As we look at the cars of today which can be powered by traditional fuel, electricity or with the Hydrogen cell that’s just around the corner; autonomy is a reality with driverless drones as a mode of transport no longer science fiction; and with nearly 80 million new motor vehicles produced globally in 2021 alone; it’s probably worth looking at where it all started 110 years ago.
It’s widely acknowledged that the first automobile was built by Carl Benz when he patented his “vehicle powered by a gas engine” on January 29th, 1886, in Berlin. Some say that his patent number 37435 is the birth certificate of the automobile, which is probably a fair call.
However, one could argue that the birth of the car we see today in its mass-produced form was on September 27th, 1908, when Henry Ford’s first Model T rolled off the production line at the Ford Piquette Avenue plant in Detroit, Michigan.
It’s the Model T that is generally regarded as the first affordable automobile that made car travel possible to middle -class Americans. The relatively low price was made possible by Fords efficient fabrication and production line process’s which meant when Henry Ford and his son drove the last Model T Ford off the Highland Park, Michigan assembly line on May 26th, 1927, 15 million Model Ts had been built and sold.
This CarDataVideo looks at what the worlds first automotive production line was like more than 110 years ago:
Ford Model T Production line circa 1910
So how have things changed, this fly-through video was recently released by Tesla of its Model Y Production Line in Berlin, Germany, where it will produce batteries, battery packs and powertrains for use in Tesla vehicles, as well as assembling the Tesla Model Y.