Part two

CLASSIC CARS

Текст 35

FORD

The founding of the Ford Motor Company was to have an importance in the field of motor cars, not only from the point of view of mass production, but above all because it highlighted, right from its beginning, the philosophy of the car for the masses.

Along with these revolutionary ideas, Henry Ford, creator, animator, and commander of the company through­out, introduced a number of other novel concepts. In particular, he believed that not only the largest possible number of people should enjoy the products of his factory, but also that the largest number of people should share in the material benefits created by the production itself. But that is another story.

It is interesting to note that the same year of 1903 saw the birth of two companies — one in the Old World and one in the New — each representing a profoundly different technical, social, and economic evolution. On the one hand was the virtual creation of Rolls-Royce, which was to signify the standard of absolute perfection, and on the other the founding of Ford, which was to represent the opposite end of the scale — big-volume manufacture of products of low price and spartan character.

The Ford Motor Company was founded on 16th June of 1903 with a capital of $150, 000. Henry Ford became Vice-president and also assumed the post of Chief Engineer and General Manager. Among the shareholders were the Dodge brothers, ex-mechanics, who had opened a workshop in Detroit after having for some years manufactured bicycles, which used ball-bearings of their own design.

The beginning was not easy. There was strong compe­tition from such established companies as Cadillac, Oldsmobile, Reo and Packard. Ford distinguished his models in a way which was unique in those days when other manufac­turers were applying names intended to impress the public with the power of their engines or with some other charac­teristic that would appeal to the motorist's taste. He gave them single letters. This in itself was typical of his guiding philosophy in all things — simplicity. The first Ford cars, however, did not reflect his personality; there were too many fingers in the pie, particularly of ex-craftsmen, each of whom brought his own prejudies and preferences to bear. Model 'A' of 1904 and model 'B' of 1905 fall into this category, though the latter had aesthetic merit. Model 'C' was also produced in 1905, and showed some originality; it had two rear seats which could be fitted or removed at will, and suspension by full elliptical leaf springs, which was unusual at that time.

Several more two and four-cylinder models followed until, in 1906-1907 Ford produced the 'K' which was a foray into the luxury field. It was a six-cylinder machine and sold for $2, 400, even though it cost much more than this to produce. It is evident that Ford was still hesitating, still not committing himself to the policy of mass manufacture. It should be said, however, that the 'K' — with its 7, 040 c.c. engine, two speeds and reverse gearbox, had several virtues, including its appearance. It was distinctly comparable with the best English and French vehicles of the time.

Model 'N' was also produced in 1906 and represented Ford's first attempt to enter the mass market. Its price was as low as $600, which was the direct competition with the single-cylinder cars of other manufacturers (the 'N' was a four-cyl­inder). It was well accepted by the public but was not a commercial success. Ford had not yet introduced those productive techniques which were to allow him to reduce manufacturing costs so considerably, as he did with the later model 'T'. The 'N' exhibited certain typical characteristics which later were to give the name 'spider' to the 'T' — large wheels set well apart, small coachwork and a high ground clearance.

The 'R' and 'S' followed in 1907 and the beginning of 1908 and represented Ford's ranging on to his target of the ideal popular car he wished to produce. In general they were both similar to the 'N' and the same commercial policy of low price was followed with growing success. Certain tech­nical details were improved, particularly those regarding front and rear suspension.

At last we come to 1908, the year that introduced one of the most famous cars ever, the Ford model 'T', the 'Lizzie' for million of Americans — the tin Lizzie, as it was called by rivals in its early days, until its great commercial success made such criticism ridiculous. Its official birthday was 1st October 1908. That date represented the culmination of months and months of hard work by everyone in the organization. This time the 'boss' had decided that not only would the new model be technically perfect but that it would be the product of a manufacturing and commercial organi­zation completely geared to mass the production and volume sales.

What immediately struck the Americans who had waited for the launching of this new car with mounting curiosity was its apparent fragility. At first it appeared that thinness of the panels and the lightness of the chassis sections would make for short life and high maintenance. It was soon discovered, however, that considerable use had been made of vanadium alloy steel. Its superior strength made possible economy in the use of material which more than offset its higher cost and which, moreover, gave major advantages from the point of view of weight saving. For the first time transverse springs, both front and rear, were used on this chassis and proved very satisfactory on the terrible American roads of that time. The extensive use of Steel for minor details of the car had considerable effect on its appearance — for instance, the extremely large but light mudguards, the running boards, and other parts. Innovations did not stop there. The easily-rated four-cylinder 2, 880 c.c. engine (bore and stroke 95 mm. by 101 mm.) had a monoblock casting for the four cylinders, one camshaft and the valves on one side of the engine. The cylinder head was detachable, allowing easy access to valves and pistons for attention. At first the h.p. was 20 (later increased to 22), a reasonable figure in such a light car. The power/weight ratio gave excellent acceleration although top speed was only a little over 40 m.p.h., a most surprising figure, especially as the car was to remain in production until 1927 with little alteration.

The most interesting technical features were in the ignition and transmission. Ignition was by means of a simple form of flywheel magneto.

The revolutionary transmission system of the model 'T' was the work of Ford's own designers. It consisted of a simple and robust two-speed gearbox without the conven­tional clutch — made possible by the low maximum speed, power, and engine r.p.m. of 1, 500 — which Ford had wisely insisted upon to ensure long engine life. The gear change was by foot pedal and quite foolproof.

It will be appreciated, therefore, that to drive the model 'T' a number of unusual operations were necessary. These were the direct result of Henry Ford's policy of simplification and rationalisation, but they were easy. These maneouvres were, in fact, to become a matter of habit to the millions of Americans owning a 'Lizzie', most of whom had no previous experience of driving more conventional cars.

To drive off in a model 'T' — once the engine was started — one had to press lightly on the gear pedal to disengage the transmission. It was then possible to release the handbrake, working on the rear wheels, the last few degrees of movement holding the 'clutch' out. With the brakes now off, the driver pressed the gear pedal firmly home, which engaged first gear through the 'clutch'. With the car accelerating, gentle pressure on the gear pedal engaged top gear.

Stopping the model 'T' was more simple. The brake pedal was pushed and, at the same time, the handbrake applied, which also disengaged the transmission. There were two other ways of braking, to be used only in emergency. The first was to press on the brake and gear-change pedals simultaneously, thus also engaging first gear. For even more fierce braking one pressed simultaneously the brake pedal and a third pedal, which engaged reverse gear.

The second big American motor company, General Motors – for long the largest and most powerful commercial organization in the world was founded in 1908, the result of the patient, tenacious work of another outstanding individual, William Crapo Durant. He, like Ford, had begun in the early years of the 20^th century but the aims and methods of the two men were quite different. Ford was in essence a technician, with clear, precise commercial ideal stemming from a real passion for the motor car. Durant was a business man who, like other of the time, had seen the future possibilities of the car and who had decided to reach the highest levels of the boom whose advent he foresaw so clearly.