Cars in Gatsby's Times: The Ford T

The Great Gatsby, the book written by F. Scott Fitzgerald, features cars extensively. The Ford Model T is a type of car which became popular in the 1920s. It was an American car built between 1908 and 1928 by the Ford Motor Company of Detroit, Michigan. It is one of the most important cars in history because it was one of the first cars to be sold for very little money, making it easy for people to travel from place to place.
Before the Model T, most cars cost lots of money. Only people with lots of money could afford them. Even Ford's cars before the Model T cost a lot of money.

The man who owned the company, Henry Ford, heard about meat being packed on an assembly line, which moved meat from worker to worker so that the meat could be cut up. No one had ever thought to use an assembly line to put cars together. Ford knew that if he built his cars on an assembly line instead of one at a time like other cars, he could make a car that anyone could afford and would be built like cars that cost more money. He also knew that he could pay his workers lots more money. Henry Ford was born in 1863 and died in 1947. He became one of the US's richest and most successful businessmen. He is also known for saying "History is bunk".

Did you know?

Detroit is a city in the US district of Michigan. It is an important centre for making cars, and the Ford, General Motors and Chrysler car companies are all based there.