DETROIT (1890 -1920)The Mass Production of Mobility

Invention of mass production of automobile - how and why Henry Ford did it ??

And why Detroit ??

American automobile Industry

Beginnings of automobile lay in Europe

All major innovations were taking place in Europe

Daimler and Benz built the first vehicle in 1895

American technology was ten years behind

Americans found themselves reinventing the automobile

Daimler and Benz's first car

Detroit

Detroit was similar to Manchester of the 1770's

Major growth came after opening of Erie Canal and after discovery of iron and copper.

Leading manufacturer of ships, carriages, rail road cars and furniture.

Biggest stove maker in the United States

Biggest copper refiner in the world

Struggle For Supremacy

The automobile industry was scattered

Detroit was a busy manufacturing center

It had a rich network related industries

Subcontracting tradition in the city

Detroit became an immigrant town, providing cheap labor

Workforce was flexible

Detroit's bankers had good business sense and wereready to take risks

Detroit Skyline

New England vs Detroit

Detroit was not a favored candidate

A number of inventors and pioneers were in the city

Detroit's manufacturers saw car as a necessity

New England's Manufacturers saw car as a luxury

They were not concerned business end

The Move to The Mass Market

Reasons for going into Mass Market

Detroit made the cheapest cars

Entrepreneurs were trying to mass produce cheap cars

Old's runabout accounted for 56% of national production

Americans were ready for cheap mass car

Old's curved dash runabout

Ford Beginnings

Henry Ford

Born on July 30, 1863

Worked as an engineer inMichigan car company

Worked on his car in sparetime

Founded Detroit Automobile Company with W.H.Murphy

Birth of Model T

Ford wanted a car that cheap car which could substitute the family horse

The car should be light weight reliable and easy maintain

Focused on designing a car for the mass market

Norman Rockwell's Painting

Model T

Model T's features and production

Simplistic design only four constructional units

The running expenses were low

No special skill for repair or replacement

DRIVE TO MASS PRODUCTION

Invention of the idea of mass production

Using machines already developed

Principle of social organization

Assembly line manufacturing

Assembly line manufacturing in Detroit

Ford Factories

No organization

No specific duties

No line of succession

No authority

FORD

AND

THE DETROIT ELITE

WHAT ALLOWED FORD TO INNOVATE WHEN OTHERS FAILED???

Old companies focused on selling luxurious cars

Social prejudices cost them the industry

Ford focused on lower strata of society

After 1910, power depended on mass production

RISE OF GENERAL MOTORS

Freezing of Model T design

Resignation of Couzens in 1915

Entire company left to be dependent on Ford's whim

General Motors rose during this time

Merging of GM, United Motors and Chevrolet

Alfred P Sloan

Sloan reorganized General Motors

Selling at different price brackets

Bought in components

Ford's customers wanted something different

Chevrolet competed with Model T in terms of looks

Sloan invented installment buying

Used car trade-in

Closed cars

Annual models

DETROIT AS INNOVATIVE MILIEU

EUROPEANS VS AMERICANS???

EUROPEANS AMERICANS

Larger skilled workforce

Technical perfection

Market wasn't big enough

Unskilled labor

Standardized designs

Better tools

U.S was the right place!

Large and expanded market

High standards of living

Natural resources

Transportation

Precedents ( especially Detroit )

Machine tools

Assembly line

Ford's talented in-house engineers

SO WHY DETROIT??

Rapid growth of natural resources

Rich engineering culture

Production of transportation equipment

Railroad car manufacturing

Rich network of interdependencies and skills

Union of old money and young innovation

Ready supply of venture capital

Equal interest in potential of the motor car

DETROIT TODAY

Off shoring manufacturing jobs

Shuttering of factories

Great recession

Declared bankruptcy in 2013 - $18 billion debt

Resurged in manufacturing last year

Federal bailout of GM and Chrysler enabled the Big 3 U.S Automakers thrive

THANK YOU :)