The car that changed America: how Henry Ford's 1908 Model T--the first mass-produced and affordable car--sparked the growth of highways, surburbs, and the middle class itself.
IN THIS SUMMARY
Michael Dunne is an American businessman with over 20 years of experience working in China in the automotive industry, initially as an industry consultant and more recently as an investment advisor. In American Wheels, Chinese Roads, he puts his experience to work, telling the story of General Motors’ early years in China. He explains the rules of the road for doing business in China, providing colorful examples and anecdotes from Chrysler Jeep as well as GM. Dunne describes the importance of luck and licenses, the central role of joint ventures, and the enormous power of China’s city governments, which function almost like sovereign countries.
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Tesla's New plant in Shanghai - by Fariha Mobarak NoshinFariha Noshin
The presentation was focused on the ongoing trade war between USA and China and how Tesla Motors implemented strategies to sustain the huge slap of tariff on their exports.
IN THIS SUMMARY
Michael Dunne is an American businessman with over 20 years of experience working in China in the automotive industry, initially as an industry consultant and more recently as an investment advisor. In American Wheels, Chinese Roads, he puts his experience to work, telling the story of General Motors’ early years in China. He explains the rules of the road for doing business in China, providing colorful examples and anecdotes from Chrysler Jeep as well as GM. Dunne describes the importance of luck and licenses, the central role of joint ventures, and the enormous power of China’s city governments, which function almost like sovereign countries.
SUBSCRIBE TODAY
http://www.bizsum.com/summaries/american-wheels-chinese-roads
Tesla's New plant in Shanghai - by Fariha Mobarak NoshinFariha Noshin
The presentation was focused on the ongoing trade war between USA and China and how Tesla Motors implemented strategies to sustain the huge slap of tariff on their exports.
People are starting to think “The Hub of the Universe” may just be exactly that – and not just people living within the 495 Belt. We’ve had MIT and Harvard here for centuries and the city’s geography and positioning within New England hasn’t changed. So what is the particular set of ingredients that lead us to where we are today? Boston is not the victim of rapid corporate consolidation with its “second-fiddle” to San Francisco status in technology that it was in the early 2000s. Encompass is taking a crack at the ten leading reasons, the ten dominant ingredients, that lead Boston to its position today.
Welsh Consultants publishes- As business leaders, historical captains of industry and current CEOs inspire generations of entrepreneurs. They shape the commerce worlds of their day and beyond, influence political destinies - and make beaucoup bucks in the process. Throughout the history of business, the failure or success of a company relies on many factors, not the least of which is the corporate savvy of the executive running the show. In recent times, many CEOs have come under fire for mismanagement of their corporations, while some have been applauded for successfully navigating a tough economy. With much controversy surrounding CEOs of today, the question stands: Who are the best American CEOs of all time? Assembling a panel of professors from the top business schools around the country, a survey was done on the records of CEOs who best created (or destroyed) value, innovation, while possessing the best (or worst) management skills. From this, they’ve formulated a list of the 20 Best American CEOs of all time. Here they are.Author, Founder- Manish P
During the mid to late 1800s, there were many technological innovations that resulted in increased industry. Easy production of steel led to the development of skyscrapers and more industrial buildings. The increase of industrial machinery changed the labor force from skilled to unskilled. Due to mass production, the number of products increased, while the cost of products decreased. This helped spur competition.
Software Development Lessons Learned from Industrial Failures of the 1980sCharlotte Chang
Talk given at CodeMash2016.
In the mid-late 20th century, industry giants asked themselves; “How do we continuously improve?”, “How do we build a quality product?” and “How do we design for end users?” These are the same challenges that we face as software developers and designers today. Issues with technical innovation, resource constraints, and organizational support, are experienced not only in zeros and ones but on the road and in space. In the early 20th century, the U.S. was considered a global leader in economic and scientific achievement. After those major innovations in transportation, space exploration, and computer science, American industries focused on manufacturing advantages, such as mass production and repeatable use. Progress was now measured by process improvements, adapting to market changes and ability to pivot. Why has the tech industry continued to boom, while other industries struggle? Using examples from General Motors and NASA, this talk examines their failures in reliability, collaboration, and product design. Take a step back in history to relive the experiences of these pioneers, learn from their past failures, and how they apply to crafting software products today.
