The Ford Model Y is an
automobile
A car or automobile is a motor vehicle with Wheel, wheels. Most definitions of ''cars'' say that they run primarily on roads, Car seat, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport private transport#Personal transport, pe ...
that was produced by
Ford Britain,
Ford SAF
Ford France (formerly, Ford SAF, Ford Société Anonyme Française) is the French subsidiary of the American automaker Ford Motor Company, which existed under various names between 1916 and 1954, when Ford sold the manufacturing business to Simca ...
and
Ford Germany
Ford-Werke GmbH is a German car manufacturer headquartered in Niehl, Cologne, North Rhine-Westphalia. It is a subsidiary of Ford Motor Company, which operates two large manufacturing facilities in Germany, a plant in Cologne and a plant in Saar ...
from 1932 to 1937. It was the first
Ford
Ford commonly refers to:
* Ford Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford
* Ford (crossing), a shallow crossing on a river
Ford may also refer to:
Ford Motor Company
* Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company
* Ford F ...
automobile specifically designed for markets outside the United States, replacing the
Model A in Europe.
Production locations
It was in production in England, where it is sometimes remembered as the "Ford Eight",
reflecting its
fiscal horsepower
The tax horsepower or taxable horsepower was an early system by which taxation rates for automobiles were reckoned in some European countries such as Britain, Belgium, Germany, France and Italy; some US states like Illinois charged license plate pu ...
rating, from 1932 until September 1937,
The car was also produced in France (where it was known as the Ford 6 CV, despite actually falling within the 5CV
French car tax band)
from 1932 to 1934, and in Germany as the
Ford Köln
The Ford Köln is an automobile that was produced by Ford Germany from 1933 until 1936 at its Cologne plant.
Origins
The English Ford company had developed the car and introduced it in 1932 as the Ford Model Y. The German-built version, rena ...
from 1933 to 1936.
Smaller numbers were assembled in Australia (where a coupé version was also produced), Japan, Latvia (branded as the Ford Junior) and in Spain nicknamed as the Ford Forito. Plans to build it in the U.S. were scrubbed when a cost accounting showed that it would only be slightly cheaper to build than the
Ford Model B.
The car
The car was powered by a 8 (RAC)hp
Ford sidevalve engine
The Ford Sidevalve is a side valve (flathead engine) from the British arm of the Ford Motor Company, often also referred to as the "English Sidevalve". The engine had its origins in the 1930s Ford Model Y, and was made in two sizes, or "8 HP", a ...
. The little Ford was available in two- and four-door versions, sold as the 'Tudor' (a
pun
A pun, also known as paronomasia, is a form of word play that exploits multiple meanings of a term, or of similar-sounding words, for an intended humorous or rhetorical effect. These ambiguities can arise from the intentional use of homophoni ...
on 'two-door') and the 'Fordor' (Ford/four-door) respectively. Originally each body was also available in standard or better-equipped 'DeLuxe' trim levels, but with the introduction of the 10hp Model C in late 1934, also available in DeLuxe form, these better-equipped versions of the Model Y were dropped from sale. The Model Y was now built to a single specification that was essentially the same as the previous standard guise but with a small number of features carried over from the old DeLuxe and the model was named the Popular for marketing purposes. This standardisation allowed production of the Model Y to be increased while the production cost per car was decreased. Over the next 12 months improvements in the production process at Dagenham, further alterations to the specification and some minor components and the increasing sales of the Model C (which brought
economies of scale
In microeconomics, economies of scale are the cost advantages that enterprises obtain due to their scale of operation, and are typically measured by the amount of output produced per unit of time. A decrease in cost per unit of output enables ...
for the parts shared with the Model Y/Popular) allowed the sale price of the car to be dropped further. In June 1935 Ford was able to announce that the Popular Tudor model would be sold for just £100, a price it would hold until July 1937.
[ This was the first time a four-seater closed-bodied saloon car had sold in Britain for that price (the first British car to sell for £100, the 1931 Morris Minor SV, was a two-seater with a collapsible fabric roof and a wood-framed body).
The suspension was traditional Ford ]transverse leaf spring
Independent suspension is any automobile suspension system that allows each wheel on the same axle to move vertically (i.e. reacting to a bump on the road) independently of the others. This is contrasted with a beam axle or deDion axle system in ...
s front and rear and the engine drove the rear wheels through a three-speed gearbox which, right from the start, featured synchromesh
A manual transmission (MT), also known as manual gearbox, standard transmission (in Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States), or stick shift (in the United States), is a multi-speed motor vehicle transmission system, where gear changes ...
between the top two ratios.[ The maximum speed was just under 60 mph (95 km/h) and fuel consumption was .
