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Although there were cars in America before the release of Henry Ford’s Model T in 1908, some of them having been manufactured by Ford himself, the Model T has had the most influence over the modern automotive industry. Not only did it popularize a vital industry to the American economy, it also benefited the U.S. in other ways. It aided in the creation of mass mobility and production, secured the American middle class, and changed the way Americans lived with the eventual establishment of suburbia. From the beginning, it was Henry Ford’s goal to produce a car that was affordable and practical for the average American. With the release of the Model T at a price of $820 dollars, this goal was achieved, as competitor brands were selling their cars for upwards of $2,000 dollars.

According to The New American, Ford wanted to make his product buyable for the employees who were hands-on manufacturing it, so he increased their pay to $5 dollars for an eight hour work day. This was unheard of at the time, compared to the $2.34 rate other brands were paying their employees for nine hours of work. With this raise in pay came the birth of the American middle-class, and the transformation of the American economy. Ford’s Model T was also the basis for a great advancement in the way American goods are manufactured. With a desire to produce more cars more efficiently, Ford created the moving assembly line. This would forever change the way products in the United States were manufactured with modern mass production. For comparison, by 1913 the chassis assembly lines of that time went from taking twelve hours and eight minutes to one hour and thirty-three minutes. The Model T was also responsible for popularizing suburbs by increasing the mobility of thousands of American people into these areas. The invention of the Model T and the subsequent automotive industry have altered the lives of Americans in many ways. From the economy to the arrangement of societal classes, it is safe to say that the Model T had a big impact on the United States today. Via: Wall Street Journal