(Editor’s note: The Western Reserve Historical Society, which includes the Crawford Auto-Aviation Museum, recently published the following article in its newsletter and we’ve been granted permission to share it with our readers.)
What better way to usher in the coming year than with the purchase of a brand new car? Hypothetically, let’s say you are shopping for a new Ford, for example. Now, to have some fun, let’s say you were shopping for a new Ford exactly 100 years ago. What would be on offer, and what would the experience for today’s consumer be like? Let’s listen in on the conversation between ‘C,’ the customer, and ‘D,’ the dealer.
‘D’: ‘Good morning little lady, what can we do for you?’
‘C’: (With a slight frown), ‘I’m interested in buying a new car, and I see you’ve got plenty on hand.’
‘D’: ‘Sure do Miss, fresh off the assembly line in Detroit. We’ve got whatever you need; a Sedan, a Coupe, a Roadster Pickup, a Runabout, and a top-of-the-line Touring, all courtesy of Mr. Henry Ford.’
‘C’: ‘Are these the famous Model T’s I’ve heard so much about?’
Very interesting approach, comparing the buyer’s experience now and back then. Recently I watched a superb documentary about the very first road trip across the USA: “Horatio’s Drive”, I found it on Google movies.
I recommend it.