HENRY FORD IS FIRST MAN WHO INVENTED CAR AND FIRST INTRODUCED ASSEMBLY LINE IN MANUFACTURING AND HE MADE SO MANY CONTRIBUTIONS IN THE FIELD OF MANAGEMENT
People are starting to think “The Hub of the Universe” may just be exactly that – and not just people living within the 495 Belt. We’ve had MIT and Harvard here for centuries and the city’s geography and positioning within New England hasn’t changed. So what is the particular set of ingredients that lead us to where we are today? Boston is not the victim of rapid corporate consolidation with its “second-fiddle” to San Francisco status in technology that it was in the early 2000s. Encompass is taking a crack at the ten leading reasons, the ten dominant ingredients, that lead Boston to its position today.
Welsh Consultants publishes- As business leaders, historical captains of industry and current CEOs inspire generations of entrepreneurs. They shape the commerce worlds of their day and beyond, influence political destinies - and make beaucoup bucks in the process. Throughout the history of business, the failure or success of a company relies on many factors, not the least of which is the corporate savvy of the executive running the show. In recent times, many CEOs have come under fire for mismanagement of their corporations, while some have been applauded for successfully navigating a tough economy. With much controversy surrounding CEOs of today, the question stands: Who are the best American CEOs of all time? Assembling a panel of professors from the top business schools around the country, a survey was done on the records of CEOs who best created (or destroyed) value, innovation, while possessing the best (or worst) management skills. From this, they’ve formulated a list of the 20 Best American CEOs of all time. Here they are.Author, Founder- Manish P
During the mid to late 1800s, there were many technological innovations that resulted in increased industry. Easy production of steel led to the development of skyscrapers and more industrial buildings. The increase of industrial machinery changed the labor force from skilled to unskilled. Due to mass production, the number of products increased, while the cost of products decreased. This helped spur competition.
Software Development Lessons Learned from Industrial Failures of the 1980sCharlotte Chang
Talk given at CodeMash2016.
In the mid-late 20th century, industry giants asked themselves; “How do we continuously improve?”, “How do we build a quality product?” and “How do we design for end users?” These are the same challenges that we face as software developers and designers today. Issues with technical innovation, resource constraints, and organizational support, are experienced not only in zeros and ones but on the road and in space. In the early 20th century, the U.S. was considered a global leader in economic and scientific achievement. After those major innovations in transportation, space exploration, and computer science, American industries focused on manufacturing advantages, such as mass production and repeatable use. Progress was now measured by process improvements, adapting to market changes and ability to pivot. Why has the tech industry continued to boom, while other industries struggle? Using examples from General Motors and NASA, this talk examines their failures in reliability, collaboration, and product design. Take a step back in history to relive the experiences of these pioneers, learn from their past failures, and how they apply to crafting software products today.
HENRY FORD IS FIRST MAN WHO INVENTED CAR AND FIRST INTRODUCED ASSEMBLY LINE IN MANUFACTURING AND HE MADE SO MANY CONTRIBUTIONS IN THE FIELD OF MANAGEMENT
This is a case study analysis that was done by a group of Management Information Students (from UIC). The case on Ford discussed how it could adopt the business model of Dell to achieve economies of scale.
Similar to The car that changed America: how Henry Ford's 1908 Model T--the first mass-produced and affordable car--sparked the growth of highways, surburbs, and the middle class itself.
A multi-paragraph essay that summarizes and explains at least th.docxfredharris32
A multi-paragraph essay that summarizes and explains at least three ways Ford impacted American life.
