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.

[RichardG]

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).

[Fordwright]

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.

I'm reading a newer book: I Invented the Modern Age: The Rise of Henry Ford, 2014. It sheds light on the story about Henry Ford smashing Edsel's car and warning him never to do it again. It's actually a conflation of two stories; the first, Henry Ford's old cohort, Childe Harold Wills and some associates redesigned the Model T in 1914 into a much better car. They were so sure that Ford would like it that they parked in front of his office before he returned. Ford went around the car, ripping off doors, smashing the windshield and poking holes in the roof. The second story happened years later. Edsel had developed a six-cylinder engine and presented it to his father. Henry Ford called a meeting at the top of a scrap metal conveyor. He pulled the switch, and the first thing on the scrap pile was Edsel's new engine. He turned to Edsel and said, "Don't you ever. Not ever!"

[Don D]

You all have waxed eloquently but I have to say the charm is the beautiful women and handsome men who drive, care for and preserve them.

[Fordwright]

I must admit; the Model T has lost some of its charm for me, having read frank accounts about the personality of the man who created it.

[Norman Kling]

Growing up, my parents, grandparents and several other relatives had Model A's and my first car was a 1929 Model A. I had 13 of them over the period from 1952 through 1973. I was a charter member of the Model A Ford Club of America. Walt Rosenthal lived about a mile from me and he helped us form the Model A club.
Growing up I saw and heard many Model T's around the neighborhood and actually rode in a 25 pickup which was owned by the original owner. He promised to sell it to me, however the last time I went down to see if it was for sale yet, he told me that he lost it during the depression, and his wife had bought it back, so now it was in her name! She had decided to sell it to someone else
In 1973 we had a 1931 Phaeton for our daily driver and were getting ready to build this house 30 miles east and up in the mountains from San Diego. So I decided to sell it and buy a newer car. We got a 67 Dodge Dart slant 6 which I thought would turn out to be the modern Model A. Unfortunately, the collectors went for the V8's so that didn't happen.
One day a lady who worked in our office who had known me when I had the Phaeton which I used to drive to work, said she saw an old car for sale. It happened to be a 1926 Model T Roadster. So in 1988 I bought my first Model T and have been into them ever since. I remembered my father and uncles told me how to drive a T and although I had never driven one before, I drove it home, about 30 miles.

26 roadster as purchased.jpg (37.58 KiB) Viewed 15889 times

Norm

[Hudson29]

I love this thread. I have never thought of Model Ts as being ugly. They are cute & even graceful in a way.

I first was attracted to Model Ts by watching Saturday morning Laurel & Hardy shorts on TV as a youth. Those cars were a lot more interesting than our family bus at that time, a pale yellow 1957 Plymouth wagon.

I love the buzz of the coils, the chuffing of the engine, the dynamics of the chassis as it putters along. I even love the way it shakes its fenders when first started. That reminds me so much of my old dog Red who waited for me to come home from school & take him for a walk. The T looks & feels frisky! It seems to say, "come on, let's go have some fun!"

[John Warren]

For me it is mostly the people, Wanting to spend more time with Dad, I found myself going to breakfast Saturday with the local model t club to see Dad. We had a couple of friends that had Model T's that were in the club. The cars draw you in and then Wamm, It has you, hook, line, and sinker. To see how these people love their cars, is kinda crazy, next thing Dad purchased a 26 touring, mostly running. That is when I started building my race car. Then I purchased my 25 RPU on Ebay. It needed lots of work and so I purchased my mostly running 26 touring car so I could also drive. I was able to ride in many of the club members cars before ever getting one, this was a fantastic way to get acquainted with different cars. Being mechanical minded, the model T has a lot of charm, with its simplicity, reliability and the support that still exists. It is an excellent first antique car because of these charming characteristics. Like said the buzz of the coils, the chuff of the carb and the putt of the exhaust, what's not to love about these cars. They are always a conversation piece, and a racial barrier breaker, people of all walks of life will want to talk to you about your car and get photos with them, I absolutely love that!! It is also a great way to winde down from a busy week, or take a vacation with a tour. SIMPLY CHARMING!!!!! [

