Know Our History - Henry Ford on the American Experience

[NeilBlanchard]

The Ford Model T weighs about 1,200 pounds. It is made of steel and wood and glass and rubber, etc. Totally impressive, and it had a small displacement 4 cylinder engine:

The Model T had a 177-cubic-inch (2.9 L) front-mounted inline four-cylinder engine, producing 20 hp (15 kW) for a top speed of 40–45 mph (64–72 km/h). According to Ford Motor Company, the Model T had fuel economy on the order of 13–21 mpg-US (16–25 mpg-imp; 18–11 L/100 km).[12] The engine was capable of running on gasoline, kerosene, or ethanol,[13][14] although the decreasing cost of gasoline and the later introduction of Prohibition made ethanol an impractical fuel for most users.

Ford Model T - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Obviously, it is a high aero drag car, however. And it would not meet safety standards, by any stretch.

The average US car in 2012 got 23.8MPG. So the Model T is well within the range of today's cars - though it is on the low side.

[Arragonis]

Originally Posted by Frank Lee

I am fully aware of that. I realize that there have been advancements in auto tech over the last 100+ years. It is not news to me. What may be news to many, however, is that TODAY'S U.S. national fleet of crap consisting of SUVs, pickups, and maybe some cars here and there has an average MPG similar to that of the 100 year old "T". I find that pathetic and offensive.

If you take MPG alone then yes it is. Adding in the fact that those same vehicles are miles ahead in all other aspects seems to offset it somewhat.

I do agree though that the increase in efficiency that is possible these days has been concentrated on power and speed and less on improving overall MPG, which is a waste.

There are good MPG cars out there but they don't sell enough to drag the average up.

Originally Posted by NeilBlanchard

The Ford Model T weighs about 1,200 pounds. It is made of steel and wood and glass and rubber, etc. Totally impressive, and it had a small displacement 4 cylinder engine:

Is 2.9L small ? That larger engine meant more tax in Europe where it was based on engine size (actually more on bore size).

So if the Model T is an example of top efficiency, the Austin 7 (aka Bantam) must be considered stratospheric ?



It matched the Model T's performance (top speed 48 MPH), and far exceeded it's economy (40-50 MPimpG) with an engine of just 747cc.

[jakobnev]

It got 38MPG with a proper body:


(Original thred.)

[NeilBlanchard]

For 100+ year old technology, it was relatively small. Obviously 20HP is easily possible with a 1/10th that displacement today, given fuel injection and variable valves, etc.

It was an amazingly durable design, and today's cars do not have to deal with unpaved roads, let alone 2 feet of mud or river crossings. I'll bet that a paved and well graded highway (under 3% slopes) the Model T would equal today's average car in MPG.

The Model T could burn kerosene, or gasoline, or 100% ethanol. Not too shabby.

[California98Civic]

Originally Posted by NeilBlanchard

I know that all of you reading this have more than a passing interest in cars, and this 1:52 American Experience program on Henry Ford will be very interesting to you; probably on several levels.

Video: Henry Ford | Watch American Experience Online | PBS Video

At minute 15:00 it looks like the engine has some sort of diy-style field-insulated manifold.

[Arragonis]

I get the idea, but this is not the car - unless you like the ide of burning other fuels a lot. A diesel can live of ex-cooking oil too

*(imagines aerocivic with 1.4 3cyl TDI on veggie)

[NeilBlanchard]

We have not mentioned Henry Ford's invention of the production line - definitely a mixed blessing. And the fact that he understood very well that he had to pay his workers enough to be able to afford to buy the cars they built.

He also built a couple of replica Colonial buildings around the area where I live - and he signed the back of the clock face at the mill - twice.

[cRiPpLe_rOoStEr]

Honestly, I hate Henry Ford because he was anti-Semitic, and I dislike the current Ford range, but considering that he never actually attended to a college of Engineering, and also the technical resources of the time were quite limited, he did a good job developing the Model T.

[NeilBlanchard]

Right - he was a racist, and he was a tyrant, and he was a Nazi supporter. I have Jewish friends who's parents would never own a Ford for these reasons. As a young man he hated farming, but as an old man he was totally nostalgic for farm life. His factories were incredibly urban places, and people working there were cogs in the machine.

History is wildly complicated, and to have a glimpse of part of it is quite informative, I think.

[Arragonis]

He didn't invent the production line.

He also wasn't the only Nazi supporter who went on to do well in the US - IBM did quite well out of selling the Nazis colating machines they used to determine who was and who was not Jewish.