Ford Model A (1903)

ford
Model a
Production period:	1903
Class :	Small car
Body versions :	Phaeton , Tonneau
Engines:	Gasoline engines : ; 1.65 liters (5.9 kW)
Length:
Width:
Height:
Wheelbase :	1829 mm
Empty weight :	566 kg
successor	Ford model AC

The Ford Model A was the first car that the Ford Motor Company produced.

The car was manufactured in rented premises on Mack Avenue , Detroit. At the beginning there were model names like "Daisy" (one of the shareholders was the manufacturer of an air rifle of the same name) and "Fordmobile"; the latter was actually used for a short time before "Model A" caught on. It was the first automobile to be produced by the Ford Motor Company, newly founded on June 16, 1903, in 1903. Ernst Pfenning, a dentist of Chicago , Illinois , became the first owner of a Model A on July 23, 1903. 1,750 Model A cars and its successor, the AC , were built from 1903 to 1905.

The car was offered as a two-seat runabout or four-seat tonneau model, optionally with a convertible top, but always in red. The tonneau structure with a door in the rear was removable. The 2-cylinder boxer engine was located in the center of the vehicle and generated 6 kilowatts (8 hp). The rear wheels were driven via a 3-speed planetary gear, as was later also used in the T model . The car weighed 562 kilograms and had a top speed of 72 km / h. The wheelbase was 72 inches (1.8 m). It was $ 750 and could be fitted with a rear seat and canopy for $ 30 or leather for $ 50 for $ 100. The Model A, like all cars of the time, suffered from problems such as overheating of the engine and slipping of the drive.

Ford had spent almost all of its initial investment capital of $ 28,000 on the development. There was only $ 223.65 left in the bank account when the first Model A was sold. The success of this car model brought profit to the Ford Motor Company, Henry Ford's first successful company.

literature

Beverly R. Kimes (Editor), Henry A. Clark: Standard Catalog of American Cars 1805-1942. Krause Publications, Iola 1985, ISBN 0-87341-045-9 .
Beverly R. Kimes (Ed.): Pioneers, Engineers, and Scoundrels: The Dawn of the Automobile in America. Published by SAE (Society of Automotive Engineers) Permissions, Warrendale PA 2005, ISBN 0-7680-1431-X . (English)

Web links

Commons : Ford Model A - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Remarks

^ The Ford Motor Company was Henry Ford's second company. The first, the Henry Ford Company , was on the brink of bankruptcy and the investors brought in Henry M. Leland as a renovator. The reorganization led to the company being renamed the Henry Ford Company . The collaboration worked poorly and Henry Ford left the company with $ 900 in his pocket, the engineering plans for his next car, and mutual agreement that Ford would continue to use his name as a brand name and that the company would change names again. This is how the Cadillac Motor Company came into being . Because both Ford and Leland derived their first production model from Ford's design, there was a great similarity between the first Cadillac and the Ford Model A.

[1] The Ford Motor Company was Henry Ford's second company. The first, the Henry Ford Company , was on the brink of bankruptcy and the investors brought in Henry M. Leland as a renovator. The reorganization led to the company being renamed the Henry Ford Company . The collaboration worked poorly and Henry Ford left the company with $ 900 in his pocket, the engineering plans for his next car, and mutual agreement that Ford would continue to use his name as a brand name and that the company would change names again. This is how the Cadillac Motor Company came into being . Because both Ford and Leland derived their first production model from Ford's design, there was a great similarity between the first Cadillac and the Ford Model A.