Henry Ford introduced the affordable Model T automobile in 1908, and it later became famous for assembly-line mass production.
Produced by the Ford Motor Company, the Model T was designed to be reliable, practical, and affordable for ordinary Americans. It entered production in October 1908 and was built at Ford’s Piquette Avenue Plant in Detroit.
The Model T was not the first mass-produced automobile or the first use of an assembly line. Ransom E. Olds had used an early assembly-line system for the Oldsmobile Curved Dash. Ford and his engineers, however, greatly refined moving-line production, interchangeable parts, and standardized tasks. At the Highland Park plant, production time eventually fell to about 93 minutes per car.
Ford sold more than 15 million Model Ts between 1908 and 1927. The Ford Model A was its successor, while the Volkswagen Beetle later surpassed it as the world’s best-selling automobile model. The Model T’s nickname was “Tin Lizzie.”