What to you, gives a Model T its charm?

[Fordwright]

For me, it was the way one automaker out of hundreds, was able to cobble together 1908 technology into a car that was all things to nearly all people. It was rugged, reliable, and most of all, affordable. A true masterpiece of industrial design for its day.

[Rich Eagle]

Initially it was the way they bounced across the movie screen with Laurel and Hardy and the other comics in them. Later it was the putt putt sound and quaint angular features. Now that I have been around them all these years they seem like family and just won't go away.
Rich

[Steve Jelf]

For me the charm lies in the appearance, unique features like buzzing coils, how it feels to drive, and hobnobbing with other Model T aficionados.

[Dallas Landers]

They attract women on a cold night. Radiator shell hand warmer.

[John kuehn]

A Model T’s identifying feature is the buzzing of the spark coils. While other cars had some type of spark ignition system it has always been the coils that makes a T a T since I have been around them over 60 years.

[jiminbartow]

To a person like me, who loves history and collects antiques from the 1800’s, the Victorian era from 1837 when Queen Victoria assumed the throne to 1901 when she died, was a very charming period when chivalry was alive and well, men were men, women were women and most everyone knew the difference and which category they belonged to, the horse and the horse and carriage were the main modes of transportation and things only moved as fast as the horse and the steam locomotive. With the invention of the automobile and airplane, the world began to shrink and speed up. With the carnage of The Great War, which between 1914 and 1918, destroyed an entire generation of young men, that would have passed on the values they learned from their Victorian era parents, the innocence of the old days and ways were gone forever.

With its’ wooden spoked wheels and coachwork that was based upon the horse drawn carriage and built by horse drawn carriage builders, the Model T is a link between the modern times of the 20th century and the simpler times of the 19th century. In addition its’ spindly appearance, which resembled a newborn colt taking its’ first steps that garnered a certain sympathy and bond between its’ owner and his T, the wheezing and buzzing of the four cylinder engine, which, somewhat gives the Model T its’ own personality, only adds to its’ charm. Jim Patrick

[Oldav8tor]

It's old technology.... a challenge to learn yet easier to understand than today's computer controlled cars. I can actually work on it! I also have a family connection ---- my family's first car was a 1917 Touring. My '17 was actually built on my dad's tenth birthday (Sept 23, 1916.) My maternal grandfather went to work for Ford in February of '16 and may have had a hand in building my car. All those people are long gone though I feel a connection with them through the T.

I also like watching the world go by at a slower pace

[Darin Hull]

. In addition its’ spindly appearance, which resembled a newborn colt taking its’ first steps that garnered a certain sympathy and bond between its’ owner and his T,

Jim, an apt description. Very well put.

Darin

[Jeff5015]

For me it is the simplicity! Henry made a better horse!

[John Dow]

"cuteness" is what attracted me 50+ years ago.

[Charlie B in N.J.]

The people who put up with it’s quirks.

[Fordwright]

It's old technology.... a challenge to learn yet easier to understand than today's computer controlled cars. I can actually work on it! I also have a family connection ---- my family's first car was a 1917 Touring. My '17 was actually built on my dad's tenth birthday (Sept 23, 1916.) My maternal grandfather went to work for Ford in February of '16 and may have had a hand in building my car. All those people are long gone though I feel a connection with them through the T.

I also like watching the world go by at a slower pace

I think there was a lot more art and skill in designing a car before there were computers.

[Richard G]

THE WAY IT MAKES YOU BECKIN'S YOU TO IT, IF YOU SEE ONE YOU HAVE TO GO AND SAY HELLO YOU BEAUTY, TO ME ITS HEART WARMING TO BE NEXT TO ONE. LIKE A STEAM LOCOMOTIVE,

[Jeff Hood]

We are so lucky to have so much support as far as replacement, parts both old originals, and new reproductions. That and the fact that so many were made. We can drive them and enjoy them, use them as Henry envisioned, a car for the common man. As frail and spindly as they appear, they were, and even after a hundred years, still are, very rugged, reliable, and dependable vehicles. Few other old cars, and dare I say, all of them Fords, (Model A and V8) can still be driven and enjoyed without fear of damaging or ruining a rare or unobtainable part or vehicle. Those cars are static displays and not any fun! A Ford Model T just begs to be driven and enjoyed, and you can count on it taking you there and bringing you back again.

[Burger in Spokane]

As a very young child I was blessed, or cursed, depending on how one looks
at it, with being exposed to some steam era things that drew me to them, and
have never let me go. Trips up into the Sierra foothills in the early 60's, seeing
the Victorian era gold towns, abandoned mining equipment and vehicles, I developed
a strong attraction to the sights and smells of sunshine on late summer grass, rusty
metal, sage brush, pine trees, aqua glass, stained glass, wavy window glass, creosote,
.... all that wonderful stuff from the junkpile of those times. T-era cars were only
40 years old, or so. Not many were still on the road, but lots of them lingered in
fields and barns, and something about having a self-propelled icon of those times
was an immense draw to me. The things that make vehicles of that period unique
are what I find most charming about a T. The sputtering sound, unique to a
T engine, the buzzing coils, the low-mounted headlights of the black era cars, the
open fenders of the pre-26 T's, and almost above all else, those wood spoke wheels.