You must include at least three pieces of textual evidence. A thesis, 3 body paragraphs, and a conclusion. Must use evidence from these 2 sources below. It can be either from passage 1 or 2. Passages are below.
Passage 1
“The Boy Who Took Things Apart”
1
There once was a boy named Henry who liked to disassemble things to understand how they worked. Once he dismantled a friend’s watch and then put it back together. It worked perfectly. When Henry became an adult, he once said, “Every clock in the house shuddered when it saw me coming.”
2
Henry Ford was born July 30, 1863, on his family’s farm near Dearborn, Michigan. He was always fascinated with mechanical devices. His preoccupation with mechanical things prompted him to travel to nearby Detroit, Michigan. Detroit was a growing industrial city, and Henry had no problem finding work at the Detroit Dry Dock Company. There he saw the type of engine he would later use to manufacture automobiles. When he was 28, Henry Ford went to work at Thomas Edison’s Detroit Illuminating Company as a mechanical engineer. He was soon promoted to chief engineer, but he had loftier goals.
3
In his spare time, he tinkered with gasoline-powered engines and bicycle parts. His tinkering paid off in 1896 when he completed his first vehicle. He called his invention a “Quadricycle.” The vehicle ran on four bicycle tires powered by a two-cylinder gasoline engine. Onlookers, some of whom said it looked like a baby carriage with an engine, came to see Ford’s invention on its first test-drive. Unfortunately, the Quadricycle broke down after a short run. This minor failure did not discourage Henry Ford.
4
Ford began again. By 1899, he completed another vehicle that resembled a motorcar. It had high wheels, a padded bench, brass lamps, and mudguards. The same year he introduced his improved Quadricycle, he established the Detroit Automobile Company. In 1901, he raced his new Quadricycle against what was then the world’s fastest automobile. Before a crowd of 8,000 people, Henry Ford easily won the race.
5
Building on the publicity received from his victory, Ford was able to secure financing for facilities in which to refine his ideas. By 1903, he began his own company called The Ford Motor Car Company. By January of the following year, he had sold 658 vehicles. When he opened The Ford Motor Car Company, he said, “I will build a car for the great multitude.” He did so by offering the Model T at an affordable $950. During the nineteen years the Model T was in production, 15,500,000 were sold in the United States alone.
6
Henry Ford is remembered for more than affordable automobiles. He modernized manufacturing methods. As a boy, he took apart a $3 watch and examined the parts, figuring out that the watch could actually be made at a cost of thirty-seven cents each if the manufacturer would produce thousands of.
How did the Manor structure life for most peasants in the Middle A.docxwellesleyterresa
How did the Manor structure life for most peasants in the Middle Ages?
What innovations increased the productivity of medieval agriculture?
What factors strengthed the powers of medieval kings? How did feudal ties limit those powers?
Most people during the Middle Ages lived on the land. Describe the manorial system. What was the relationship between lord and peasant?
The dominant political and military system during the period after about 1000 A.D. is usually called "feudalism". What does this term mean? What was the basis of the feudal tie?
One of the important developments during the Middle Ages was the growth of cities and towns as centers of manufacture, trade, and administration. What classes of people lived in a medieval city? What were some distinctive characteristics of city-life (as opposed to life in the countryside)?
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How did the Crusades affect European society? Note their impact on economic and cultural life as well as their military aspects
On January 10, 2008, Ratan Tata, chairman of Tata
Motors Limited (Tata Motors), drove onto the stage at
the New Delhi Auto Expo in the world’s cheapest car.
As he parked next to two other models of the Nano, he
thought back on the day several years prior when he
had promised the world an affordable car that could
be bought for under $2,500.1 At the time, India was an
emerging economy that had begun to invest millions of
dollars in transportation infrastructure. Ratan saw the
influx of roads and new prosperity for Indians as the
perfect environment to debut a car that could be pur-
chased by almost anyone. Like his personal hero, John
F. Kennedy, Ratan challenged the people around him to
design and produce something that had previously been
unthinkable.
