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Model T Fords tour the Valley
Despite the bad press that Ford has been getting recently don’t forget that it was the Ford company that gave us the automotive industry. Without the innovations that Henry Ford introduced the industry that is so much a part of our lives wouldn’t have existed until much later and may be much different from what we have now. It was the Model T Ford that brought us the production line and allowed the general public to afford a car, something that had been, until then, a luxury for the wealthy. Last Saturday, over 20 members of the San Fernando Valley Model T Club took their prized possessions onto the local roads for a tour starting in Chatsworth and ending at Chumash Park in Agoura Hills. Organized by Mike, Sharon and Robin Panish the tour gave the owners a chance to get their almost 80 year old cars onto the road in numbers that haven’t been seen for many years and an opportunity for local residents to stare, wonder and explain to their kids that not every vehicle in the world is a SUV! These cars are remarkable in how they have lasted. Most parts are either still available or are manufactured, when needed. As Sharon Panish said, "In the case of a mechanical problem, there are really no problems, only opportunities for all of us Model T experts to exercise our expertise at fixing your car." She added with a broad smile that "10% extra parts after reassembly is acceptable and she has plastic bags for just this reason!" The tour started in Chatsworth and concluded with a picnic lunch at Chumash Park, where all 21 starters arrived without any mechanical problems. Last year the Ford Model T was awarded "Car of the Century" by an international panel of writers and experts in the auto industry. Between 1903 and 1908, Henry Ford and his engineers developed 19 different vehicles, naming them each for a letter of the alphabet, from Model A to Model S. Some of these cars were experimental models that never reached the public. Perhaps the most recognized of the production cars was the Model N - a small, four-cylinder car which sold for $500. The Model T was introduced on October 1, 1908 and quickly won the approval of millions of owners, who affectionately dubbed it "The Tin Lizzie." Lizzie was popular slang for a good and dependable servant. Besides providing independence and opportunity, the Model T was also affordably priced. The car initially sold for $850, but continual improvements in design and production eventually lowered the price to $260. The first year's production of Model Ts reached 10,660, breaking all records for the industry. By 1921, Model Ts accounted for 56.6% of global auto production. In total, more than 15 million Ford Model Ts were sold worldwide. Henry Ford rose from a farm boy and tinkerer to the world's first billionaire, all on the strength of a single idea. He clung to that idea through two failed attempts at starting companies. His idea was an affordable and dependable car for the common man. His achievements brought about such a car, and the establishment of mass production which changed the face of the automotive industry and provided a model for other industries to follow. Additionally, he originated the significant social contribution of the five-dollar-day at a time when the average worker made less than that in a week, spurring the growth of the middle class in America. The contributions of Henry Ford were recently recognized by Fortune magazine when it named him "Businessman of the Century" for making transportation available to the masses and pioneering the moving assembly line in manufacturing. Most of the vehicles in Saturday’s rally, while not daily drivers, are driven regularly by their owners. The club has a website at www.ssvmodelt.com where more information is available. |
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