Here's Why Ford's First Production Car Was Called The Model T
Automotive pioneer Henry Ford struck gold with the Ford Model T in 1908, but the road to success wasn't smooth. Ford built his first one-cylinder gas engine in 1893 and created his first car — which was more or less just a frame mounted on borrowed bicycle wheels — in June 1896. Inspired by his creation, Ford resigned from his chief engineering position at the Edison Illuminating Company and established the Detroit Automobile Company in August 1899.
The company went bankrupt in 18 months, but Ford tried again in 1901 and launched the Henry Ford Company. However, he soon left the company and instead invested $28,000 to start the Ford Motor Company on June 16, 1903. Ford proceeded to create vehicle prototypes from 1903 and 1907 before officially launching the Model T in 1908.
The rest, as they say, is history. The automaker sold 15 million Model Ts from 1908 to 1927 before introducing the company's second car, the Model A, in November 1927. The Model T is the genesis of modern auto building, but how did Henry Ford develop the Model T name?
Ford Model T: What's in a name?
Before the Model T became a production reality, Ford and his engineering team built around 20 prototypes before debuting the car in 1908, naming each design after a letter of the alphabet. By the time the team had reached what would become the Model T, the revolutionary features they had designed worked together to make it durable, reliable, and easy to operate. The Ford Motor Company's internal naming scheme stuck, and Henry Ford agreed to the Model T production name — naming the car after the 20th letter in the alphabet.
The Model T earned a collection of nicknames since its debut — from Tin Lizzie to T Model — but what about its successor, the Model A? If the Model T was supposedly the 20th prototype, why didn't Henry Ford call his second production car the Model U instead?
As it turns out, the Model T's successor was a clean-sheet design, and Ford wanted a fresh start with the Model A. Ford sold three million Model A units by 1930, three years after its debut, and introduced the Model B in 1927 before abandoning the alphabet-based nomenclatures and debuting the Ford Model 18 and Model 40 by 1932. This, of course, would only be the beginning of the many historic and iconic Ford models produced over the following century.