In 1926 Edsel Ford had convinced his father Henry that Ford needed a newer more modern car, while the Model T had been extremely successful it had remained largely unchanged through it’s 18 years and 15,000,000 copies.  The task of designing the “new Ford” began in July of 1926 and concluded in May 1927 when production of the Model T ceased.  Ford spent the next 5 months retooling its Rouge plant to produce the Model A.

The “new Ford” was engineering marvel in its day, it’s been said the Model A design and tooling cost $100,000,000 that translates to over 1.25 billion dollars in today’s dollars. The Model A had many features not offered on the ‘T’.  With the addition of a service brake on all 4 wheels the Model A had superior stopping ability over the Model T’s band brake that applied pressure to a drum in the transmission.  The transmission was also an upgrade in the Model A now offering 3 forward gears operated by a floor mounted shift lever.  With the new design Ford switched to the standard 3 pedal configuration utilized by other manufacturers.

The engine for the Model A was also larger and more powerful producing 40 horsepower gave the Model A a top speed of 65 MPH.  The engine was a 201 cubic inch L-head design which allowed the A to get 25 to 30 miles per gallon thanks to its one barrel carburetor and 3.77:1 gear ratio. 

The Model A could be had in many styles and colors, when production began however black was not one of the standard colors.  This decision was made in an effort to set the car apart from the Model T that had only been offered in black for 11 years.  With the new proxylin pigmented paint having a reduced drying time cars could be painted a variety of colors while still allowing production to keep up with demand. 

The “New Ford” contained over 6800 parts compared to this Model T which contained approximately 5000.  Some of the standard features of the car were a starter, dash light, gas gauge, speedometer, and a stop and taillight.  The Model A also came with a tool kit that consisted of and adjustable wrench, 2 tire irons, pliers, screwdriver, tire pump, grease gun, 2 open end wrenches and a combination spark plug and head bolt wrench. 

Consumers for the Model A were offered an economical, dependable car that started at $385.00 for a Roadster, for $495 they could chose a Coupe or Tudor Sedan, $550.00 bought the Sport Coupe with its standard rumble seat and $570.00 put you in the relative luxury of the Fordor Sedan.