[varmint]

To answer the question: What to you, gives a Model T its charm? I will have to soul search because to me "charm" is not quite the right word.
1) because my wife wanted one.
2) loved it in the movies.
3) do not understand it, therefore I must stretch my learning in that direction.
4) it's so completely opposite from the computer technology of my job.
5) the history

rust.jpg (33.27 KiB) Viewed 15786 times

This is rust from just moving it for the first time in decades.

6) the amount of work it can take is amazing.
7) I am not just drawn to it because it is cute. To me the word is "destiny".

[Henry K. Lee]

My wife says.., "It has a nice a$$" Unlike mine being flat.

[John Warren]

It does have a nice A$$!

[Mopar_man]

This is a hard question. It's like asking the question why do you like certain things. Some people would look at a T and ask: Why would you want that car? It always needs something, can't go fast, cost money, Etc. But the answer to the question is I don't know I just like the car. I'm new to T's and younger than most who own them. For me it's unexplainable. I have 3 other old cars, a 64 Imperial, 67 Charger, and 69 Super bee. I also have an SRT Charger that makes 485 horsepower but that 26 Touring is so much fun to work on. I haven't even driven it yet and I love it. So you see it makes no sense at all. I should just be into muscle cars, I can drive them anywhere. But then there's that little T sitting there, costing me more money than it's worth, that calls to me. Come to think of it, it's the only car I have that has it's own name given by my daughter, Rattles.

[halftracknut]

Spokes...Horns...Radiator...Sounds...Fear

[tommyleea]

No oil pump, no fuel pump, no water pump, no starter, no battery, and it runs! You have got to be kidding me. Simply amazing.

[TRDxB2]

Making it your own, despite all the other ones that look the same but aren't

[DickC]

People are attracted to the T when other cars are not even noticed. Folks often ask, "how do you keep it running and where do you get parts for it?'. I tell them that I have more trouble getting parts for my 2010 Ram 2500 than I do for the 1912 T Hack. Some comment on the old technology but I tell them "what goes around, comes around". Some examples of the old technology that is now part of most modern cars--each cylinder has a separate coil in the T,--my 1912 has a "tilt steering wheel,--the T comes with BIG WHEELS. I find many people are friendly when I drive into town for breakfast. As I run along in commuter traffic at 35 MPH, I look in the mirror and see a long line of folks waving the "California Howdie". That does my heart good to have so many friends!!!

[greenacres36]

I love the way children look in fascination at the old cars going down the road the same way they must have 100 years ago. Timeless.

[John Codman]

I agree with Steve Jelf. I also enjoy it's quirks - buzzing coils, no gas pedal, weird transmission. I also like it's size. Since no-one but a T lover can drive the thing, I like that I only take the key out of the ignition so that some idiot won't steal the key; I'm not worried about them stealing the car.

[Kaiser]

It calms me down, it's meditation to me, the tinkering in the workshop and the driving too, put-putting along, time enough to have a look around, fiddling some with the controls, getting icecream .
No hurry, no worries

[Hudson29]

As I run along in commuter traffic at 35 MPH, I look in the mirror and see a long line of folks waving the "California Howdie". That does my heart good to have so many friends!!!

Is this the same as the "your number one" salute" CA drivers are so famous for?

[Bud Delong]

I like the brass radiator and the coils! Bud.

[Dan Haynes]

Mostly its face.

There are other things, but most cars of the period don't have the almost cartoonish look which is exaggerated by the almost laughable camber of the front wheels. The small radiator, the largish headlights, the skinny tires. Some all-black wood-wheeled cars at certain speeds look comically like they're running.

