A Car for the People

Amid the rapid cultural change of the Modern age two nations, divided by the Atlantic and two World Wars, responded with different transport solutions for the ‘common people’

The Model T (1908–1927)

America’s entry into the modern world had been retarded by wars and political upheaval but as the nation strove to find an identity, following its Civil War, it entered a new ‘progressive age’. In the early 1900s it seemed that a reliable peace had settled and this new stability speeded progress and brought comparative prosperity. Its industrial revolution picked up, new factories were built, their output quickly increased, workers were needed, small business benefitted, incomes were rapidly rising.

A new American way of life was emerging that attracted people to the expanding cities and more and more found they had better earning power and a disposable income. To continue this upwardly mobile trend, it was clear that the people needed to be more, well… mobile.

Despite this newfound national prosperity, cars were still new tech and priced way out of the reach for an average earner. They were luxury goods, only made to order for the rich when Henry Ford helped set up the Detroit Automotive Company, in 1899…