DEARBORN, Mich.– The car that put the world on wheels, the Ford Model T, is celebrating its 100th anniversary in 2008 and Ford is planning a year-long series of celebrations to honor the iconic vehicle.
Celebrations officially commenced at the 2008 Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance in Amelia Island, Fla., March 7-9 and Ford has many other regional events in the works for a year filled with celebrations.
One of the biggest will be the Model T display at the West Coast’s largest Ford enthusiast car show - the Fabulous Fords Forever! event at Knott’s Berry Farm Amusement Park in Anaheim, Calif., on Apr. 20th. In July, Ford Motor Company will be the title sponsor of the Model T Ford Club of America’s “T Party 2008” that will be held in Richmond, Ind.
This is turning into a worldwide celebration. The car that changed the world has been installed in the famous glass 'tank' outside front of London's Design Museum, within sight of the famous Tower Bridge landmark.
This display of the Ford Model T by the Design Museum in the centre of the British capital is recognition of its significance as the first car to be assembled on a moving production line, helping to turn America into an industrial economy and mobile society.
This 1910 example of the Ford Model T has been provided by the Ford of Britain Heritage Collection, which is based further down the River Thames from the Design Museum at Ford's Dagenham plant. The car will be on display until April 20.
Back in the States, the lowly Model T found itself in some rarified company at the Amelia Island concours. Among the priceless collection of rare classic automobiles that were displayed at the 2008 Amelia Island Concours in March was a special classic of vehicles designed for the everyman of yesteryear – the Model T. These plebian cars were featured in the same venue as the most prestigious and expensive vehicles ever created. This display recognized this historic automobile and its contribution to America’s emergence as an industrial power in the early 1900s.
Close to 20,000 spectators and automobile aficionados attended the weekend’s Concours activities, helping Ford kickoff the Model T centennial celebration.
“T Party 2008”
Ford Motor Company, with support from Ford Motor Company Fund, is the title sponsor for the “T Party 2008” celebration hosted by the Model T Ford Club of America, which plans to bring in close to 1,000 Model Ts for this significant milestone.
The “T Party 2008” will be held July 21-26 in Richmond, Ind., and is expected to be the largest gathering of Model Ts since they left the factory. The weeklong centennial celebration will draw over ten thousand Model T owners and enthusiasts from around the world. More than 700 Model Ts are already registered for the event, including entries from England, Norway, Australia and New Zealand.
“The support and response we’re receiving around the T Party has been phenomenal. The Model T Ford Club of America has been looking forward to celebrating this milestone for many years,” said Jay Klehfoth, chief executive officer, Model T Ford Club of America. “We’re thankful for Ford’s support in helping bring this event alive to the thousands of Model T enthusiasts who will join us from around the world.”
One hundred years ago, the Ford Model T changed the world with its technology and the same concept has lived with Ford ever since. The jobs and good wages it provided were the engine that started the middle class in America. It opened our eyes and our hearts and filled our bank accounts. It gave Americans a mobile platform from which to view the world. While some can decry the damage done to the environment by too much carbon in the atmosphere we probably wouldn’t have produced the generations of scientists trained at prestigious universities whose expertise will be tapped to conquer this problem without the growth and development aided by the revolutionary Model T.
“The Ford Model T is rightly credited with putting the world on wheels, and its influence can still be felt today,” said Jim Vella, president, Ford Motor Company Fund and Community Services. “We’re proud to join in the celebration of one hundred years of fantastic Ford heritage and innovation with Model T enthusiasts from around the world, and we look forward to carrying the legacy and spirit of the Model T into the future.”
For more information on the “T Party 2008” centennial celebration, please visit
www.tparty2008.com .
Additional Model T centennial celebration events are being planned and will be announced later this year.
Ford Model T Facts
* October 1, 1908 marks the anniversary of the first Model T built for sale.
* The Model T was the first low-priced, mass-produced automobile with standard, interchangeable parts.
* The Model T was equipped with a 20-horsepower, four-cylinder engine with a top speed of about 45 miles per hour, weighed 1,200 pounds, and achieved 13-21 miles per gallon.
* The moving assembly line for the Model T revolutionized manufacturing in 1913.
* More than 15 Million Model Ts had been sold by May 26, 1927, when a ceremony marked the formal end of Model T production.
* Henry Ford called the Model T “the universal car,” a low-cost, reliable vehicle that could be maintained easily and could successfully travel the poor roads of the era.
* On Dec. 18, 1999, the Ford Model T was named “Car of the Century” by a panel of 133 automotive journalists and experts who began with a list of 700 candidates in 1996 and sequentially narrowed the nominees through seven rounds of balloting over three years.
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