford's time, the way to get around was by horse carriages. By developing the Motor of the Model A, the car could give the user 40 horsepower and a top speed of 65 mph. However, this invention did have it’s limitations. The car was not very popular due to other cars it was competing with it. To combat this, Ford featured the car in different forms of media to attract the attention of the people (Fast and Furious 2000 maybe?).  

The Model A was the successor to the Model T. By this time, Ford had made a name for itself with the Model T, making people expect a lot from the Model A. At this time, cars had become more popular and development of roads were occurring.

This piece does have it’s limitations. The car and what people can piece together can’t tell us what it was like in the cold, or the warmth, and how effective it was in case of an accident. This car was very mainstream for the time. It started off with slower sales but quickly picked up through effective media inputs. To this day, the Model A is driven by people and modified to make Hot rods. It has been featured most recently in UK Top Gear.  

1900 - 1910 The Model T

One of Ford’s most popular and well known cars, the Model T was the car that allowed Ford to dominate the automotive market for nearly a decade. In that time, 1908, much history surrounds the production of the car including labor laws and the invention of the moving assembly line. It was the car that was sold so cheap that it wasn't a luxury item, people that worked in the assembly lines could actually afford it. Before the Model T, Henry Ford prototyped other vehicles starting in 1903. He experimented with different designs and features. These prototyped started from the Model A (1903 model) to the Model S. He didn't make a car for each letter, he skipped quite a few.

The car would forever keep its name in the automotive world. Coined by the Tin Lizzie, the Model T would end up beating all other cars in competition with it due to its affordable price, durability, and speed. The car featured a 4 inline cylinder engine that produced 20 horsepower, translating to about 45 mph. It’s fuel economy was in the range of 13 - 21 mpg. The Model T did not have modern batteries to start the engine, so it required the quick rotating of a crank in front of the engine. This converts mechanical energy to electrical energy to start the engine.

As I said before, there is much history that surrounds this car. It’s manufacturing plants provided work to many unskilled workers thanks to the concept of moving assembly lines. This was basically assembly lines that moved the parts to the worker, and that worker would screw the same screw, tighten the same bolt, or any other work 5000 times a day. The workers were paid handsomely and could themselves afford the Model T. This revolutionized the market as the common man’s car. Just so you get an idea of how popular the Model T was, by 1910, more than half the cars in the US were Model T’s. Ford set up Moel T dealerships in virtually every city in the country. And, the Model T was the first car to be internationally produced. 

This car as I stated before, was definitely mainstream. Although, this car can’t tell us much about the economy of the time, we do know alot of people bought it, but it’s production is close to WWI times. It doesn’t seem to take much impact in sale in terms of safety. Many magazines and articles deem this car to be one of the most dangerous to the no rear view mirrors and the glass shards that can cut up occupants in the case of an accident.