5 A family car

Chapter 5 A family car Early cars were so expensive to make, only a handful of people could afford them. Everyone else just stood and stared as rich motorists roared by. Watch out!

One day, an American engineer had a vision. "Wouldn't it be wonderful if every family had a car," he thought. The engineer's name was Henry Ford and he was determined to make cars cheaper.

He set up a large factory in America and positioned his workers in a long line. This way, lots of cars could be assembled at the same time. Since the cars were built from identical parts, they all looked exactly the same.

In 1908, the world's first mass-produced cars rolled off Ford's assembly line. Known as Model T Fords, they gave a bouncy ride, but at least they were cheap. As thousands of people rushed to buy Model Ts, Ford wanted to build them even faster. Tyres first. Then doors.

In 1913, he had a breakthrough- a moving assembly line. With a belt carrying the cars from worker to worker, Ford was soon making them in record time and selling them more cheaply still. Owners grew fond of their new cars, even giving them a pet name, Tin Lizzie.