Henry Ford stands next to a Model T, one of 15 million made. Getty Images hide caption
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Henry Ford stands next to a Model T, one of 15 million made.
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The Model T became so popular, people wrote songs about it. Here’s one recorded circa 1915 by Billy Murray and written by C.R. Foster and Byron Gay. From the Collections of The Henry Ford museum.
NPR’s Renee Montagne takes John Herd’s 1922 Model T for a spin in Culver City, Calif. Ben Bergman/NPR hide caption
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NPR’s Renee Montagne takes John Herd’s 1922 Model T for a spin in Culver City, Calif.
Ben Bergman/NPR
A collection of cars is on display at Detroit’s Model T Automotive Heritage Complex inside the former Piquette Avenue plant. Front and center: one of the earliest versions of Ford’s Model T, painted in Carmine Red. Model T’s later were painted in black because black paint dried faster Dustin Dwyer for NPR hide caption
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A collection of cars is on display at Detroit’s Model T Automotive Heritage Complex inside the former Piquette Avenue plant. Front and center: one of the earliest versions of Ford’s Model T, painted in Carmine Red. Model T’s later were painted in black because black paint dried faster
Dustin Dwyer for NPR
- The fist two Model T prototypes were built in 1907.
- The first production Model T was assembled in 1908, the last in 1927.
- Production was transferred to a new plant in Highland Park, Mich., in 1910.
- The car was introduced at $850, but later sold for as little as $260 after mass production reduced the cost.
- It had a 20-horsepower, four-cylinder engine and weighed 1, 200 pounds.
- Top speed was about 45 miles per hour.
- It got about 13 to 21 miles per gallon.
- About 15 million Model Ts were built and sold.
- The Model T had several nicknames, but was best known as the Tin Lizzie. One theory has it that Elizabeth, or Lizzie, was a common name for a sturdy reliable workhorse.
Sources: The Henry Ford, Model T Automotive Heritage Complex, Ford Motor Co.
