Detroit

Ford Piquette Plant

We spent yesterday driving through the pouring rain to the Detroit area to visit our friend, Andy. Our campsite while here was a huge private campground at Hass Lake. The campground has four separate lakes, and lots of activities for people to do. We had asked Andy what he recommended to see while we were in Detroit besides Deerfield Village which we plan to do tomorrow. He took us to Ford’s Piquette Avenue plant, the first plant (1904) build by Ford and the birthplace of the Model T. Here they built most of the early Ford models from A through T, before assembly lines were set up. Most of the various early models of Ford are displayed here. What made this an exciting visit, however, was our guide, Tom, a former Ford engineer who explained the history of the building and the cars to us. On the third floor is “experiment room” where the Model T was invented. Upon the metal frame is a car mostly made of wood, chicken wire, and cloth. 

Building a Model T

The car had several innovations: the flywheel magneto which meant the car didn’t need a battery, the simple transmission, which was easier to shift, a flexible chassis suitable for the rough roads, a one piece engine block reducing cost and a lighter weight vehicle. The original prototype engine is there along with the dealer model that was used to help sell the car. The Model T was the first truly affordable car at about $600-900 (about $30,000 is 2016 dollars) for the middle class. It had lots of options like headlights, and a rumble seat. The car was designed in secret, most of the workers didn’t know what was going on, because within blocks were 30 other car companies, and those workers might begin working for them. Tom mentioned that there have been over 2000 American Car makers over time.

Model T Engine and Transmission

After our tour, Andy took us around town showing us the high end neighborhoods in Detroit. But, of course, in between these neighborhoods, we also saw the many abandoned factories of the area. Detroit is trying to repurpose these buildings or at least the land to get people back into the city.