Ford gets to know James Couzens, an extremely resourceful man who works at Malcomson. At the end the will be significantly more important to him than Malcomson and will accompany him longer. With Harold Wills, taken over from the previous company, the team is almost complete. By the way, he is responsible for the famous 'Ford plum', the company name in white on blue, oval background.
The plan is the cars not to build by themselves this time, but to assemble only parts purchased from suppliers, what was also common at that time. However, Henry Ford dictates for example the brothers John and Horace Dodge what they have to deliver. He himself makes the whole construction. Thus, the Model A come into existence, with the the production of the Ford Motor Company begins in 1903.
After one year success is already visible. With a by Couzens calculated profit of 20 percent per car, the twelve partners have already refinanced their investment after one year. From now on, one earns. Couzens has proved its worth as a kind of commercial director of the new company, although he has no shares.Ford is responsible for the technology.
One wonders how Ford, who shies away from the desk, it has managed to bring its respective construction ideas into production. Actually there he only feels at home. Problems solve locally, such as those at the carburetor with the still young mechanic George Holley, whose name will later world famous as a manufacturer of carburetors.
Couzens makes sure that the office work is done and the calculation is proving effective even in practice. Ford would prefer to stop the production if he has detected a fault and analyze this first and then eliminate on all cars. A little like Ferdinand Porsche the one should lock in a cage, with the words of a banker, and thus not allow to approach the finished design.
Presumably, two such types as Ford and Couzens need each other to establish a successful company. But that will be seen more evident later, eg during the installation of the first assembly lines. Now first of all the factory will outsourced to the Piquette Avenue. It produces with about 300 employees 25 cars a day. Ford is busy with new models, Couzens with the conversion of shipping addresses into the offical dealer status.
No, the company is not out of the woods. These are typical initial successes that every company foundation will experience, if the makes sense to some degree. But then comes the strategic orientation. Should one build more likely cars for rich people and additionally reap even more profit? This is the opinion of Malcomson, the partner, he still needs to represent more than half of the shares.
Take a look at the K-model with six-cylinder and electric starter, then you see that Henry Ford can definitely construct something. But his basic attitude is another. If you the extremes omit such as the boxer mid-engine (A, C and F model), the path is very clear to see towards T-model with four-cylinder front-engine, already realized in the R and S models.
You guessed already, it will not be easy between both, before Ford will finally have the absolute determination over the company with his name. Wisely, he already bought from the other shareholders stocks here and there and slowly increased his former 25-percent share. Malcomson he will need not necessarily for his future, but rather the already indispensable Couzens.
There is a maneuver with the Ford wants to get rid of both his partner and gets into the hand the entire production. He established for the work that previously has been done by the Dodge brothers, the Ford Manufactoring Company, in which Malcomson is unwisely not involved. Now Henry Ford can juggle with the prices the this company calculates in a manner that the profit stays there.
Obviously there is an agreement with certain shareholders, to merge both companies, if Malcomsen is only once outside. Not a very fine method, but ultimately successful. He still answers back with starting an own business, but gives up in 1906. Henry Ford is well on its way to supremacy over his company. The he needs also, because one thinks about the Model T from 1907.
This time, Henry Ford has the right work surroundings. It is a larger, separate room, through its door fits a car. A talented carpenter made him models of the individual stages of planning, because Ford does not think much of drawings in three views. Presumably someone the has made from his talented team, everyone has a different range and Henry takes care of everything.
What there sees the light of day in 1908, is a phenomenal car. The price is favorably with 850 dollars, very cheap for what it offers. Ford's advertising says you do not obtain elsewhere such a car even not for $ 2000. What one can not see, the car is a lightweight construction with alloys which are used in America for the first time. Even otherwise many practical ideas are realized.
The team has obviously done a good job under Ford's leadership in many day and night hours. An important advantage of this car, it does not require batteries. By a kind of generator directly to the flywheel it produces itself its electrical energy for the ignition. The car will cope with his skillful simplicity all demands that time and still the following times. 08/13