The Ford Model T, introduced in 1908, made car ownership affordable for millions of Americans.
Henry Ford’s company designed the Model T as a practical, sturdy car suited to rough roads. It used a simple four-cylinder engine, a strong vanadium-steel frame, and controls that many drivers could learn quickly.
The Model T became closely associated with moving assembly-line production, especially after Ford’s Highland Park plant adopted the system in 1913. That production method reduced assembly time and helped lower the car’s price, although the Model T itself was already in production before the moving line.
Ford built more than 15 million Model Ts between 1908 and 1927. A common mix-up is calling it the first automobile ever made; earlier cars existed, but the Model T was exceptionally successful in making motor travel widely accessible.