To her, a car was like a submarine. One could be safe from the supernatural within a steel frame and tempered glass, but it was the monster’s world out there.
Therefore in 1909 I announced one morning, without any previous warning, that in the future we were going to build only one model, that the model was going to be 'Model T', and that the chassis would be exactly the same for all cars, and I remarked: 'Any customer can have a car painted any colour that he wants so long as it is black.'
The primary causes of unhappiness? Having a bad commute. If you have a job, the drive there is the most stressful thing you’ll do on any given day. And people with particularly long car commutes are more likely to be depressed, have a mental health breakdown, and even get divorced.
The big thing is the product, and any hurry in getting into fabrication before designs are completed is just so much waste time. I spent twelve years before I had a Model T—which is what is known to-day as the Ford car—that suited me. We did not attempt to go into real production until we had a real product. That product has not been essentially changed.
Self-driving cars are so lonely. Are you really going to use all that extra commute time to binge-watch Netflix? Why not hire me to sit next to you and whistle all your favorite tunes?
Power and machinery, money and goods, are useful only as they set us free to live.
I drive a beat-up Mercury Cougar, with the windows down and the music up. I seek my identity in toughness.
The idea of gas engines was by no means new, but this was the first time that a really serious effort had been made to put them on the market. They were received with interest rather than enthusiasm and I do not recall any one who thought that the internal combustion engine could ever have more than a limited use. All the wise people demonstrated conclusively that the engine could not compete with steam. They never thought that it might carve out a career for itself. That is the way with wise people--they are so wise and practical that they always know to a dot just why something cannot be done; they always know the limitations. That is why I never employ an expert in full bloom. If ever I wanted to kill opposition by unfair means I would endow the opposition with experts. They would have so much good advice that I could be sure they would do little work.
The paint was glossy, the car was clean, and we had a full tank of gas to us. The future was up to me, for now.
Chitty-Chitty Bang Bang’s going to take us right across the English Channel to France.
Take care of your car in the garage, and the car will take care of you on the road.
Wow! I never knew the car could go so fast. If Dad always drove like that, I wouldn’t have so much time to get bored.