In Detroit, after Henry Ford returned from Romania, he was deeply fascinated by cars that Edel said were affordable to the public. In addition to launching the company's Ford truck (Dongfeng truck), he spent the rest of his time researching a civilian car. Fortunately, there was a development
With experience in trucks, he has a deep knowledge of simplified structures.
On May 19, Ford was at the test track of the Detroit company headquarters, watching several engineers debugging a new car with a square head and two rows of seats. Next to the old Ford was his son Edsel Ford, and the two of them were Rockefeller.
Talking about wanting to invest in Ford.
Since Ford launched the truck, the market has been very enthusiastic about this transportation tool that can replace horse-drawn carriages. This truck can be seen in major cities and ports in the United States, which makes major financial groups very jealous of Ford.
, all hope to get a share of the automobile industry. Taking over Ford, the largest automobile company in the United States, is the best choice, among which Rockefeller is the most eager consortium.
"Rockefeller has raised the price to 20% of the shares to US$1.2 million. If we had not had an exclusive agreement, many small shareholders would probably be interested." Edsel Ford told his father Ford Sr. about the recent situation in the company.
"Ignore them. The company now has sufficient funds. There is no need to let the consortium make money from us, and they don't have any good intentions."
As a person with a desire for control, Old Ford was well aware of the faces of these consortiums. At first, he only took shares, then expanded the share limit, and finally incorporated the company into their system. Fortunately, Old Ford had already made money before
Exchanged it for shares in the company. Now he owns 61.2% of the shares (plus the profits from Ford trucks), making it impossible for these consortiums to avoid him.
Now that the prototype car has been debugged by several engineers, the chief test driver Martin is ready. The old Ford standing next to him shouted to Martin, "Hey, Martin, you are the best." The test driver turned back to the old Ford.
thumbs up.
Martin got on the prototype car, and the engineer started the engine in front of the car. With the sound of boom, boom, boom, everyone stood on the side of the field and watched Martin step on the accelerator, and the prototype car started speeding on the field.
"It's really fast, it should have a speed of 60km/h." An engineer standing on the edge of the field said, and another person measuring the speed answered his question. "The speed is 63km/h. I can't believe we used the cheapest one.
For the price, it makes the best car possible.”
Old Ford stood by the field, put his hands to his mouth and shouted like a trumpet. "Martin, try how fast you can be." Hearing Old Ford shout, Martin showed his excellent driving skills. He stepped on the accelerator and accelerated.
The person taking the speed test next to you will calculate the results.
"Mr. Ford, it ran at a speed of 72 kilometers per hour." The person who calculated the speed test ran to the old Ford with the results and excitedly said a surprising number when handing it to him. This will mean that this prototype car
, it is now the fastest family car, completely comparable to professional racing cars, which makes old Ford very happy.
After the car stopped, a group of people gathered around. Old Ford stepped forward and asked, "How do you feel about Martin?" "It's very good. It's as easy to operate as other cars. There's still a gap between it and other cars in terms of comfort."
For a car that is positioned as a car that ordinary people can afford, it is understandable that the comfort has been reduced. In various tests, this prototype car has shown quite good capabilities, and everyone has been amazed.
"I'm going to name it Model T." Old Ford said to his son and assistants, and everyone agreed that he was the boss after all. So this Ford car with a four-cylinder gasoline engine and 20 horsepower had a
The famous name "Model T".
Back in the office, Edsel Ford asked his father sitting behind the desk. "How much do we plan to sell it for?" Ford thought for a while, calculated the cost, labor, and transportation and answered. "I
We plan to sell each one for $800, so that a worker can buy a Ford car as long as he saves enough money for a year."
Ford was surprised when he heard this price. This price is two-fifths of other cars, which will completely change the model of the automobile industry. In the future, the American automobile production model will follow Ford's example.
(Although Edel told Ford about the assembly line in advance, and the assembly line operation was also used by Ford when it produced trucks, and other American car factories also learned part of it. However, due to positioning problems of other car factories, the price dropped not too much.
big.)
Seeing Ford's surprised expression, Henry Ford continued. "Now according to our agreement with Volkswagen, the European market will probably have to be given to them." Now Ford's production capacity cannot keep up, and there is no sales to Europe.
Channel. Compared with the rich European continent in America, the old Ford could only give up first.
After hearing his father's words, little Ford also knew that there was nothing he could do about it. Behind Volkswagen was a European royal family. A breach of contract would be a fatal blow to the Fords and his son. No one would believe them without integrity, so the old Ford only
You know clearly that this is a huge profit, but you still have to push it out.
Young Ford knew that he could only do this so that he could leave a good reputation for himself. "Father, let's send the news about the newly developed Model T to Romania." Old Ford knew what his son meant and nodded in agreement before saying.
"Go and send them a telegram and find a few more newspaper people to report it."
After Ford sent a telegram to Romania, the telegram arrived on Edel's desk. "I'm just waiting for this car of yours." Looking at the telegram, the crown prince could think of Ford's helplessness. The next day, Ford received a reply from Volkswagen.
I am very interested in Ford's new Model T car.
Half a month later, the Ford Model T was launched in the United States. Faced with the price of US$800, the American people had no resistance at all. The first batch of 5,000 Ford Model Ts that had just been launched were snapped up by the public, which made the old Ford
Overjoyed, they ordered the expansion of the factory and increased the number of workers to fully produce Model T cars. Other car manufacturers either could only focus on high-end vehicles, or they completely followed Ford's footsteps and began to produce cars in large factories.
News about the Ford Model T is also widely reported in the United States. In every report, it is said that Ford pays attention to integrity and licenses the European market to Volkswagen of Romania in accordance with the agreement.
After Edel received the news, he knew that Ford wanted to increase his reputation and had no time to take care of it. There were more important things to do now. Volkswagen's first Model T car had been produced, and European automobile manufacturers also
