Legend portrays Henry Ford as having said “The Ford Model T customer may have his car in any colour he wishes, so long as it is black.” But, was this really the case?
Thanks largely to underlying presumption; time has pushed forward the notion that you could only ever purchase a Model-T Ford in the very finest shade of black. Yet, not only were various colours offered over the two-decade production run, but for the first six years of manufacture black wasn’t even an option. From 1908 through 1915, the choices of paint for your shiny new Ford totalled four options - red, green, grey or blue.
So, where does this common misconception stem from? Well, according to Model T experts, these colours were available early on until 1914, and then again just as the ‘Tin Lizzy’ was retired in favour of the Model A. For the 1926 range, your Model T could be had in Windsor Maroon, Highland Green, Phoenix Brown or Fawn Gray - among others.
However, that leaves a gap of nearly 11 years, from 1915 to 1926, where 95% of total vehicle production was crafted together across various global assembly plants. And the colour? You guessed it - black.
Ever keen to save a buck or two, Henry Ford declared that all Model Ts rolling off the factory line as of 1915 were to be black, as he - or rather his team - had discovered a formula for black paint that dried faster than any other dye in use at that point, speeding up production time, and raking in extra profit. The rumour that the paint was cheaper than colour-pigmented paints was never fully proven, and rubbished by management. *
Eventually, competition caught up and Ford felt pressure to update the vehicle. Although the Model T was still the best value for money on the market, compared to competition, the Ford masterchild was looking out dated. As Model A production began, black was once again absent on specification sheets.
So, while the legend is untrue, it’s only untrue 5% of the time. 95% of all Ford Model Ts really were black - as it was the only colour Henry Ford felt was cheap enough.
Ford? Cheaply made? We’ll leave you to make your own mind up.
*Therefore probably 100% accurate.
