The Classic Automotive Product The Ford Model A Motor Auto

creating an alternative to massive success; The Model T Ford will always be recognized as one of the most difficult tasks in all of the history of the automotive industry. Subsequent successes in an established industry are always easier - ground work done. Early in the marketing cycle for a vehicle, the industry or sales territory is usually where maximum effort is required and the hit or fail results are most dramatic. Sir Henry Ford was confident and eccentric enough to want Tin Lizzie to stay in production forever. Announced in 1908, the machine that put the world on wheels was to sell just over 15 million before Mr. Ford accepted the fact that a new model was vital and necessary.

“Sixty-four today and the biggest work of my life lies ahead,” Ford exclaimed as he began work on the Model A, named as the first car his company produced in 1903. Believe it or not, Ford Model T production ended nearly six months before the first newcomers were delivered. The gap that appeared most unusually when you appreciate it was a one-make car company. In terms of cars for sale; The huge River Rouge plant built nothing for about half of 1928.

Although much more complex than its predecessor, the number of parts was 40% higher, and most of these automotive components were new - the Model A is a miracle of simplicity by today's modern standards - both mechanically and electronically, of course. Today's vintage classic car enthusiasts appreciate the fact that the Model A was built to be repaired by a blacksmith in what was then the remote wilds of North Dakota. The Model A's main features included a conventional frame-type suspension, transverse springs, hydraulic dampers front and rear, a conventional ignition system, a safety glass windshield, and brakes for each wheel. Like the Tin Lizzie, the newcomer was offered in a two-door and two-door lineup, from roadsters and phaetons to sedans and cabs. Prices started at $460 in 1928.

   It has been said about driving a Ford Model T that a driver should forget almost everything they know and know about driving. For the driver sitting at the wheel of the Model T, it feels like a newbie to driving. The only traditional setup for driving the Model T is the steering wheel. Not so with the Ford Model A. Anyone who can handle a standard manual transmission to perfection need not have any qualms about driving a Model A. It reaches down on a three-speed transmission. When one does, the muted simplicity of this shift will make you wonder why the "gears" of the old Bentley were so difficult to master.

The Ford Model A can maintain a cruising speed of 50 mph with maximum bursts of 65 mph. All of this is even more amazing when one considers that the engine is a 40-horsepower 4-cylinder engine running at 2,200 revolutions per minute (rpm).

The Model A was special in that it set a new standard in quality that offered durable engine over reliability and attributes, in an economical way all for a more than reasonable amount for the purchase price of an automotive product for its time from the market leader at the time - Ford Motor Company.