A-Ford-Able Marvels - How Michigan's Motor City Put America in Motion

Detroit transformed American industry and culture forever, earning the iconic title of "Motor City" through a mix of location, resources, and innovative thinkers. Located at the heart of four of the five Great Lakes, Michigan had unparalleled access to the raw materials and transportation networks needed to revolutionize mobility. The state became ground zero for automotive innovation—from Charles Brady King's first gasoline-powered automobile to Henry Ford's revolutionary assembly line. Michigan transformed manufacturing worldwide and made automobiles accessible to everyday Americans. This led to advancements in urban development, society, production, and so much more.

The Foundations of Detroit's Motor City

Though other cities may have been "motor cities," Detroit rose above the rest thanks to its access to resources and capital, its industrial and innovative leaders, and geography. Michigan's surplus of waterways, sharing a border with four of the five Great Lakes and 36,350 miles of rivers, was a key advantage. This strategic location within the Great Lakes meant access to raw materials. The area also boasted an abundance of natural resources like iron ore, copper, and timber for car construction. This location also meant that Detroit was easier to reach and send out finished products, either through their rivers or across the lakes. By the end of the 19th century, Southeastern Michigan was already a hub for coach-building, bodies of passenger-carrying vehicles, and maritime activity, giving Detroit a workforce skilled in metal and machine trades.

Motor City Pioneers

Charles B. King Showing an 1896 Photo of Himself Driving the First Gasoline Automobile in Detroit, Michigan

Michigan was also home to a number of local entrepreneurs and inventors, such as R. E. Olds, David Buick, Walter P. Chrysler, Henry Leland, and of course, Henry Ford. As early as the 1890s, Detroit was known for its auto industry thanks to Charles Brady King, who built and drove the first gasoline-powered automobile in Detroit in 1896. Though he was studying engineering at Cornell, he returned to Detroit in 1888 after his father's passing, taking a job as a draftsman at the Michigan Car Company. Inspired by the self-propelled carriage featured at the Chicago World's Fair in 1893, King began designing his own car and on March 6th, 1896, drove the first self-propelled carriage on Woodward Avenue at up to five miles per hour.

Also a skilled industrialist and business magnate, Henry Ford started his own Ford Motor Company in 1903, after failing with other business ventures but succeeding with automobiles. Ford began conceiving a series of cars, naming the models after the alphabet, starting with Model A. Twenty models later, the Model T proved to be the most successful, or the one that he believed "got it right." The Model T's success was in part due to its durable design, with elements like the engine cast in a single block and using vanadium steel alloys. This car also had higher ground clearance and flexible axles, making it ideal for rough rural roads in a time period when paved and well-maintained roads were rare. If there was anything that needed to be fixed on the vehicle, owners could easily manage it themselves with basic tools and mechanical experience. Thanks to the implementation of the moving assembly line (originally created by R. E. Olds but often credited to Henry Ford) in 1913, the Model T's production time went from 12.5 hours to 93 minutes per car, which allowed for a dramatic reduction in cost, making it accessible to the middle class. (By 1925, the price dropped from $825 in 1908 to $260!) By 1918, half of all cars in the US were Model Ts, making Detroit the home of the American automotive industry.

Henry Ford risked his enterprise to develop and produce a V-8 engine for mass produced cars. Ford Motor Company

Motor City's Cultural Impact

Henry Ford and Detroit's Motor City also created the American middle class. Though Ford had earned success and was speeding up production in his factory, he experienced high absenteeism and worker turnover. Since he needed workers willing to do the same repetitive tasks for hours a day, he opted to do something no one had done before. He increased wages. In fact, he offered an astounding $5 a day for eight hours of work (translating roughly to $120 today). His gamble paid off, benefiting the company almost immediately. Productivity increased, and Ford Motor Co. doubled their profits in less than two years. Paying his workers $5 a day also meant they had the ability to afford the cars they made. From an article by NPR: 

"While that wasn't Ford's main motivation, it was a welcome byproduct, and a game changer," says University of California, Berkeley, labor economist Harley Shaiken. "What that gave us was an industrial middle class, and an economy that was driven by consumer demand."

Michigan's contributions to the transportation industry were more than just with automobiles; they also pioneered a number of advancements with motorways! The first mile of rural concrete pavement was laid in 1909, on Woodward Ave in Wayne County. They are also known for being early implementers of the "crow's nest" (a tower in which a policeman manually directed traffic by changing stop-and-go signals), and then for having the world's first four-way traffic signal with red, yellow, and green lights, like we use today! From 1923–1927, the nation's first intercity "superhighway" was constructed: an 18-mile, 8-lane segment of Woodward Ave between Detroit and Pontiac. The first modern roundabout was introduced in Oakland County in 1962, and Michigan was one of the first states to employ rumble strips and cable median barriers to reduce fatalities.

Ford's use of a moving line reduced a car's assembly time from 12 hours to 93 minutes, but this made the work repetitive for workers like the ones here, who are making flywheels. So Ford paid workers $5 a day, an extraordinary amount at the time. AP

Legacy

From the shores of the Great Lakes to the factories of Detroit, Michigan's automotive history is a unique tale of American innovation. The city's strategic location, pioneering entrepreneurs, and revolutionary manufacturing techniques created more than cars, but a new middle class and way of life. As we look toward the future, Michigan's automotive legacy continues to evolve with electric and autonomous vehicles while maintaining its historical significance. Detroit's story reminds us that ingenuity, combined with practical vision, can not only change an industry but society itself.

If you find yourself in Michigan, marveling at the state that brought the country access to the automobile, remember that Interstate Signways made the signs that marked the way.