The Tampa Tribune
August 26, 1906
On the corner opposite the Ford factory lives an industrious woman. She has several children and, although she is not blessed with an over abundance of worldly wealth, the little ones are always neatly dressed. Her sewing machine hums as steadily as the big factory opposite runs. This has nothing to do with making automobiles, but Henry Ford used it the other day to point an argument. He was chatting with the advertising man when the factory superintendent came in to ask about something. Before he had time, Ford pointed to the woman and her machine and asked "how long do you think they ran that machine on the track before shipping it?" The superintendent was stumped for a minute, then, divining the drift of Ford's thoughts, said he guessed they didn't need to run it "on the track" at all.
"All you have to do is thread it and it is ready to sew-every machine sews like every other, sounds like every other, and runs as easily as every other, doesn't it?" asked Ford. The superintendent admitted that that was about the case.
"Well, that's the way we've got to make automobiles. We used to test them three weeks, and then we weren't sure. We reduced that to three days, and now, on the four-cylinder, runabout we make them so accurately that, after three hours they are perfect. But we've got to eliminate that element of guess entirely: until three minutes' running will be sufficient to prove that all electrical connections are made, the carburetor and oiler adjusted; and the rest is exactly like every other car,-just as noiseless and just as free in every part,—-and we won't sleep until we do.” The advertising man thought that was as good an expression of the Ford policy as it was possible to put words, so he let it leak out that way.