Chapter 39： Ford Model T

Since his return from Romania in Detroit, Henry Ford has been fascinated by the cars that Edel said the public can afford. In addition to launching the company's Ford truck (Dongfeng truck), other times are studying a civilian car. Fortunately, he has experience in developing trucks, and he has deep knowledge in simplified structures.

On May 19, Ford was at the Detroit Corporation Headquarters Test Yard, watching several engineers debugging a new car with two rows of seats at the front of the square. Next to Old Ford was his son Edsel Ford, and the two were talking about Rockefeller's desire to buy a stake in Ford.

Since Ford launched the truck, the market has been very popular with this vehicle that can replace horse-drawn carriages. This truck can be seen in major cities and ports in the United States. This makes the major consortiums also very jealous of Ford, hoping to get a share of the auto industry. It is the best choice to take ownership of Ford, the largest automobile company in the United States, and Rockefeller is the most eager consortium among them.

"Rockefeller has increased the price to 20% of the shares of 1.2 million US dollars. If we hadn't had an exclusive agreement, it is estimated that many minority shareholders would be excited." Edsel Ford told his father, Old Ford, about the recent company situation.

"Don't pay attention to them, now the company has sufficient funds. There is no need to let the consortium make our money, and they have no good intentions."

As a person who has control over his desires, Old Ford knows the faces of these consortia well. In the beginning, they just bought shares, then expanded the share quota, and finally incorporated the company into their system. Fortunately, the old Ford had previously exchanged the money earned for shares in the company. Now he owns 61.2% of the shares (a bonus to Ford truck profits), so these consortia can't get around him.

Now that the prototype has been debugged by several engineers, Martin, the chief test driver, is ready. The old Ford standing nearby yelled to Martin, "Hey, Martin, you are the best." The test driver turned his head and gave the old Ford a thumbs up.

Martin got on the prototype car. The engineer started the engine in front of the car. With the sound of boom, boom and boom, everyone stood by the field watching Martin step on the accelerator and the prototype car galloped on the field.

"It's really fast, it should have a speed of 60km/h." An engineer standing on the side of the field said, and another person who measured the speed answered his question. "63km/h. I can't believe that we made the best car at the cheapest price."

Old Ford stood beside the field, yelling like a horn with his hands on his lips. "Martin try how fast you can." Hearing old Ford's call, Martin showed his excellent car skills. You are accelerating while stepping on the accelerator, and the person doing the speed measurement next to you will calculate the result after a while.

"Mr. Ford, it ran at a speed of 72km/h." The person calculating the speed ran to Old Ford with the result, and when he handed it to him, he excitedly said a surprising number. This will mean that this sample car is now the fastest family car to run, which is completely comparable to a professional racing car. This makes the old Ford very happy.

A group of people gathered after the car stopped, and Old Ford asked. "How does Martin feel?" "It's very good, the operation is about the same as other cars, and the comfort is still different from other cars."

It is understandable that it is positioned as a car that ordinary people can afford, and the comfort is reduced. After various tests, this sample car has shown quite good abilities, and everyone is amazed.

"I plan to name it Model T." Old Ford said to his son and his assistants. Everyone agreed that he is the boss after all. So this Ford car with a four-cylinder gasoline engine and 20 horsepower has a resounding name "Type T".

Back in the office again, Edsel Ford asked his father who was sitting behind the desk. "How much do we plan to sell?" Old Ford pondered for a while, and answered after calculating the cost, labor, and transportation. "I plan to sell one for 800 dollars, so that a worker can buy a Ford as long as he saves enough money for a year."

Little Ford was surprised when he heard this price. This price is two-fifths of other cars, and it will completely change the model of the auto industry. In the future, the US car production model will follow the example of Ford.

(Although Edel told the old Ford about the assembly line in advance, and the assembly line is also used when Ford produces trucks, other American automakers have learned part of it. However, due to the positioning problems of other automakers, the price has not fallen too much. Big.)

Seeing little Ford’s surprised expression, Henry Ford continued talking. "According to our agreement with Volkswagen, it is estimated that the European market can only be transferred to them." Now Ford's production capacity cannot keep up, and there is no sales channel in Europe. Contrast with America's rich European continent Old Ford can only give up first.

Hearing what his father said, Little Ford knew that there was nothing he could do about it. Behind the Volkswagen is a European royal family, and a breach of contract will be a fatal blow to Ford and his son. No one will believe them without integrity, so old Ford can only know that this is a huge profit, but he still has to launch it.

Little Ford knew that he could only do this, so he could leave a good reputation for himself. "Father, let's send the news of the newly developed Model T to Romania." Old Ford knew what his son meant, and nodded in agreement before preaching. "You go and telegraph them, and look for more people from newspapers to report it."

After Ford sent a telegram to Romania, the telegram arrived at Edel's desk. "Just waiting for you this car." Looking at the telegram, the crown prince could think of Ford's helplessness. Little Ford received a call back the next day, and Volkswagen was very interested in Ford's new Model T.

After half a month, the Ford Model T was launched in the United States, and the American people have no resistance to the price of US$800. The first batch of 5,000 Ford Model T cars that were just launched on the market were robbed by the public. This made the old Ford overjoyed and ordered the expansion of the factory and increased the number of workers to produce Model T cars. Other automakers can only focus on high-end vehicles, or follow in Ford's footsteps and start producing cars in large factories.

The news about the Ford Model T in the United States is also widely reported. In every report, Ford pays attention to integrity and licenses the European market to the Romanian Volkswagen company in accordance with the agreement.

After Edel received the news, he knew that Ford wanted to increase his reputation and didn't have time to take care of it. Now there are more important things to do. Volkswagen’s first Model T has been produced, and European automakers will also feel the power of Model T cars.