--- description: Oct. 1 marks the 100th birthday of Ford's Model T — a car so affordable, it made automobiles necessities and launched American car culture. It's been quite a ride from there. title: A Brief History Of: The Model T image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt371093a45262dc4e/698a47040116823b87984263/360_brhistory_1006.jpg?branch=production&width=750&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [U.S.](/section/us/) # A Brief History Of: The Model T by [TIME Staff](/author/time-staff/) Sep 24, 2008 4:00 AM CUT  Model T: Bettmann / Corbis by [TIME Staff](/author/time-staff/) Sep 24, 2008 4:00 AM CUT Oct. 1 marks the 100th birthday of Ford’s Model T–a car so affordable, it made automobiles necessities and launched American car culture. It’s been quite a ride from there. \[This article contains a complex diagram. Please see hardcopy of magazine.\] Optional windshield Made left-side steering wheel standard in the U.S. Gas lamps • 20-h.p. engine • 40-45 m.p.h. top speed • 13-21 m.p.g. Originally priced at $850 (about $20,000 today) Number of passenger cars registered in the U.S. 1908 194,400 cars 1921 The Ford Model T accounts for almost 57% of the world’s automobile production 1927 The final Tin Lizzie rolls off the line. More than 15 million had been produced 1939 Legislation defining drunk driving is passed for the first time 1942 Passenger-car production is halted for the duration of World War II 1972 The Volkswagen Beetle surpasses the Model T as the best-selling vehicle ever 1979 Membership in the United Auto Workers, founded in 1935, peaks at 1.5 million 1990 73% of Americans drive to work alone 1999 The Honda Insight, the first mass-produced hybrid vehicle in the U.S., is introduced 2006 135.4 million cars Latest year available 2007 Foreign-owned companies capture a majority of the U.S. auto market for the first time THEN AND NOW $3.17\* $3.79 Average cost per gallon of gasoline $43,950\* $23,543 Average cost of a new car 190,476 2.6 million Miles of paved public roads \*Adjusted for inflation Gas costs: 1919, August 2008 New-car costs: 1908, 2008 Paved roads: 1909, 2006 Sources: Ford Motor Company; Federal Highway Administration; Bureau of Economic Analysis; Energy Information Administration; Bureau of Labor Statistics A Brief History Of: The Model T ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/archive/6686399/a-brief-history-of-the-model-t/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/archive/6686399/a-brief-history-of-the-model-t/"},"headline":"A Brief History Of: The Model T","datePublished":"2008-09-24T04:00:00.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-27T10:42:13.006Z","description":"Oct. 1 marks the 100th birthday of Ford's Model T — a car so affordable, it made automobiles necessities and launched American car culture. It's been quite a ride from there.","url":"https://time.com/archive/6686399/a-brief-history-of-the-model-t/","keywords":[],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt371093a45262dc4e/698a47040116823b87984263/360_brhistory_1006.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"TIME Staff","url":"https://time.com/author/time-staff/"}],"articleSection":"U.S.","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt371093a45262dc4e/698a47040116823b87984263/360_brhistory_1006.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"360_brhistory_1006.jpg","caption":"","creditText":"Model T: Bettmann / Corbis","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/us/","name":"U.S."}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/archive/6686399/a-brief-history-of-the-model-t/","name":"A Brief History Of: The Model T"}}]}] ```