Ford Model T
It's from 1908, before you were born.
- Iconic generation
- 1908 Model T 'Tin Lizzie'
- Origin
- Detroit, Michigan, USA — unveiled October 1908
- Engine
- 177 cu in (2.9L) side-valve inline-four
- Power
- 20 hp
- Top speed
- ~45 mph (72 km/h)
- Production
- 1908–1927 — roughly 15 million built
- Price when new
- $850 in 1908; under $300 by the mid-1920s
- Claim to fame
- First car built on a moving assembly line
About
As of 2026, it's 118 years old.
Before the Model T, a car was a rich man's toy — handbuilt, fussy, and priced like a small house. Henry Ford's big idea wasn't a faster car or a prettier one; it was a car for 'the great multitude.' When the Tin Lizzie rolled out in 1908 at $850, it put America on wheels and never looked back.
The real magic happened in 1913, when Ford's moving assembly line cut build time from over 12 hours to about 90 minutes. Mass production meant plummeting prices — a touring car dropped to under $300 by the mid-1920s — and famously, Ford said you could have any color you liked, so long as it was black (black enamel dried fastest).
It wasn't sophisticated. Twenty horsepower, a top speed around 45 mph, and a planetary transmission you operated with three foot pedals and a hand lever that baffled anyone raised on a stick shift. You hand-cranked it to start and prayed the spark didn't kick back and break your arm.
By the time production ended in 1927, Ford had built roughly 15 million of them — a record that stood for nearly half a century. The Model T didn't just sell cars; it built suburbs, gas stations, motels, and the entire American notion that the open road belongs to everybody.
Ford Model T through the years
The Tin Lizzie arrives
Ford unveils the Model T at $850, undercutting rivals that cost two to three times as much.
The moving assembly line
Ford's line drops build time from over 12 hours to about 90 minutes, slashing prices.
$5 day
Ford doubles worker wages to $5 a day so the people building cars could afford to buy them.
Under $300
Mass production pushes the touring car's price below $300, the cheapest it would ever be.
End of an era
After roughly 15 million cars, the T retires and the Model A takes over.