A good running Ford is hard to beat for sheer driver satisfaction and it is a great value for the money spent; nothing else even comes close.

And the crank under the radiator. Any but the newest ones look like they should be cranked - and they should.

[KLTagert]

I liked the Model T's because it was a part of what my Father enjoyed. But as I've gotten more and more into them - it's turned into a love affair with their ability to bring smiles and waves from virtually anyone around.

[Dollisdad]

The total sum of its being. It charmed you, right?

[Burger in Spokane]

Funny, but my old man didn't like Model T's. He found them unadaptable for
the "hotrods" he and his friends wanted to build, with junkyard V-8's and other
go-fast ideas of his time. For him, the Model A was a far better choice. I never
had the speed bug. In fact, while he envisioned wild rides and burning tires, I
found romance in a lumbering flatbed, stacked high with hay bales, going down
the road. That was my vision at 5 years old. That is still my vision.

I am also one of those people who enjoys seeing people happy. Even if for just
a moment, the old truck puts a smile on the face of so many. I have a stable of
50's-60's cars. None make people smile like the old truck. The sentiment seems
to be amplified when I use the truck for work, and people see it loaded with hay
or lumber or whatever, doing what it was built to do, as if it actually is 1934. I
think the momentary "time warp" adds to the pleasure for many.

For most, a smile is about as deep as it gets. But for others, a closer look and
lots of questions take it further. To sit in it, look under the hood .... some even
get a quick tutorial and the chance to crank it. THAT really makes some people's
day. And it makes MY day to bring that kind of joy to others. All with this ancient
chunk of sputtering Americana that I hope connects the people that see it with a
deeper interest in history.

[Fordwright]

In my Dad's time, the Model T was a poor man's starter car. Like a Pacer might be today. As soon as they could afford it, they got a '29 Chev, and then better cars from there. There was never any love lost between them and the Model T.

[John Warren]

[BuddyTheRoadster]

For me, ultimately it's the personality that each Model T has. They're all slightly different, and sometimes you can almost have a conversation with the car.

Also, I love the nimbleness of my roadster. It's about as "bicycle-like" as a car will get.

[JohnM]

It evokes a personality and mindset of the generation that built and drove them. It is simple and unassuming, yet it is much more rugged than it appears. It is self reliant, most problems can be repaired on the side of the road, or at least make do to get you where you need to go. It REQUIRES
you to be personally responsible. (The only safety device is the one between the drivers ears.) It is liberty in motion.

It also is a connection to memories of beloved family members of that generation who have passed on and in a way they are riding along with me.

[thom]

I like the simplicity, styling, especially touring cars, the sounds, including buzzing coils, can't understand installing distributors, the nostalgia others feel when they see them, pretty much everything. Except flat tires on cars with non-demountable wheels. I love driving ours, more than our Model A.
I dislike street rodded Ts and Ts with obvious modifications like added on turn signals and black era Ts painted bright colors. To each his own I guess.

[Susanne]

It's that you have a car that was built light yet rugged enough then to keep running (with TLC) now 100 years later, not necessarily the fastest horse in the stable, nor by far the most powerful, but it'll get you there, get you back, and simple enough for even those with the least mechanical knowledge to keep running. It's light like a cyclecar with twice the horsepower, and can be used for any dozens of purposes, from speedster to tractor to power to run a thresher or saw to a boat or airplane if one is so inclined, in addition to the basic transportation they were designed to provide. And there were some millions of them made, and sold.

[Dan Haynes]

No words needed.

[Angmar]

Thank you to everyone who has responded so far, wonderful comments and I agree with all of them. I will add that over 44 years ago I saw my first model T. I did not know what it was nor had ever seen anything old like it. I was fascinated with the uniqueness of the T having only seen comparatively modern cars up to that point. As a young person I was drawn to all of the unknowns and mystery of that model T. The pull or lust for the Model T was strong and I never forgot that T sitting in it's small shed for many more years. I have since owned several T's but always wanted the first one that I had seen all of those years ago.

