Community Corner

This Day in History--June 4

The first Ford hit the roads.

On June 4, 1896, one of the enduring brands of the American automotive industry hit the roads for the first time.

Henry Ford motored out of the workshop behind his Detroit home in a car that was powered by a gasoline engine.

Then 32, Ford had worked for two years on his Quadricycle, which ran on four wire wheels that resembled heavy duty bicycle tires. It was steered with a tiller like a boat, and it had only two forward speeds and no reverse. The top speed was about 25 miles an hour.

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The car was a success and led to the 1903 founding of the Ford Motor Company. Henry Ford wasn't the first inventor to create a horseless carriage, but his assembly line techniques were revolutionary.


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