Production

• The first official 1909 Model T was produced on September 27, 1908, and continued production until July 31, 1909. (The 1910 Model T came after that.) As hinted by the name, the car was not Ford's first product, since it came after Models N, R and S. Although it originally took 12 hours and 8 minutes to build one car, Ford's application of mass production techniques produced that time to 1 hour and 33 minutes, even as other car manufacturers were still assembling cars individually by hand. By the end of the Model T's run in 1927, the factory produced a vehicle every 24 seconds.
  
  

Beginning

• Although the Model T was technically advanced for its day, it initially came with no oil, water or fuel pump, no electric lights and no general generator. It did not even have a starter, needing to be cranked by hand for activation. The first models came in gray, blue, green and red, with black being unavailable. However, once black was discovered to be the fastest drying paint, all models came in that color.
  
  

Types

• Body types included the Touring and Runabout, with convertible tops, and the Town Car and Ladaulett, with hard tops. Most cars were made of wood, and a few used aluminum panels over a wood frame. Costs ranged from $825 for the Runabout to $1,000 for the Town Car. The company manufactured a total of 10,660 cars with 47 for the Coupe and 7,728 for the Touring.
  
  

Description

• The seats were made of leather, which had a diamond tuft, or cloth with an ornate pattern in open cars. The 30-inch tires were 3 inches in front and 3.5 inches in back, had no treads and used hubcaps displaying the word "Ford" in block letters. The transmission of the first 750 or so cars used two pedals, one lever for the rear brake and another for reverse. Later transmissions used three pedals. Although side and tail lamps were standard, headlamps were optional.
  
  

Aftermath

• According to the Smithsonian, the Model T became the most popular automobile during its production (1908-1927) with over 15 million sold. Ford's manufacturing innovations eventually spread to other companies. However, the company lacked the marketing savvy of other automakers. General Motors, for example, afraid of market saturation, introduced annual car model changes in the late 1920s. Its sales skyrocketed as those of Ford's dove.