Henry ford

During this same time, Ford was building race cars, he raced many of them himself. Racing was one of Ford's passions. The Ford motor company to this day is a feared name in the racing industry. In 1903, Ford's passenger car was finally ready to be sold to consumers. This was a giant leap in the automotive industry. Now the average person could own an automobile. In the past, cars were reserved for only the richest people. In 1908, the model T went into mass production. The car was produced for 19 years.(Henry p.1).
             Not only was Ford's auto at the cutting edge of the times, his manufacturing method was really behind its success. Ford's idea of the assembly line massively cut down on costs. He used a galvanized steel product which made the cars less likely to rust. The cars in the factory traveled down a 852ft conveyor belt assembly line where they where put together piece by piece. The "normal" method was to build one or two cars at once. At the front of the conveyor belt was the loader. The job of the loader/loaders was to load the bare chassis onto the belt. Eventually these people were assisted by a crane, but as production just got going the parts had to be lifted by hand. A single chassis weighs between 4-500lbs. Because of the massive weights these workers had to move by hand they were known as the lifters. Next, the chassis would move on to the axle stand where a rear axle was attached. One man would put it into place and the other would fasten it to the chassis. These were the only two steps that stayed in order throughout production. The assembly line had been known to do things like assemble the cars backwards. But nevertheless the cars ran and were very reliable. (Henry p.1) .
             After only 2 years of production Ford was shut down. The Association of Licensed Automobile Manufacturers made a suit against Ford. In actuality they were outraged that this small time country farmer's son could come out of nowhere and take over the automobile market.