Ford and Friends Celebrate Model T Centennial in Indiana: Part 2

Continued from yesterday... Coming to the Model T celebration was Edsel Ford II, member of the Ford board of directors, and the great grandson of Henry Ford.

Edsel is from the fourth generation of the family to take up an active role in the company along with his cousin, Bill Ford Jr., who is the chairman.

Edsel Ford II's grandfather (and Bill Ford Jr.'s) was Edsel Ford I, Henry Ford's only child and a famed automotive designer whose name became associated with Ford's ill-fated Edsel division in the 1950s. His father was Henry Ford II, who led the automaker after World War II through 1979.

“When we look at the phenomenal success of the Model T, we have a tendency to concentrate a lot on the hardware,” Edsel Ford II told the assembled T owners during the opening ceremony. “We tend to point out that it was the first moderately-priced production automobile built with interchangeable parts; the first Ford production car to use an engine produced by Ford Motor Co... What happened was something completely separate and distinct from the hardware and the plants that made the Model T.”

The

essence of the Model T was the experience that it delivered to many new automobile owners – that of freedom, Ford said.

“It was (my great grandfather's) dream that the Model T owner would use it – in his words – to enjoy with his family the blessing of God, the blessing of hours of pleasure in God's great open spaces,” Ford continued.

Model Ts weren't just owned by people, they were trusted members of the family. Many people gave their Ts names as if they were a child or sibling.

In addition to celebrating with the Model T owners – the “keepers” of Henry Ford's legacy – Edsel Ford II noted that there is a fifth generation of Ford family members working at the automaker. He then introduced, “Ford Motor Company's newest purchasing analyst for North American programs and my eldest son, Henry Ford III,” to the applause of the gathered owners.

Note: Come back tomorrow for part three: The Most Versatile Vehicle Ever Produced

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