I find the verticality and phone booth aerodynamics very alluring too. It speaks to
the slowness of the times. No one even thought about wind resistance when the
roads were little more than turkey tracks.

And there is something about Henry's legacy. His frugal ideology and firm belief
that basic and simple was the way to go. That all changed when Edsel got his foot
in the company door with "fashion" and the Improved Car design. Henry didn't give
one rip about styling. After 1925, it was a different game and styling became a
serious part of Ford's marketing. I prefer Henry's more "pure" vision. I find it very
charming, in functional, aesthetic, and philosophical ways.

[Duey_C]

And those eyes, forever looking, watching, sometimes asking for help/attention.
If I cover a T, the lights/eyes never get completely covered.
Put one on a trailer and your tail lights light those eyes. In the mirror are two eyes watching.
They wish to see as they're still alive, mechanical beasts that they are.
Charm.

[joe.wal]

For me it is just everything about it that is giving such a charm but mostly the feeling to sit and drive in a car that survived more than 100 years and still is doing the same as modern cars - giving you the freedom to go anywhere.

[tmodeldriver]

Sure, all the above, but let's not forget free starts.

[tom_strickling]

Since I was a little kid, I thought Model Ts looked like giant toys. Who doesn't love toys?

[Mark Gregush]

A; Most important, so many were made, the cost of them and parts, I can afford to own one. B; Grandma learned to drive in one. C; One of my relatives had a auto repair shop up in Spokane Washington (even before Spokane Auto Ranch about the same time era as Roscoe Sheller. I would have to get the photo that has Fords in it, but think they did other cars as well ). That and it's fun to drive and wave at people, also they are a living part of the last 100+ years.

[Alan Long]

My earliest memories of Dad’s Model T was the smell of the Garage it was stored in! The wooden floors had been soaked
in leaked oil for over 30 years. The aroma was unique as the spindly car itself with the buzzing coils.
Alan in Western Australia

[NU2theT]

The exhaust "note", love to here them as they pass by or just driving along.

[rnwilliams]

For me it's a combination of a lot of things. The History. The car literally changed society as we know it. It's mechanical ability. This little car will go like you would never think along with being able to fix it on the side of the road. Most of all and what I think attracts most people to The Model T is that it is just so incredibly cute. I think most people who chase you down the road just want to look at her because she has that cuteness.

[Fordwright]

For my grandparents it was a stellar experience, getting their first car, a Model T, having been raised in a world of horse and cart, mud and manure, to suddenly own a machine that could take them almost anywhere with speed and comfort.

[FreighTer Jim]

FJ

[bud delong]

Reading the book Tin Lizzie by Stern when i was young! The pictures,feats,and the times when they were in use.I never saw it but the first DeLong auto was a 1915 Ford Touring and i used to listen to my father 1906-1966 about the model T! Bud.

[Ed Baudoux]

The best part of the model T Ford to me, is the people. The old guy who posted above is a good example.

[Fordwright]

The Model T was an ugly duckling no doubt, but that's part of its charm. Henry's son, Edsel had a gift for style, and it was said that he designed his own stylish car behind Henry's back. When Henry saw it, he reportedly took a sledge hammer and smashed it up. That story is controversial and refuted by some Ford historians, but it seems consistent with his autocratic and domineering attitude, particularly towards his son.

[bud delong]

If you read Tin Lizzie it gives a very good account of the New Ford that Henry wrecked!! In 1911 or 12 Edsel would have been very young,and his name was not mentioned in the story! The actual story say"s Henry wrecked the car with his hands and feet,no sledge hammer!! Please read Tin Lizzie by Stern! Bud.

[Gonenorth]

I love my Model T because its living, rolling history every time I am behind the wheel. And more than that it reminds me of the great times and stories my grandfather shared with me of his years growing up at the dawn of the automotive age. Also learned some great Model T tips from his own experiences with them.

[RustyFords]

So many things....here's a partial list in no particular order:

- The spindly, gangly looks
- What they mean to the nation's history
- The fact that they're a chick magnet (seriously....none of my other old cars draw pretty girls like this T does...not even close)
- The fact that they were the bottom-of-the-line, working man's car.
- The fact that you can't really be a show-off or pretentious in a T. Maybe a few of the early/rare/brass owners can, but nobody else even tries.
- The strangeness of the driving controls.
- The way this car elicits warm, genuine smiles from so very many people.
- The way they're so much like a horse in so many ways.
- The utter toughness and underdog pressence they exude.

[Angmar]

I agree with Rusty Fords and his comments especially the "chick magnet" comment. Doesn't matter where I go I get more thumbs up, smiles and attention in my T than any other old iron I have driven around. I am constantly blown away by the age ranges of the opposite sex and the appeal of my T. Little girls will drag their parents over to see it just as often as any other age women will approach me to talk about the T. This seems to be true for most woman all of the way up to their 90's. In general people seem to like the T and will make every effort to let me know whether they are in their car or waling on the street. Fun stuff.

[Mark Gregush]

All the charm of a kitchen stove! I have seen that one in one of my books on T's (or close to it).