How The Model A Got Its Name and Became The Car That Saved Ford During The Great Depression! 

From my perspective, the Ford company succeeded DESPITE Henry Ford, not so much because of him. I believe that Edsel was the true force behind Ford's success once the Model T started to reach its 'use by' date in the mid '20's, while Henry was the figurehead. The power behind the throne is an apt description in my view. Henry was a philandering, anti-Semite with Nazi sympathies who profited from his German factory during WW2. Edsel, in my view, was the true "Mr. Ford" from the mid/late 1920's until his passing. Long live the Model A [1928 to '31]

I don't know about you, but 30 mph in that first model A would scare me to death! Good stuff! Entertaining & Informative!

Yes, sir we can speculate how Ford would have progressed if Edsel Ford indeed rose to the control of Ford, but we know this by the history. It was Edsel Ford who actually saved the company by pressing for the Model A. as GM and Chrysler were already using the model of annual design changes to increase sales and had Henry Ford not capitulated to the fact that there was a need for a new model Ford Motor Company sales would have dwindled down. Edsel Ford was a true automotive next generation who was born into the automotive industry. Of course, sadly he died at age 49 from stomach cancer. The question is what Ford Motor Company would have achieved had Edsel Ford lived to succeed his father. Thankfully Henry Ford II was brought in to run Ford Motor Company and I believe that it was the pressure that the Ford women pressured Henry Ford to succumb to their demands. Of course, their threats as stockholders to override Mr Ford may have held much sway.

I was recently at an event that had Model A's I found them to be rugged and kinda truck like, but the Model A is still a stunning clean comfortable automobile 2023!

The name of this car should have been the model U and in 1932 the next ford would be the model V8. Ford had already made a car called the modelA many years before. I guess nobody thought "Model U" sounded good. I would have named it the road-shark.

There once was a man and he had a wooden leg. He was too darn poor but he didn't want to beg. So he got him some spools and some old tin cans. He called it a Ford and the damn thing ran. His name was Henry Ford. 🤠

Ford was a genius … Genius’s are renowned for being hard to get along with… That’s part of their nature… They look at things from a vastly different perspective to normal people and this frustrates them … We should be more greatful and accepting of these people

Bottom line there has not been a Henry Ford till Elon Musk came along. God love them.

How many Fords have been built up to this day? Millions or billions?

Almost everyone agrees that Henry was a hard guy to get along with. But you have to go way back to the beginning when he started working on his automobile. Imagine how difficult it was to try to raise money and materials having to present an idea to people who mostly wanted to steal it out from under you, constantly being sued and challenged by companies and people with much power. You really couldn't trust anyone with your thoughts and ideas. It's really amazing if you take everything into account that the company actually survived all these years. So you might get a basic understanding of how a person could get a little protective of something he worked at his whole life. I would imagine it would be a bit difficult to let go of control of such an empire

Do a video on the relationship between Ford Senior and his son!

As BrandonLeeBrown mentioned, Ford insisted that certain parts be shipped in crates of a specific size. These were disassembled and the wood planks milled to be used in the cars. Cars then had lots of wood, beginning with the floor boards, which were actual boards.

People always say how simple these cars were to work on.....Not so because the motors all had poured babbit bearings which the average guy couldn't replace....I have restored a few and it takes a machine shop to do the bearings right....

Very interesting. I never would have known that.

Actually, Ford made all his money from the Model T which enabled him to stop & retool for the Model A. He was about a year too late for the A & only made money from it in 1929. The Depression & strong competition from Chrysler [Plymouth was a very good car] & GM meant Ford lost millions late '30 to late '31. Bringing out a new car with an expensive re tooling [V8] also cost Ford dearly in 1932 & they did not really recover until after the War & the management headed by Henry Ford 2nd. If Henry had let Edsel have his way, the Model A would have been out by late '26 & V8 for '30....the Depression would have still got them. Re the wood comment, packing cases were not used in the cars. Ford had forests of quality trees in upper Michigan ; also, that is a myth they even used cases for floorboards. There is so much BS about Model A's/ old cars on the 'net. I think people prefer to believe the old tales they have been told rather than research something closer to the truth?

I'm sure if Henry Ford had his way, and kept the "Universal Car"- the Model T, Ford would have gone under--Poor Edsel--the guy who saved Ford, was driven to an early grave by his father--It's amazing that Fords did not have hydraulic brakes until 1939!

The 1903 Ford Model A was nowhere close to the most powerful car available. Packard offered a 12 horsepower car that year, and the 1903 Winton (the first car to cross the US) had a 20 horsepower engine.

Had I been my current age in 1926 and in the market, I certainly would have snapped up a brand new 4 door sedan for the 2023 equivalent of $11,000. I'm a little like Henry though, I don't give up on anything just because the technology is getting long in the tooth. I drive either a 2005 Buick Century or a 2007 Grand Marquis to work in Houston every day, both great and dependable cars. As for Model T, I get it - but judging from all the other motorists around me, I'm largely alone in my opinion. Guess human nature hasn't changed.

Henry and Edsel reset their prototype name scheme back to Model-A in 1928 because that is when they moved their manufacturing facility from where it was to their new Dearborn plant. They saw it as a new starting point.

My grandmother worked at Cater Carburetors in quality control. She used to talk to Henry Ford on the phone. Nobody there liked him. When there was one defect, instead of getting credit for that one, like other car makers did, Ford would send the whole shipment back and he also required the crates to be a certain wood and size.

Well, Ken, as a young guy now 65, my grandfather’s brother Mr. Gilbert de Jongh, was here in Curaçao the Ford dealer for many years. From him my grandfather bought at an age of 30 years back then his first 1930 Coupe, reason I have the very same model color totally restored and bought in 1970 in Hershey PA. During the pandemic 2020/2021, I fully restored back this vehicle and added his name on the vehicle in memory of Emilio de Jongh. Later as the family grew, he bought a phaeton. I enjoyed the contents of your today RU-vid, thanks my friend it’s always and we CV look ahead upon your footages and a pleasure to watch them! Best regards and god bless🙏👍🏼🤝

Strange why people call it a model A when Ford paper work call it a A Model seeing the Model A already existed.

I did not know how it got it's name but thanks to the marine corps I know how it got a tank full of gas😂😂

Very much enjoyed cheers 😊

Great video, lots of interesting trivia.

The classic "little deuce coupe."

In ‘65, my buddy had ‘32 Ford Model A Deuce Coupe with a flat head 8 engine. It had big racing slick tires on the rear wheels, and would spin endlessly on a rainy street. It WAS what The Beach Boys sang about in “Little Deuce Coupe”😀😃