Ratan’s ability to deliver on such a bold aspiration
instilled in his investors and him the confidence that Tata
Motors was capable of competing in the international
automobile market. The Nano’s production was made
possible by a wide range of capabilities within the Tata
Group, which, along with Tata Motors, owned 98 other
companies operating in 80 countries. Such a diverse and
complete range of resources made Tata’s future bright.2
And even as Ratan stood on the stage introducing his
accomplishment, he wondered what the next step ought
to be to move his company forward. A lifelong interest
in automobiles and an appreciation of the Western car
market led Ratan to believe that he would have to estab-
lish a firm foothold in the United States and the United
Kingdom to be considered a contender in the global
automotive industry. His mind turned to the ongo-
ing bid and negotiations to acquire Jaguar Land Rover
(JLR) from Ford Motor Company (Ford). Establishing
a luxury brand would go a long way toward separating
Tata Motors from regional automotive firms. Yet he had
to think about whether the firm was well positioned to
execute the ac ...
In this, the Facts of Ford Motor Company are presented. the history since birth of company and financial statements upto 2012 are being presented.
Similar to The car that changed America: how Henry Ford's 1908 Model T--the first mass-produced and affordable car--sparked the growth of highways, surburbs, and the middle class itself. (13)
The car that changed America: how Henry Ford's 1908 Model T--the first mass-produced and affordable car--sparked the growth of highways, surburbs, and the middle class itself.
1. The car that changed America: how Henry Ford's 1908
Model T--the first mass-produced and affordable car-
-sparked the growth of highways, surburbs, and the middle
class itself.
[ILLUSTRATIONS OMITTED]
It all began a century ago in a factory on Piquette Avenue in Detroit.
In a secret back room on the third floor, Henry Ford, who by then had been building cars for several
years, drew up plans for a new one. While he had already produced models he named, simply, for
letters of the alphabet--B, C, E K, etc.--it was the Model T that would change everything.
The lightweight but sturdy Model T was the first affordable car. Mass produced along an assembly
line, it not only spurred the growth of the auto industry and led the way to the adoption of mass
production for industry as a whole, it also sowed the seeds of America's middle class and much of
American life as we know it today.
Cars had been built in the U.S. since the 1890s, but in 1908 they were a luxury--a bit of an oddity, in
fact. They were used not so much for getting around as for sport; wealthy auto enthusiasts toured
the bumpy, gravel and dirt roads from one part of the country to another, with newspapers following
their journeys. In fact, there were fewer than 200,000 cars on the road when Ford built his Model T.
ASSEMBLY LINES
Ford grew up on his family's farm in Michigan but was always more interested in machines than
crops. He was working as an engineer for the Edison Illuminating company in Detroit when he began
building his first cars. With the encouragement of Thomas Edison himself, he founded the Ford
Motor Company in 1903.
The first Model Ts, built one by one, sold for about $800 (more than $18,000 in 2008 dollars)--out of
reach for most Americans. But then came Ford's biggest innovation: the moving assembly line,
which allowed a worker to complete a task, then watch as the car moved on to the next worker and
the next task.
The assembly-line concept had been used in slaughterhouses and for simple products like tin cans,
but rarely with products as complicated as cars. The assembly line lowered Ford's cost so much that
he could slash the Model T's price to as little as $260--a price that, for the first time, ordinary
Americans could afford.
"If there's anything about Henry Ford that we could call genius, it was that he could imagine millions
of people buying his automobile and driving it," says Charles Hyde, an automotive historian at
Wayne State University in Detroit. "At the time, people thought that was crazy."
The shift was rapid. Sales of the Model T boomed. In coverage of a 1910 auto show in New York, The
New York Times noted a 50 percent increase in sales of the Model T from a year earlier.
