Ford Model A Replaces Tin Lizzie

Henry Ford posing with a Model T

From the mid 1910s through the early 1920s, the Ford Model T dominated the American car market. As the history books note, "Henry Ford put America on wheels." But over the car's eighteen-year run, cities began to pave the roadways and consumers wanted modern, comfortable, and fancier cars. The Tin Lizzie fell out of favor.

During the late 1920s and early 1930s, used Model Ts sold for five to ten dollars because they were obsolete and nobody wanted them. Bootleggers used them to smuggle liquor across the frozen Detroit River because it was no great loss if they went through the ice.

A "flivver" as they were called during Prohibition.

By the mid 1920s, General Motors upgraded their manufacturing techniques and began to offer more powerful engines like a V-6, sleek styling, convenient driver controls, various colors, and some amenities as standard equipment like headlamps. When GM came out with an electric starter, while the Model T still had a crank and magneto, Chevy sales in particular cut deep into Model T sales.

Henry Ford resisted most efforts to upgrade the appearance of his Model T during its model run from 1908 until 1927, but his engineers continued to make improvements on the powertrain. Ford's son Edsel, president of FoMoCo in name only, tried to convince his father that the car market was evolving and people wanted something more stylish with better performance. Marketplace realities finally convinced Henry Ford that a new model was necessary.

After months of secret planning, on May 2, 1927, Henry Ford telegraphed his dealers nationwide that he was starting production of a totally modern car of "superior design and performance to any now in the low-priced field."

He announced to the press that he would be closing his factories and halting production to manfacture a new model which he and his son were sure would be "the next big thing." This was in mid 1927 which allowed Chevy to outsell Ford for the first time, though it was a false comparison. Ford stopped production on the Model T halfway through the year.  

The elder Ford oversaw the mechanical engineering leaving Edsel to work with a design team on body styling. This was the first and last time that father and son worked together on the same project.

Henry decided to name the secret car the Model A, which showed a lack of imagination and marketing savvy. It was redundant. In 1903, his first commercial product was also named the Model A, but because this new car was totally re-engineered and redesigned, he chose to begin all over again with the Model A designation. Not a single component of the Model T was used in the construction of the new Model A.

Original 1903 Model A also known as the Fordmobile. This was Henry Ford's first production car.

Mechanically, the reincarnated Model A was the first Ford to use the standard set of driver controls common in more modern cars which included a clutch, brake, and gas pedal on the floorboard. The Model T controls were antiquated and awkward by comparison. The standard Model A came equipped with four-wheel hydraulic shock absorbers, four-wheel mechanical brakes, and a new L-head inline four-cylinder, 40 hp engine with a top speed of 65 mph. Rather than a Model T two-speed transmission, this new car had a three-speed, manual transmission which greatly improved performance. 

Restored Model A [notice retrofit turn signals]

In addition to a shatterproof laminated windshield, the exterior of the new Model A was lower and sleeker than the Model T. This was the first Ford to carry the iconic blue oval logo. The Model A was available in many different body styles including coupes, a cabriolet convertible, various sedans, phaetons, a station wagon, a police model, a taxi, and a pickup truck. Rather than the body being available in just black, the original Model A also came in Niagra Blue, Arabian Sand, Dawn Grey, or Gun Metal Blue.

The 1928 Model A was officially introduced on December 2, 1927, immediately becoming a big hit with the public giving Chevrolet a run for its money. In its four-year production life, 4,858,644 Model As were built. That is a healthy number considering the Great Depression was raging at the time. Because of the car's popularity then and now, the Model A is considered by many car buffs to be the best classic American car ever made.

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