This T (which I now own) was also made interesting because of the owner at the time. That man became my life-long friend until his passing. He took me under his wing so to speak allowing me to watch him work on "newer" old cars and iron. My love of all things antique and or old iron started here. These and all of the other reasons mentioned above have me firmly in the camp of loving Model T's. Oh and yes, they are "chick magnets" of some great magnitude. Had I known this was a good way to meet women I would have had them instead of muscle cars and hot rod trucks through high school.

[RustyFords]

I just read through all of these responses. They're beautiful....they really are.

I've been smitten with old cars since my earliest memories and still love practically anything pre-1973, but this Model T has endeared itself to me in the 4 years I've owned it like no other car ever has.

I love this spindly, goofy, wonderful, tough, creaky, archaic, brilliant little machine like it's actually alive. And the longer I'm around it, the more I'm starting to think it actually has a living spirit.

[Fordwright]

Imagine the revelation that you might be able to afford an automobile, something that was always just a dream and impossibly out of reach. Akin to nowadays gaining access to the worldwide web or maybe even a chance to visit space. More than just a horseless carriage, it was the finest thing many people owned. It fostered dreams of mobility and adventure. What a quantum leap into the 20th century it must have been.

[Old school]

Recently turned 72 and found myself with too much free time looking for a new hobby. Took a 4 hour drive to look at a Model T that was for sale. The amount of Model T knowledge I possessed would have fit in a thimble but I purchased it. For the past few months I have been tinkering, enjoying and I am hooked.

For me the charm is the combination of a rekindled interest in cars and my lifelong fascination of old timey things. The Model T is a physical connection back 100 years to a time when life was not easier but it was simpler.

[Hudson29]

I love this spindly, goofy, wonderful, tough, creaky, archaic, brilliant little machine like it's actually alive. And the longer I'm around it, the more I'm starting to think it actually has a living spirit.

Old machines do seem to have personalities to me. Modern cars are missing that "quality," they seem to be just an appliance for transportation. The Model T may have started out all alike like a modern car but they seem to have developed a separate character as the years went on. Part of this is just use by the owner and the many modifications that made them different from their brethren, The other part is more mysterious. Why does one T need more choke when starting than the car right next to it that is seemingly identical?

Whatever it is, I pat my T on the fender when I walk past it and even talk to it sometimes. I sure don't do this with the modern car.

[PDGx]

It’s 100+ years old.
Original Wood body.
18 mph WOT (maybe 20-21 down hill).
Maters grandfather.
No computers.
Leaks a bit, but It still runs like a top.
People love it !

[Chuck Stevens]

what other car has one door, no oil, water, or fuel pumps? Two ignition systems, and make running 40 mph on wooden wheels seem like 90mph.

[Susanne]

And one I hadn't thought of until now... It was my granddad's delivery wagon, my dad's (and a lot of people's dads, and mom's) first car, and (most remarkable to me) they held a LOT of auto production records for decades (most car of one model built, most built in a year, most built in a day, etc.)...

That they did this and ran so darned well and reliably - on even then old technology, is a testament to their awesomeness.

[JohnM]

It REQUIRES
you to be personally responsible. (The only safety device is the one between the drivers ears.)

It would have been laughingly absurd back in that day for someone to sue Firestone and Ford because they had a flat and wrecked their car.

[Fordwright]

It was Henry Ford's personality as a farmer and a tinker that caused him to eschew normal business practices, and build the best car that could be made for the masses at the time. He split with investors and bankers who wanted him to follow normal business advice that exploited the customer to extract the maximum advantage from the market. His success was enormous and unexpected, so that by the time General Motors approached him about buying his company, he was too expensive for them and they had to abandon their plans to incorporate Ford into their virtual monopoly. GM eventually dominated the industry, as part of the eventual Big Three (virtual monopoly).