Even by the standards of the time, the UK-built Ford 8, like its major competitor the ]Austin 7
The Austin 7 is an economy car that was produced from 1923 until 1939 in the United Kingdom by Austin. It was nicknamed the "Baby Austin" and was at that time one of the most popular cars produced for the British market and sold well abroad. ...
, was found noteworthy for its "almost unbelievable lack of brakes."[
The Model Y also inspired copying by ]Morris Motors
Morris Motors Limited was a British privately owned motor vehicle manufacturing company formed in 1919 to take over the assets of William Morris's WRM Motors Limited and continue production of the same vehicles. By 1926 its production represent ...
, with the Eight, and by Singer Motors
Singer Motors Limited was a British motor vehicle manufacturing business, originally a bicycle manufacturer founded as Singer & Co by George Singer, in 1874 in Coventry, England. Singer & Co's bicycle manufacture continued. From 1901 George S ...
, with the Bantam.[Wise, David Burgess. "Singer: A Car for Every Purse and Purpose" in Ward, Ian, Executive Editor. ''The World of Automobiles'' (London: Orbis, 1974), Volume 18, p.2071.]
Evolution
For the first 14 months the original model with a short radiator grille was produced, this is known as the "short rad". After this in October 1933 the "long rad" model, with its longer radiator grille and front bumper with the characteristic dip was produced. By gradually improving production efficiency and by simplifying the body design the cost of a "Popular" Model Y was reduced to £100, making it the cheapest true 4-seater saloon ever, although most customers were persuaded to pay extra for a less austere version. Both 4-door (Fordor) and 2-door (Tudor) saloons were produced and these could be had either with a fixed roof, or the slightly more expensive sliding "sun" roof.
Additional body version
Also offered was an attractive 5 cwt van, which proved very popular with small businesses.
Ford did not produce an open-top car because it was thought that the chassis was too flexible, but several specialist coach builders produced a range of Model Y tourers.
Commercial
Market reaction in Britain
Although of American design, the Model Y took the British market by storm, and when it was first introduced it made a major dent in the sales figures of Austin
Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the seat and largest city of Travis County, with portions extending into Hays and Williamson counties. Incorporated on December 27, 1839, it is the 11th-most-populous city ...
, Morris
Morris may refer to:
Places
Australia
*St Morris, South Australia, place in South Australia
Canada
* Morris Township, Ontario, now part of the municipality of Morris-Turnberry
* Rural Municipality of Morris, Manitoba
** Morris, Manitob ...
, Singer
Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...
, and Hillman
Hillman was a British automobile marque created by the Hillman-Coatalen Company, founded in 1907, renamed the Hillman Motor Car Company in 1910. The company was based in Ryton-on-Dunsmore, near Coventry, England. Before 1907 the company had b ...
. It went on to take more than 50 per cent of the 8(RAC)HP sales.
Volumes
Some 175,000 Model Ys were produced worldwide (including 153,117 in Great Britain and 11,121 in Germany) and the 'Y' and 'C' Register contains approximately 1,250 survivors.
Ford Model C
In Britain the larger and faster 10(RAC)hp Model C never sold in such great numbers as the Model Y although there was a very attractive factory-produced tourer. In 1935 the styling was enhanced with some small modifications and the model was designated the CX.
In Germany the position was reversed. The locally produced Ford Model C was branded as the Ford Eifel
The Ford Eifel is a car manufactured by Ford Germany between 1935 and 1940. It initially complemented, and then replaced, the Ford Köln. It was itself replaced by the Ford Taunus.
Between 1937 and 1939, it was also assembled in Hungary and D ...
, and remained in production for four years after the manufacturer had given up on the locally produced Type Y, the Ford Köln
The Ford Köln is an automobile that was produced by Ford Germany from 1933 until 1936 at its Cologne plant.
Origins
The English Ford company had developed the car and introduced it in 1932 as the Ford Model Y. The German-built version, rena ...
. The Köln was outcompeted by the Opel 1.0/1.2 litre, and only 11,121 Kölns were produced, while a more respectable 62,495 Eifels were manufactured between 1935 and 1940. There was never an 8hp Vauxhall
Vauxhall ( ) is a district in South West London, part of the London Borough of Lambeth, England. Vauxhall was part of Surrey until 1889 when the County of London was created. Named after a medieval manor, "Fox Hall", it became well known for ...
equivalent to the Opel offering.
See also
*Eugene Turenne Gregorie
Eugene Turenne Gregorie (also E. T. "Bob" Gregorie, Eugene T. "Bob" Gregorie; pronounced "GREG-ree"; 1908–2002) was an American yacht designer and automobile designer. Gregorie and Edsel Ford worked closely together to design many automobiles ...
References
Further reading
*
External links
* http://www.fordyandcmodelregister.co.uk/
{{FordEurope
Model Y
Cars introduced in 1932
1930s cars