At Randall Reed’s Planet Ford in Humble, we would add a few more Fords we love to the “10 Cars You Must Drive Before You Die” list, but the Model T certainly is worthy of the Car and Driver magazine honor.
Per Car and Driver: Compared with many of the cars in this collection, the prospect of getting behind the wheel of a Model T Ford might seem a trifle tame, not to mention primitive. Just 20 hp, two forward speeds, three foot pedals (one for reverse), advance the spark, retard the spark, a top speed of about 40 mph—novel, but hardly a thrill ride. However, the unique part of this experience is cultural.
Driving a Model T gives the operator a portal into the dawn of the automobile age, when cars made the transition from toys for the few to an everyday necessity for the many. It can be argued that more people learned to drive in a Model T than in any other car ever and that no motor vehicle has had a bigger influence on history. At one time, shortly after World War I, half the cars on the planet were Model T Fords, a fact that makes the prospect of actually driving one a bit more plausible than driving some of the other cars arrayed here. When Model T production ended in May 1927 after a 19-year run, the tally stood at just over 15 million. A good many of those cars have survived—experts estimate at least 25,000—in decent running condition.
Click to read about all 10 vehicles from Car and Driver magazine. To learn more about Planet Ford and the current Ford lineup, visit www.PlanetFord59.com!