Henry's Lady - An Illustrated History of the Model A Ford

By: Ray Miller .

The Model T Ford had been the butt of more jokes than possibly there were cars. For years, vaudeville comics made them laugh with "I don't need a speedometer, at 35 miles per hour the engine falls out", and "I had a Ford agency, but I couldn't compete with the five and ten cent store", and others too numerous to count.

Model T had been taken into the heart and bosom of Everyman, and "she" was treated like a family friend, a faithful servant, a loyal (if somewhat scatter-brained) employee. Affectionately, she had become, firstly, "tin Lizzie", and then "Lizzie" and thus she was to remain. Never a sight with which to be impressed, the stark, functional, unlovely lines of the Model T and the basic lack of creature comforts earned the never-changed appelation.

The "new Ford", introduced in December of 1927, changed all that though. With a rare eye for design, the very appearance of the car suggested character. It implied integrity, and promised performance. Incorporating a radically different sliding gear transmission, shock absorbers, twice the horsepower, and only a slightly increased price, loyal Ford owners, without hesitation, "laid it on the line" and acquired the "new Ford".

Hours after driving the car for the first time, many were convinced that here at last was an automobile that not only "belonged", but which actually led the way to the future. No longer the butt of the comics' humor, the new Ford had joined the country club set, and in the words of a song written by Walter O'Keefe, and shortly to become immensely popular

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