Century to a T

By David Linklater

Century this, century that. If you want to start an argument at a party, sound out your views on the most important book, film or song of the 20th century.

Best keep away from the subject of cars, though. Few could convincingly argue that anything other than the Ford Model T deserves the gong. The "Tin Lizzie" got it, too, from a jury of journalists and car enthusiasts, when it was named Car of the Century at a special pre-Christmas ceremony in Las Vegas.

An international panel, including New Zealand motoring journalists Richard Bosselman, Peter Gill and David Moore, joined Internet voters for the COTC judging. The process began three years ago with a list of 200 cars. This was reduced to 100 in 1997, then to 27 in early 1999. Finally, the top five were selected just before final voting: Citroen DS, Ford Model T, Mini, Porsche 911 and Volkswagen Beetle.

Why the T? Because the ethos of the modern motor industry — cars mass-produced to standard specifications and sold at low cost — stems from Henry Ford's remarkable Model T. It turned the automobile from a super-expensive extravagance to transport for the masses, and helped to shape life in the past century along the way.

"We are celebrating not so much a car as a concept," said Edsel B. Ford II. "It's not only that my great-grandfather had the vision, but that he held to his vision.

"He held to his vision during Ford Motor Company's first five years when he went through an alphabet soup of models to get what he was after with the T. For the next 19 years he held to his vision of a high-quality and low-cost car."

The Model T entered production in 1908, but Ford's idea of a moving assembly line, using standardised parts, did not come to fruition until 1913, at a new plant in Highland Park. The concept revolutionised the motor industry and manufacturing in general, bringing huge increases in efficiency and much lower prices for customers.

In 1914, with 13,000 employees, Ford produced about 300,000 vehicles. The 299 other car companies, with a total of 66,350 workers,
produced about 280,000. The huge popularity of the Model T brought about the now-familiar saying: "There's no use trying to pass a Ford, because there's always another one just ahead."

The Model T was the first car to have its engine block and crankcase cast as a single unit and the first to have a removable head for easy repair. The car's planetary transmission — a forerunner of modern automatic gearboxes —made driving easy even for novices.

The early cars came with tool kits but listed a windscreen as an extra-cost option; it later became standard. Three-point suspension allowed the robust car to negotiate the often-primitive roads of the day.

Henry Ford was named automotive entrepenuer of the century at the COTC awards night. Also honoured were VW boss Ferdinand Piech (car executive), Ferdinand Porsche (automotive engineer) and Giorgetto Giugiaro (car designer).