One Hundred Years Ago: August 1926 Question

While Henry Ford had given factory workers a 5-day, 40-hour week starting May 1, 1926, it was this month, on August 1, that he extended it to his office workers. He believed shorter hours would promote higher productivity and mass consumption.

Engineering improvements were still being made on a Model T’s spindle bolt and windshield wiper assembly, as well as on the TT Truck’s worm gear, even as the end of the Model T was looming. It was on August 26, Ford introduced the “Improved Ford,” a restyled, dressed-up Model T rather than a truly new car.

These were the times before a decisive turn: the old Model T system was still operating and building the Model T, but the market was continuing to tell the Ford Motor Company that a modern replacement was becoming unavoidable.