In a study of 1929 America, an anonymous resident of a small town in the heartland expressed the view that a certain invention was changing the face of the entire land. "Why on earth do you need to study what's changing in this country? I can tell you what's happening in just four letters, A U T O" (Flink, 1970, p. 2)! Similarly, most historians give the name "the Age of the Automobile" to the first twenty five years of the 20th century in America. "For, since its introduction in the United States in 1895, the motor vehicle has been the most significant force shaping the development of modern American civilization" (Flink, 1970, p. 2).
At the heart of the early automobile age lies the story of Henry Ford, his automobile empire, and the development of the Ford Model T. In fact, the Model T became almost synonymous with the word automobile, and had a profound impact on both American culture and business. Ford's methods in mass production and wage labor, although hotly debated at the time, clearly set the stage for modern industrialization in America.
Henry Ford was born in 1863, but remained relatively unknown until 1901, when he became a famous racing car driver in the early years of that sport. After two failed beginnings in the auto industry, in 1903 Ford founded the company which still bears his name. By 1913, Henry Ford had made his fortune, became one of the dominant leaders in the newly developed industry, and made international news when he more than doubled his worker's wages (Lewis, 1976, p. 11). The early history of Ford Motor Company was characterized by brief flirtations with disaster. In its first few years, it barely made enough to repay its debts, but as the idea of limited production of an affordable, but limited, range of cars for the masses took hold, Ford's money problems became a thing of the past. In 1908, Ford introduced what he called "the farmer's car" the Model T. From its original price of...