As Kelley Blue Guide celebrates 100 years, we couldn’t resist wanting again on the automotive that dominated the scene a century in the past: the Ford Mannequin T. From 1908-1927, Ford constructed and bought 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 automobiles had been made — and who may afford them. The Mannequin T’s legacy nonetheless echoes in in the present day’s trendy automobiles.
From 1920-1926, the Mannequin T accounted for almost half of all car gross sales, making it the preferred automotive in America 100 years in the past. Quick ahead a century, and which car now claims that type of dominance? Ford nonetheless got here out on high within the U.S. in 2025 with its F-series, however in electrical automobiles (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 in the present day in trendy EVs just like the Mannequin Y. With the assistance of the California Vehicle Museum’s Mannequin T assortment and the Pit Crew (the volunteer specialists who keep the museum’s assortment), we recognized a number of options and engineering rules which have developed over the previous century but nonetheless present up in the present day.
1926 fashions and 2026 fashions might appear like completely totally different automobiles, and in some ways, they’re. Nevertheless, a more in-depth look reveals what has been preserved, refined, and reimagined to satisfy 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 in every of its easiest and most putting options? Left-hand drive (typically known as “left-hand steering”), with the operator seated on the left facet of the car. Early automotive fashions nearly solely employed right-hand drive, with just a few exceptions. For instance, early Knox cars, circa 1900-1905, employed left-hand drive, although these automobiles used a tiller reasonably than a wheel. Left-hand drive works greatest for right-hand visitors, particularly on bidirectional roads.
It wasn’t till the Mannequin T, nevertheless, that left-hand drive grew to become customary for American automobiles. The design made getting into and exiting the automotive simpler and safer. A century later, in the present day’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 visitors (although right-hand-drive fashions can be found in international locations like the UK and Japan that drive on the left).
Transmission Transformations
“Some of the fascinating elements of the Mannequin T is the transmission,” stated Richard Markwell, California Vehicle Museum Mannequin T professional 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 automated transmission in the present day.”
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 driving force. Markwell, who additionally teaches Mannequin T driving lessons on the museum, defined that even drivers long-accustomed to trendy guide transmissions must modify to the Mannequin T’s distinctive management structure. “I had a ball with somebody who’d been driving vans all his life,” stated 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. Nicely, with this automotive, nope, he’s in low gear!” Don’t fear; Markwell assures us that when you get the hold of it, you will get your Tin Lizzie fairly safely on down the highway.
Leap forward 100 years, and the transmission on a Mannequin Y seems to be like one thing fully new, however elements 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 robotically, usually by way of 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 totally different, however the core concept — enable left and proper wheels to rotate at totally different speeds — stays just about the similar.
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 totally different speeds in a flip, nevertheless it may 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 may increasingly 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 aside from 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 might flex to soak up the bumps of tough roads. The automobiles additionally prominently featured brass in parts, together with radiator shells, headlamps, and hubcaps, till about 1915.
As World Struggle I started, supplies had been redirected to struggle efforts and munitions, successfully ending the Mannequin T’s “Brass Period” and ushering in an period of black-painted metal elements. This additionally coincided with Ford’s well-known line, “Any buyer can have a automotive 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 totally different supplies, we will see the same engineering philosophy to satisfy 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 related targets of diminished mass and improved security.
Manufacturing, Mass Manufacturing, and Meeting Line
Ford constructed his first inside combustion engine in 1893. “They name it the ‘kitchen sink engine’ as a result of he made it in his kitchen sink,” Markwell stated. “From there, Ford failed at various enterprise makes an attempt till the Mannequin T.” With that car, Ford helped revolutionize car manufacturing and meeting.
In 1913, Ford created his shifting meeting line, combining interchangeable elements, subdivided labor, and the motion of supplies down the road. Consequently, the Mannequin T, whereas present process modifications through the years, remained largely the similar as its early fashions. “He actually wished to maintain to the fundamentals the identical for so long as he may in order that he may enhance his revenue margin on the auto and hold the associated fee low for patrons,” Markwell stated.
Ford was additionally recognized for contracting out sure elements to specialised suppliers who may stamp fenders or hoods, for instance, reasonably than doing it in-house. It was comparatively unheard of on the time, however by contracting out some elements to specialty suppliers, he reduce prices dramatically. Henry Ford wished to put the “Ford” in “affordability.” The productiveness and value cuts enabled by these strategies impressed large adoption of his strategy throughout the business. A century later, mass-production logic and assembly-line strategies stay the business customary.
Whereas Tesla has been exploring different meeting strategies in recent times, many of the Mannequin Y’s manufacturing life has nonetheless relied on shifting 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 beneath. This technique supplies extra room for groups to work on totally different elements of the automotive concurrently.
With the Mannequin T, Ford developed the blueprint that’s nonetheless in use in the present day 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 wherein they reigned. A sure pioneering spirit dwells on the hearts of those behemoths of automotive engineering.
“Ford wished the individuals who constructed the automobiles to have the ability to afford them,” stated Markwell. “Many of the time earlier than that, companies didn’t care. They only wished their costs larger and better as a result of it was feeding their desk, not all people else’s. Ford paid his folks effectively, saved his costs down, and he did this partly by not mandating fixed modifications in manufacturing.”
It’s a imaginative and prescient that’s nonetheless relatable 100 years later, as it will probably really feel more durable to search out shoppers’ pursuits on the middle of enterprise practices. Ford formed the Mannequin T across the folks for whom he was constructing it. On this easy mission, he created an automotive empire that is still dominant in the present day.
Equally, Tesla’s imaginative and prescient for EVs, notably its Mannequin Y, has radically altered the automotive business. It has used Ford’s manufacturing strategies as a springboard for improvements like “megacasting,” changing dozens of elements with a single giant solid aluminum piece to simplify manufacturing. Very not too long ago, Ford has signaled that curiosity in related 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 rivals.
Right here’s to 100 Extra Years
There’s a century between them, however the Mannequin T and the Mannequin Y are two automobiles that helped to form the whole lot between and far of what’s to return. Within the subsequent 100 years, we hope the business 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 hold all of us driving safely and easily into the long run.