"The transportation problem is gradually being simplified by the practical use of the motor vehicle,"
2. The Times reported. According to the article, one man who looked over the exhibit of new vehicles
said, "'The poor faithful old horse hasn't a chance in the world any more.'"
MIDDLE CLASS
Ripples from the Model T were enormous. With the cars came a nation that traveled more than ever
before, that moved away from home, that built an elaborate road system.
The Model T also ended up spurring the growth of America's middle class. Because assembly line
work was so tedious, Ford found it impossible to keep workers. So he boosted wages to at least $5 a
day--significantly higher than what other manufacturing workers were making at the time.
[ILLUSTRATIONS OMITTED]
Workers flocked back to the Model T plant. But as other industrial wages rose to keep pace with
Ford's, more and more workers made enough money to buy cars for themselves. By the late 1920s,
15 million Model Ts had been sold: Ford had not only created a revolutionary product, he had
created, in effect, the market for it as well.
In the 1930s, as New Deal legislation gave labor unions greater legal standing, the United
Autoworkers became one of the largest and most powerful unions--despite Ford's strong, sometimes
violent opposition. Unions not only negotiated higher wages and benefits, they also began to have
influence in Washington, where they successfully lobbied for a federal minimum wage and a 40-hour
work week that still shape most Americans' lives today. In their heyday 50 years ago, unions counted
35 percent of the American workforce as members (versus 12 percent today).
By the 1950s, cars were also transforming the nation's once-rural landscape. To many people, it
seemed as if America was being planted over with highways and strip malls, fast-food outlets, and
sprawling suburbs outside every city.
3. "It's hard to find any other piece of technology that had a greater impact than Model T Fords did in
the 20th century," says Hyde, the car historian. "In their own way, they helped promote the growth
of suburbs, distant shopping centers, freeways. It's hard to imagine now how they changed people's
lives."
THE NEW CONSUMER
The car that started it all eventually met its demise. Ford may have dreamed up the first car for the
masses, but he didn't realize that he had also created a new, more demanding consumer who would
soon be searching for the next model and the newest look. Ford's biggest competitors, General
Motors and Chrysler, adapted his revolutionary production methods, but they went a step further
and began offering new styles, colors, and features.
The Model T, which had only been made in black (suited for a speedy assembly line) since 1914, was
eventually offered in other colors, but it was too late. In 1927, Ford stopped producing them.
"The Model T solved the problem that people had for basic transportation, but once that was sated, I
guess people wanted something a little flashier," says Jay Klehfoth, editor of Vintage Ford magazine
and owner of four Model Ts.
Ford, General Motors, and Chrysler--known for decades as the "Big Three"--reached their peaks in
the 1950s, when together they controlled more than 90 percent of the U.S. market.
NOT-SO-BIG THREE
But then, in the 1970s, American consumers became disenchanted with the quality, style, and cost of
Detroit's cars. At the same time, foreign competitors, primarily from Japan and Europe, started
producing more reliable and stylish cars using less costly workers.
In 1978, Volkswagen became the first foreign company since World War II to begin producing cars
at a U.S. plant, in Pennsylvania. Other European and Asian carmakers soon followed. Last year,
Toyota topped Ford in U.S. sales for the first time, coming in second behind General Motors (see
chart).
Henry Ford would hardly recognize the industry he created. Though hundreds of thousands of
Americans still work for the "Big Three," many of Detroit's factories have been shuttered and
thousands of jobs shifted to Mexico and Asia--or to foreign-owned factories in the Western and
Southern U.S., turning out the Toyotas, Hondas, Hyundais, and Mercedes that many Americans want
in their driveways.
In any case, Ford, who died in 1947, was ambivalent about the America he helped shape, says Bob
Casey of the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Michigan.
"I think he would not have been all that keen on modern America," Casey says. "In a way, the Model
T and mass production helped do away with small town America, rural America."
