Model T (1908)
Ford introduced the Model T in 1908 as a cheap and rudimentary, but accessible form of transportation. Cars were an expensive luxury at the time; the Model T was designed to change that. “It will be so low in price that no man making a good salary will be unable to own one,” Ford famously declared. Economies of scale and pioneering the assembly line helped the firm lower the price of a Model T to $260 (about $3,664 today) by 1925.
Ford stopped building the Model T in 1927. It made 16.5 million examples during a production run that lasted nearly 20 years. The company and its various subdivisions manufactured the Model T on every continent except for Antarctica. It was the first truly global car, one that deserves the “people’s car” label, and it remains one of the most influential models in the history of the automobile.