And the goals of the Model A were so challenging, that all minds were focused on the task at hand. In fact, that brief interlude created a refreshing break from the stultifying politics of fear that had overtaken Ford after some of his earlier organizational geniuses. Henry, Edsel and a few key engineers sequestered themselves to the task at hand: to create the first new Ford in twenty years. No severance or unemployment…a long unpaid vacation. The factories were simply shuttered, and 60k workers let go. He capitulated to the inevitable, and finally heeded the long ignored advice of Edsel and most of his (former) “men”. Henry held on until spring of 1927, by which time Model T sales collapsed. Henry’s flivver was not immortal after all. It was the beginning of the end of the car that once had an over 50% share of a market with dozens of manufacturers.

Ford put America on wheels GM sold them style and social aspiration, all on monthly payments. And GMAC was financing them so that the difference in price suddenly looked very affordable. The Chevy was bigger, dramatically more modern in design, emphasized colors and style, and could carry the newly-fashionable closed bodies much better than the very compact and lightweight (1200 lbs) Model T. And the stylish new 1925 Chevy hit its mark, making the first serious dent in the T. But GM boss Alfred Sloan and his new head of Chevrolet saw a gap in the market just above the bare-bones T. GM was close to pulling the plug on Chevrolet, a “damaged brand” in the early twenties. And one of his best “men”, William Knudsen, found a job at GM after being sacked like so many others. The place was run on fear and Henry’s unwavering loyalty to the world-conquering T. To begin to comprehend what a mess Ford was in the twenties is mindboggling: no titles or job descriptions for executives and managers. It took one of his many fired executives to prove him wrong. Who could have imagined it lasting almost twenty years? Henry Ford couldn’t he was convinced it could be built forever. Of course, those often just reflected the challenges of living with a crude car still designed in the very early days of automotive history. Just try to find someone to say a bad word about it. In fact, it might well be the best car ever. The Model A was undoubtedly the best Ford ever. The whole future of the Ford Motor Company was at stake, and the result was superb, and set a standard that could never really be equaled. Nothing like dire necessity to call a truce on petty politics and focus the best minds on the task at hand. Why? Because Henry Ford, who demanded mechanical perfection, and his son Edsel, who was a consummate design executive, briefly overcame their notoriously difficult relationship and combined forces to create the Model A.

The two have never combined so fortuitously and timelessly as in the Ford Model A.

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