Production

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Ford Assembly Line
In the early 1900s, automobile production was a tedious process—on average it took 12½ hours to produce one vehicle. Originally, the chassis of a Model T stayed in one place until the car was finished being built.[14] Ford realized he needed an advantage, so he started developing faster ways to produce cars. He theorized, “Instead of bringing man to work, work must be brought to him”.[15] In 1913, the first assembly line was invoked at Ford’s plants.[16] The cars were connected to the floor and moved through 29 stations by pulley.[17] The impact was astonishing. Annual production went from 10,060 in 1908 to 300,000 in 1915 and the price dropped from $890 to $490 that year.[18] There were some negative effects, however, which resulted from mass production. In 1913 Ford supposedly announced, “Any customer can have a car painted in any color so long as it is black”.[19] Production was sped up but some individuality was taken from the cars. There were other downsides, too. One factory worker said, “I hate my job. The monotony, the noise, and the grotesque green lights. One day I will leave this hell and never come back”.[20] Contrary to these negative statements, mass production would go on to skyrocket the Model T to success over its counterparts.

Assembly Line in Action

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'No symphony, no Eroica, compares in depth, content, and power to the music that threatened and gammered away at us as we wandered through Fords work places, wanderers overwhelmed by a daring expression of the human spirit.'-German Engineer Otto Moog
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When talking about Ford's work Charles Sorenson said '(it) headed us toward mass production.'