As Kelley Blue E-book celebrates 100 years, we couldn’t resist trying again on the automobile that dominated the scene a century in the past: the Ford Mannequin T. From 1908-1927, Ford constructed and offered greater than 15 million examples of the Mannequin T. Within the course of, the corporate altered the automotive panorama endlessly with engineering and manufacturing improvements that reshaped how vehicles have been made — and who might afford them. The Mannequin T’s legacy nonetheless echoes in at the moment’s fashionable autos.
From 1920-1926, the Mannequin T accounted for almost half of all vehicle gross sales, making it the most well-liked automobile in America 100 years in the past. Quick ahead a century, and which car now claims that form of dominance? Ford nonetheless got here out on prime within the U.S. in 2025 with its F-series, however in electrical autos (EVs), Tesla’s Mannequin Y took the crown.
To get a clearer sense of the of the previous century’s transformation, let’s discover which Mannequin T concepts persist at the moment in fashionable EVs just like the Mannequin Y. With the assistance of the California Car Museum’s Mannequin T assortment and the Pit Crew (the volunteer specialists who preserve the museum’s assortment), we recognized a number of options and engineering ideas which have advanced over the previous century but nonetheless present up at the moment.
1926 fashions and 2026 fashions might appear like completely completely different vehicles, and in some ways, they’re. Nonetheless, a more in-depth look reveals what has been preserved, refined, and reimagined to fulfill the calls for of a altering world.
Left-Hand Drive Enters the Scene
The Mannequin T shipped to its first buyer on Oct. 1, 1908. One among its easiest and most putting options? Left-hand drive (generally known as “left-hand steering”), with the operator seated on the left aspect of the car. Early automobile fashions nearly completely employed right-hand drive, with a couple of exceptions. For instance, early Knox cars, circa 1900-1905, employed left-hand drive, although these vehicles used a tiller fairly than a wheel. Left-hand drive works greatest for right-hand site visitors, particularly on bidirectional roads.
It wasn’t till the Mannequin T, nonetheless, that left-hand drive turned commonplace for American vehicles. The design made coming into and exiting the automobile simpler and safer. A century later, at the moment’s Mannequin Y might have sleeker door handles, however drivers nonetheless steer on the left, and passengers nonetheless step out onto the curb, not into site visitors (although right-hand-drive fashions can be found in international locations like the UK and Japan that drive on the left).
Transmission Transformations
“One of the crucial attention-grabbing elements of the Mannequin T is the transmission,” mentioned Richard Markwell, California Car Museum Mannequin T skilled and Pit Crew member. “It makes use of a planetary gear system, which is the gear system that’s very near what you nonetheless have in your computerized transmission at the moment.”
The Mannequin T’s pioneering 2-speed transmission featured an outer ring gear, a central “solar” gear, and a number of “planet” gears working concurrently to offer a smoother shifting expertise. Cotton or wooden bands clamped round drums managed the gear ratios. The Mannequin T used a hand lever for throttle, and three foot pedals: one to shift between low/impartial/excessive, one for reverse, and one for braking.
Driving a Mannequin T required fixed guide enter from the motive force. Markwell, who additionally teaches Mannequin T driving lessons on the museum, defined that even drivers long-accustomed to fashionable guide transmissions need to alter to the Mannequin T’s distinctive management structure. “I had a ball with somebody who’d been driving vehicles all his life,” mentioned Markwell. “He’d come as much as a cease signal, and he’d push that clutch all the best way all the way down to be in impartial. Properly, with this automobile, nope, he’s in low gear!” Don’t fear; Markwell assures us that after you get the cling of it, you will get your Tin Lizzie fairly safely on down the street.
Leap forward 100 years, and the transmission on a Mannequin Y seems like one thing totally new, however components of its lineage hint again to early transmission innovation. The unique Tesla Roadster shipped with multi-speed gearboxes, however they weren’t optimum. Over time, EVs gravitated towards fixed-gear, single-speed, direct-drive setups that higher go well with electrical motors’ high-torque outputs. Now, no shifting is wanted, and drivers can handle many settings mechanically, usually through a display.
Differential Convergences and Divergences
To handle energy distribution to the wheels throughout turns, each the Mannequin T and Mannequin Y make use of differential gears. With 100 years between them, the implementations look completely different, however the core thought — permit left and proper wheels to rotate at completely different speeds — stays nearly the identical.
The Mannequin T had an open rear-wheel differential meeting containing a ring-and-pinion set, axle shafts, and spider gears. This setup allowed the rear wheels to rotate at completely different speeds in a flip, but it surely might wrestle on slippery surfaces, sending energy to the wheel that had the least resistance. Some fashions used worm-gear differentials for elevated energy.
