He was also very opinionated and was virulently anti-Semitic. But, I think that–in automotive terms–his biases pale with those of Mercedes-Benz, which claims to have “invented the automobile”. The work of both Daimler and Benz was preceded for many years by the work of Siegfried Marcus, of Vienna. But, when the Nazi era emerged, that history was buried in order to promote the false notion that Daimler and Benz were the first. And, although this has been disproven, Mercedes-Benz continues to claim that they invented the automobile.
Yup!
Ransom Olds was really the inventor of the assembly line. Ford likely improved on the concept, but he essentially copied what Mr. Olds had done.
Correct!
Cadillac was the first to standardize parts for each model. This was a revelation when some of their cars were unveiled in London, and they were partially disassembled, with the parts then being installed in a different Caddy than they had come from. To the amazement of the Brits, the cars started and ran.
Honda is finally entering the EV market, but they’re doing it by selling re-badged Chevy Blazer EVs. Toyota’s new CEO has signaled that he is more committed to hybrids than EVs, and as a result he isn’t likely to do a lot regarding a major move toward EVs.
It’s not surprising that Toyota is reluctant to move to the BEV market. They are the market leader in hybrids. That of course means Toyota will be late to the BEV market, at least in the US. That doesn’t seem to bother their CEO since he believes that BEV s will represent about 30% of the international market. They will likely be way behind in Asia and the EU due to Chinese BEV sales.
Like many things in history, there certainly can be bias as well as disagreement as to the real meaning of “first.” Certainly Marcus was first to prototype an ICE auto but that is as far as it got. Karl Benz actually started producing autos (at his wife, Bertha’s insistence!). Benz was as stubborn as Ford, however and stuck with his designs long after they were obsolete. That was a factor in merging with Daimler in the 1920s.
Ford gets inappropriate credit for “inventing” the auto because early cars were for the rich and Ford made low cost cars nearly anyone could afford. And made LOTS of them! Half the cars on Earth in 1918 were Model Ts. T’s were built on 5 of the 7 continents and all across the US. Ford’s stubborn nature almost killed the company until his son, Edsel finally convinced Henry to abandon the T for the Model A. And then the B with a V8!
Ford was the first to use the moving assembly line. A distinction that gets lost in the telling. Same for Charles F. Kettering inventing the electric starter. He actually invented a practical battery-starting and ignition system but that gets lost as well.
Both the American Armstrong and the Austro-Hungarian Lohner-Porsche (both early hybrid autos) had an electric start so technically Kettering wasn’t first to the electric starter.
Speaking of Porsche, many European automotive historians will tell you that Ferdinand Porsche copied a LOT from the designs of Hans Ledwinka. Porsche himself said “sometimes Ledwinka looked over my shoulder, and sometimes I looked over his”, but the fact remains that the Type 1 VW was essentially a copy of Ledwinka’s earlier designs for the Tatra company.
That’s why Ledwinka sued Porsche! They reached an out of court settlement.
Look at Tatra’s T77 car… looks like an elongated VW Beetle with an air cooled V8. But then a Chrysler Airflow looks like a big Beetle, too, from the rear.
lol… very funny, thanks for posting …not spelling so much as incorrect word usage … reminds me of the headline in USA Today the other day, “Fed Rate Cuts Will Not Effect Finances Equally” … lol …
Good point. And True even in Ford’s later years. " A1954 Ford Popular (UK) had a top speed of 60.3 mph (97.0 km/h) and could accelerate from 0-50 mph (80 km/h) in 24.1 seconds, fuel consumption of 30.3 mpg‑US, cost £390 including taxes." Probably $3,000+ in today’s money, given inflation since 1954, but still a very good price for a new car. Alas, such a thing is no longer possible. On the other hand, while we pay a lot more for new cars, ours come with automatic tire pressure monitoring … lol … I think the Popular is a pretty good looking car.
I bet you could build something that duplicated that Ford’s performance, economy, and pollution output for not much more than $10k. Of course, nobody would buy it.
I was very young but when my folks bought their 54 ford, I thought mom said it was $2000. Might have been after the trade. I dunno. Just remember the figure. I was only 6.
I think an econobox that matched or better the 1954 Ford accel and mpg, but still met federal air pollution standards would sell pretty good at $10,000 new. The problem Ford would run up against in making that $10k price is all the other various gadgets now required, tire pressure monitoring, air bags, 10 speed automatic trans, and the like.
By “nobody”, I presume you are referring to folks who use their cars to drive long distances frequently. The buyer of the $10K car is someone with a limited budget, student or the like, but who wants the reliability of a new car for around town driving.
By ‘nobody’, I mean ‘nobody’. Nobody would buy a new car that took 24 seconds to get from 0 to 50 mph, while emitting a cloud of noxious exhaust and getting maybe 25 mpg, with no safety features whatsoever (the crash resistance of a beer can, for example).
I don’t recall saying the hypothetical $10k car would have no safety features. Or that it wouldn’t meet the current air pollutant requirements. The 1954 car with 1954 engine tech got 30 mpg, and I expect it would do a little better than that now. As far as how many folks would buy it, we’ll never know, b/c such a car is now virtually regulated out of existence.
That’s what I said, that a modern carmaker could make a car equivalent to the Ford for $10k. My point is that it wasn’t unusually cheap or a bargain when it came out, it could be made today for about the same amount of money. What can’t be made for that money today is a car that meets all government requirements and current minimum buyer expectations for $10k. That car costs more like $17k, like a Versa, Rio, or Mirage.
