<HR style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #e5e5e5; COLOR: #e5e5e5" SIZE=1><!-- / icon and title --><TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0><TBODY><TR><TD style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0in; PADDING-LEFT: 0in; PADDING-RIGHT: 0in; PADDING-TOP: 0in" vAlign=top>So I got this email today and thought I would pass it on. Enjoy. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx <TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0><TBODY><TR><TD style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0in; PADDING-LEFT: 0in; PADDING-RIGHT: 0in; PADDING-TOP: 0in" vAlign=top>This only 83 years ago 1928 CAR REPAIR MAILER. AUTOMOTIVE REPAIR ADVERTISEMENT IN 1928... SENT ON A PENNY POSTCARD 1914 Model T Ford Station Wagon May 31, 1927, the last Ford Model T rolled off the assembly line. It was the first affordable automobile, due in part to the assembly line process developed by Henry Ford. It had a 2.9-liter, 20-horsepower engine and could travel at speeds up to 45 miles per hour. It had a 10-gallon fuel tank and could run on kerosene, petrol, or ethanol, but it couldn't drive uphill if the tank was low, because there was no fuel pump; people got around this design flaw by driving up hills in reverse. Ford believed that "the man who will use his skill and constructive imagination to see how much he can give for a dollar, instead of how little he can give for a dollar, is bound to succeed." The Model T cost $850 in 1909, and as efficiency in production increased, the price dropped. By 1927, you could get a Model T for $290. "I will build a car for the great multitude," said Ford. "It will be large enough for the family, but small enough for the individual to run and care for. 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 low in price that no man making a good salary will be unable to own one and enjoy with his family the blessing of hours of pleasure in God's great open spaces." </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
This is my favorite quote from Henry. Brings a tear to the eye to say it now given everything that has happened since the first Ford car.
So I guess that was aimed at folks who had a Model T and were likely to go out and buy the much-hyped brand new Model A? The mention of being able to drive your T another "...one, two, three and five years and even longer..." is a good reminder of how high the maintenance/miles driven ratio was in the prewar years.
Today the only thing you get in the mail is a flyer from a dealership trying to sell you a new car, not maintain the one you already own.
Henry was a business man no doubt, but he seemed to care about customers. I believe that is what made him successful. This is the first time I recall seeing it.
I get a maintenance offer every month from the dealer I buy from.They always have an oil change special and offers from tire rotation, cooling system service, brake service, tune up, detailing etc.
Good post porknbeaner, Ford did care about the welfare of his workers, the welfare of Americans, as well as the satisfaction of his customers.. I have a lot of early auto literature, here are a few pages that loosely relate to your post and comments.... These are from the Canadian Service Bulletins, While the service bulletins are a wealth of info (to this day), no space was wasted. On pages that would have normally been only partially printed, Ford saw fit to use the space to advise dealers on how important the customer was... And a reminder during the War...
Labor rate was $2.36 per 10 hour day up until Henry decided to lower the day from 10 hours to 8 (40 hour week was born) and double everybodies wage to $5 per day in 1914. While this made the working man happy, it pissed off General Motors Stock Holders to no end, this is not to mention how disappointed the GM factory workers were, they were still working 6 day weeks for half the wage as the guys across the street.
Well when I was very young the ol' man worked for Studebaker. I have the check stubs from the month I was born. The Ol' man saved them and gave them to me for whatever reason. He was a journeyman and his bring home was 60 bucks. Now that was after the war I suppose that a mechanic made less then half that when the A bone hit the market, so you can figure that labor couldn't have been very much. Granted the median income wasn't very much either so it is probably comparable to today's labor. Mofuz, Those documents are pretty cool. I would think that even copies framed would be pretty neat to have hangin' around.
The Jalopy Journal
