Highland Park Ford Assembly Plant

This original postcard from our collection was issued in 1925. The photo shows the Highland Park plant, where the first moving auto assembly line started production on October 7, 1913. Ford claimed production time for a Model T car was reduced from just over 12 hours, to around ninety-three minutes. The price for a new Model T Ford would be cut in half by 1917 because of the new assembly methods.

Highland Park Model T Assembly

On January 5, 1914, Ford raised wages for factory workers from $2.34 to $5.00 a day.

1914 Ford Model T

On July 31, 1914, Ford announced a rebate offer between $40.00 and $60.00 to buyers, if Ford sales for 1915 exceeded 300,000 units. This announcement would likely have made front page news, however, WWI pushed the coverage to the back of the papers.

Ford archive records indicate blue paint was still available, but black was now the base color for the Model T. Black was never listed as an available color prior to 1914. It is possible black paint on Model T cars before 1914 could be original, but there are no records to prove that.

1914 Ford Town Car

The photo of this Town Car is one of 1,699 built between October 1, 1913 and July 31, 1914 for the 1914 model year. The Model T Town Car sold for $750.00.

1914 Ford Light Duty Commercial Vehicle

1914 Ford Commercial Vehicles

Light commercial vehicle demand was growing during 1914. Many Ford cars were being fitted for commercial use. Automobile Journal magazine has an extensive article on this subject along with production numbers for several years.