Mass production
Factory output speeded up considerably when manufacturers adopted mass-production methods. The motor magnate Henry Ford pioneered this system in the United State. Instead of using skilled craftsmen to make a car from start to finish, he employed teams of worker to put together standardised parts. Each worker did the same or two simple jobs on every car as the vehicles came past on a moving assembly line. The Model T Ford was launched in 1908, and 15 million are made in the next 19 years. Mass production meant that the 'Tin Lizzie', as the Model T was called, became cheap enough for ordinary families to afford. There was little variety in design, though. Ford said that the customer could have any colour so long as it was black.

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