FORD'S F-SERIES PICKUP has been the most popular vehicle in the U.S. for 26 years, But Ford,
GM, and Chrysler continue to rose market share to foreign competitors.
CRITICAL THINKING
4. Discuss the "ripple effect" of Ford's Model T--and the millions of cars that followed over the decades.
* Ask students to think about and discuss the impact that the auto industry has had on the U.S.
economy and on the country's dependence on oil. [According to some estimates, about 20 percent of
the U.S. economy is somehow related to the auto industry.)
WRITING PROMPT
Assign students to write five-paragraph essays explaining the role of the automobile in American
society today--both the pros and cons.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
The article says that before Ford's innovation, most Americans thought the idea of millions of people
driving cars was "crazy." What do you think accounts for that point of view?
What companies do you think are making the best cars today, and why? Would you prefer to buy a
car made by an American company? Why or why not?
Do you think American culture has become too car-focused? Why or why not?
FAST FACT
As the article notes, the Model T price tag of more than $800 wasn't that cheap in 1908. The average
annual salary for workers in all industries, including farm workers, was $516; the average public
school teacher's salary was $455 a year.
WEB WATCH
http://media.ford.com/article_disptay.cfm?articte_id=858 Ford Motor Company provides a List of
"Model T Facts."
(1) Briefly describe how most cars were used at the time Henry Ford built the first Model T.
(2) Briefly describe Henry Ford's innovative car-manufacturing process.
(3) One result of the manufacturing process discussed in question 2, above, was that
a Ford could charge more than other car-makers for his Model T cars.
b manufacturing costs were reduced, letting Ford charge less for his Model T.
c fewer autoworkers were injured on the job. thus attracting more potential employees.
d the need to maintain a large volume of spare parts was reduced.
(4) One way in which Ford's Model T helped spur the growth of the middle class in America was
a his cars were of better quality than those of other automakers.
b the Model T's success prompted the importing of cars from other countries.
5. c people borrowed to buy the Model T, thus stimulating the banking industry.
d Ford's higher wages forced other companies to raise their wages to keep pace.
(5) Eventually, sales of the Model T slipped because
a customers became more demanding, looking for newer models and styles.
b the cost of producing the car increased, thus forcing a rise in its price.
c a rise in gasoline prices translated into a drop in car sates.
d a steel shortage forced a slowdown in production.
1 They were a sporty luxury for the wealthy.
2 He adapted the assembly line to build his Model T.
3 [b] manufacturing costs were reduced, letting Ford charge less for his Model T.
4 [d] Ford's higher wages forced other companies to raise their wages to keep pace.
6. 5 [a] customers became more demanding, looking for newer models and styles.
THE CAR THAT CHANGED AMERICA
1 Henry Ford's Model T helped spur the growth of this socioeconomic group.
What is the middle class?
2 The Model T also triggered the development of this type of community outside cities.
What is a suburb?
3 The first Model T was built in this year.
What is 1908?
7. 4 Ford's assembly line was based on a system employed by these.
What are slaughterhouses?
5 Ford's home state.
What is Michigan?
IN-DEPTH QUESTIONS
(1) Identify and describe the impact of two other technological advances that have transformed
American society. [Examples: TV, aviation.]
(2) Why do you think American car companies failed to stay ahead of foreign competitors? Do you
think they can stage a comeback? Why or why not?
Monica Davey is the Chicago bureau chief of The New York Time.
ON THE ROAD
COMPANY U.S. MARKET SHARE
1997 2007
GENERAL MOTORS 31% 23%
FORD 25% 15%
CHRYSLER 15% 13%
TOYOTA 8% 16%
HONDA 6% 10%
NISSAN 5% 7%
Other Asian and
European Brands 10% 16%
SOURCE: MOTORINTELLIGENCE.COM
8. COPYRIGHT 2008 Scholastic, Inc.
No portion of this article can be reproduced without the express written permission from the
copyright holder.
Copyright 2008, Gale Group. All rights reserved.