One Hundred Years Ago: September 1926 Question

100 Years Ago at the Ford Motor Company

The Ford Motor Company was making labor-history headlines. Ford had moved factory workers to a five-day, 40-hour work week back in May of 1926 and its office workers on August 1. But in September, the broad public announcement drew broader attention. Time magazine called it one of Ford’s major public acts.

Ford’s production of the Model T was strong, but not at full capacity. The “T” had been dressed up, but Chevrolet was gaining sharply. A business note in Time on September 6, 1926 reported that Ford’s daily production averaged about 5,000 units during the first six months of the year, even though capacity was believed to be more than 9,000.

The auto industry was asking what Ford would do next. The company was at a turning point and, at last, Henry directed engineers to start work on what would become the Ford Model A.

This was a full eight months after Ernest Kanzler had urged Henry to replace the Model T.