The Mannequin Y evolves this piece of engineering whereas additionally utilizing open differentials. Relying on the variant, this will apply to both or each axles. Tesla makes use of a sealed “drive unit” that homes the motor, gearbox, and differential collectively. It’s a extremely computerized unit that manages torque effectively, and the mechanical underpinnings of the differential aren’t worlds other than their forebears within the Mannequin T.
Getting in Form: Physique Evolution
Early Mannequin T examples primarily used wooden framing and sturdy, light-weight vanadium-alloy metal physique panels that would flex to soak up the bumps of tough roads. The vehicles additionally prominently featured brass in parts, together with radiator shells, headlamps, and hubcaps, till about 1915.
As World Battle I started, supplies have been redirected to conflict efforts and munitions, successfully ending the Mannequin T’s “Brass Period” and ushering in an period of black-painted metal components. This additionally coincided with Ford’s well-known line, “Any buyer can have a automobile painted any coloration that he desires as long as it’s black.” Previous to 1914, the Mannequin T had been out there in a number of paint colours.
Whereas the Mannequin Y makes use of very completely different supplies, we will see an identical engineering philosophy to fulfill its wants. The place Ford used vanadium-alloy metal for its flexibility and affordability, Tesla makes use of a mixture of light-weight aluminum and high-strength metal to realize comparable targets of diminished mass and improved security.
Manufacturing, Mass Manufacturing, and Meeting Line
Ford constructed his first inner combustion engine in 1893. “They name it the ‘kitchen sink engine’ as a result of he made it in his kitchen sink,” Markwell mentioned. “From there, Ford failed at plenty of enterprise makes an attempt till the Mannequin T.” With that car, Ford helped revolutionize vehicle manufacturing and meeting.
In 1913, Ford created his transferring meeting line, combining interchangeable components, subdivided labor, and the motion of supplies down the road. Consequently, the Mannequin T, whereas present process modifications through the years, remained largely the identical as its early fashions. “He actually wished to maintain to the fundamentals the identical for so long as he might in order that he might enhance his revenue margin on the auto and maintain the fee low for consumers,” Markwell mentioned.
Ford was additionally identified for contracting out sure components to specialised suppliers who might stamp fenders or hoods, for instance, fairly than doing it in-house. It was comparatively unheard of on the time, however by contracting out some components to specialty suppliers, he minimize prices dramatically. Henry Ford wished to put the “Ford” in “affordability.” The productiveness and worth cuts enabled by these strategies impressed extensive adoption of his strategy throughout the trade. A century later, mass-production logic and assembly-line strategies stay the trade commonplace.
Whereas Tesla has been exploring different meeting strategies lately, many of the Mannequin Y’s manufacturing life has nonetheless relied on transferring assembly-line ideas, refining them with automation, and frequently enhancing computerization. For instance, the Mannequin Y meeting line was diminished by about 10% by mounting the entrance seats and inside module onto the battery pack, which sits on the ground. The whole unit is then introduced into the car’s physique from under. This technique supplies extra room for groups to work on completely different components of the automobile concurrently.
With the Mannequin T, Ford developed the blueprint that’s nonetheless in use at the moment and can proceed to evolve alongside new milestones in manufacturing.
The Spirit of Innovation
Regardless of the century between them, Ford’s Mannequin T and Tesla’s Mannequin Y reshaped the automotive landscapes during which they reigned. A sure pioneering spirit dwells on the hearts of those behemoths of automotive engineering.
“Ford wished the individuals who constructed the vehicles to have the ability to afford them,” mentioned Markwell. “A lot of the time earlier than that, companies didn’t care. They simply wished their costs greater and better as a result of it was feeding their desk, not all people else’s. Ford paid his individuals properly, saved his costs down, and he did this partly by not mandating fixed adjustments in manufacturing.”
It’s a imaginative and prescient that’s nonetheless relatable 100 years later, as it could really feel more durable to seek out shoppers’ pursuits on the heart of enterprise practices. Ford formed the Mannequin T across the individuals for whom he was constructing it. On this easy mission, he created an automotive empire that is still dominant at the moment.
Equally, Tesla’s imaginative and prescient for EVs, notably its Mannequin Y, has radically altered the automotive trade. It has used Ford’s manufacturing strategies as a springboard for improvements like “megacasting,” changing dozens of components with a single giant forged aluminum piece to simplify manufacturing. Very just lately, Ford has signaled that curiosity in comparable casting (described as “unibody casting”) for its personal next-generation EV efforts. The Mannequin Y’s persevering with advances have set the tempo for a lot of of its EV opponents.
Right here’s to 100 Extra Years
There’s a century between them, however the Mannequin T and the Mannequin Y are two vehicles that helped to form the whole lot between and far of what’s to return. Within the subsequent 100 years, we hope the trade continues to fuse the motivations on the foundations of these two seminal fashions — a mission of affordability and a seamless push towards technological breakthroughs that will maintain all of us driving safely and easily into the long run.
