Inside the Ford Model A Factory: How Ford Replaced the Model T With 4.8 Million Modern Cars

⚠️ AI-GENERATED CONTENT: This video uses AI-generated visuals to illustrate the historical manufacturing process of the 1927-1931 Ford Model A. All historical facts, specifications, and production details are based on documented research and primary sources.

Step inside the River Rouge Complex where Henry Ford executed one of history's most ambitious industrial transformations. After the Model T's market share collapsed from 2/3 of U.S. cars (1921) to 1/3 (1926), Ford shut down his entire global operation for six months, scrapped 40,000 machine tools, invested $100 million ($1.8 billion today), and built an entirely new automobile with 6,800 parts—none carried over from the Model T.

The result: 4,858,644 Model A vehicles produced between 1927-1932, with peak production reaching one car every 49 seconds.

🏭 THE TRANSFORMATION

**May 25, 1927**: Henry Ford announces Model T discontinuation
**June 1927**: 60,000 workers laid off; complete factory shutdown
**December 2, 1927**: Model A introduced—10+ million visit dealerships in first week

The retooling required 53,000 new machine tools and 1.5 million additional square feet of factory space. Initial production: just 20 cars/day as workers learned new processes.

⚙️ RIVER ROUGE: ORE TO CAR IN 28 HOURS

The 2,000-acre Rouge Complex represented ultimate vertical integration:
Ford-owned iron mines, coal mines, limestone quarries, 313,000+ acres timberland
Great Lakes freighters delivering ore directly to plant docks
10,000 foundry workers producing 2,000 tons of castings daily
Ten open-hearth furnaces producing steel from raw ore
10,055 engine blocks cast per day (1924 peak)

Raw iron ore became a finished automobile in approximately 28 hours.

🚗 REVOLUTIONARY FEATURES

Engine: 200.5 CID inline-4, 40 HP @ 2,200 RPM
Transmission: 3-speed sliding gear (vs. Model T's planetary)
Brakes: Four-wheel mechanical (major safety improvement)
First low-priced car with laminated safety glass windshield
Houdaille hydraulic shock absorbers (all four corners)

**Paint Revolution**: DuPont Duco lacquer dried in 2 hours per coat vs. Model T's Japan black enamel requiring 40 days—reducing total paint cycle from 40+ days to 2-3 days. Color variety finally ended "any color as long as it's black."

👨‍👩‍👦 EDSEL VS. HENRY

Edsel Ford (company president since 1919) personally supervised Model A body design, prevailing upon his father to include four-wheel brakes, sliding-gear transmission, and modern "baby Lincoln" styling. Henry initially resisted but later took much credit for the result.

👷 THE WORKFORCE

Peak employment: 100,000-128,000 workers at Rouge
Wages: $5-$6/day, 40-hour, 5-day work week
Workers performed 43 separate machining operations just for the engine block
Assembled 6,800 parts into each vehicle

📊 PRODUCTION MILESTONES

1929: 1,715,100 units (PEAK YEAR)
Total: 4,858,644 units over 53 months
1,000,000th: February 4, 1929
2,000,000th: July 24, 1929 (just 170 days later!)

By 1930: 35 U.S. branch assembly plants plus international production in Argentina, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Japan, UK, and Soviet Union.

📉 THE COMPETITION

1927: Chevrolet overtook Ford for first time (678,540 vs 450,415)
1929: Ford recaptured lead with Model A
Production ended March 1932 as Ford introduced the revolutionary flathead V8.

The Model A successfully replaced the legendary Model T while navigating the Great Depression—a testament to the $100 million transformation of River Rouge and the vision of Henry and Edsel Ford.

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