Today in Automotive History - The First Ford Model A sold - BECKERS PRECISION AUTO

On December 2, 1927, the first Model A Ford sold for $385. From the article:

"Today in Automotive History - The First Ford Model A sold - BECKERS PRECISION AUTO

On December 2, 1927 the first Ford Model A was sold. The price for the Model A Roadster was $385 with the top-of-the-line Town Car going for $1400. It had a 4 cylinder, 3.3 liter, water-cooled, engine and a 3 speed manual sliding gear transmission.

The Ford Model T, which was the dominant car on the market for nearly a decade, was losing ground to manufacturers like General Motors who had adopted the production practices of Ford Motor Company and thereby gave Ford real competition. In response to their slipping market share the sales force at Ford convinced Henry Ford to update the company’s offerings. Mr. Ford thought such things as cosmetic customization and electric starters were luxury items. The public, however, felt these things were necessities. Famous for having said “”Any customer can have a car painted any color that he wants so long as it is black” Henry Ford left the design of the Model A to his son Edsel and concentrated his efforts on upgrading the mechanical aspects. The Model A was the first Ford model to use the standard set of driver controls. It had a conventional clutch and brake pedals; throttle and gearshift. The gas tank was in the front of the vehicle between the engine’s firewall and the dash panel. The fuel was fed into the carburetor by gravity. This was the first car to have safety glass in the windshield but a rear view mirror was only an option.

During its production run from December, 1927 to March, 1932 Ford produced roughly 4.8 million Model As. In 1932 Ford licensed the design to the Soviet manufacturer, GAZ, who produced about 100,000 units of their version of the Model A from 1932 to 1936. (This Soviet car was the basis for the Soviet Army’s armored scout vehicle in use in the early part of World War II.) The Ford Model A did not do well in Europe. Cars in Europe at the time were taxed according to their engine size. Try as they might, Ford could not come up with an engine configuration that didn’t incur a large annual tax. This made it too expensive for most people to own and the Model A was not considered a luxury car so it didn’t attract that segment of the market.

Model Ts, Model As and Model Bs were among the first cars to be converted to hot rods. By the time hot rods became the thing these cars were old and easy to buy as junkers that could be modified for speed. Today parts, kits and chassis are still available and in use."