Model T's 100th

October 1, 2008

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Profile America — Wednesday, October 1st. A car destined to put America on wheels was first built on this day 100 years ago. It was Henry Ford’s Model T, and the demand became so great that Ford developed the assembly line to speed up production. At one time, a finished car rolled off the line every 10 seconds and fully half the cars in the world were Model T’s. In 1924, the basic Model T sold for just $260 — available, as the joke went, in any color you wanted as long it was black. When the last Model T came off the assembly line in 1927, more than 15 million had been made during its 19-year run. Today, U.S. automakers sell 12.3 million cars and light trucks annually. You can find these and more facts about America from the U.S. Census Bureau online at <www.census.gov>.

Sources: Chase's Calendar of Events 2008, p. 487
U.S. Census Bureau, Facts for Features, CB08-FFSE.04
http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/facts_for_features_special_editions/012439.html