1931 Ford Model A, Tudor 🇺🇸

The Ford motor company literally put the world on wheels when they introduced the Model T in 1908. By 1927, when production ended, 15 million cars were produced and sold world-wide.  How would Ford create a successor to such a world changing product?

The answer came in the form of the Model A. Announced to the world in an advertising campaign  in May of 1927, the actual car arrived in dealer showrooms December of the same year.  The arrival of the Model A  was such a big deal that on December 22, 1927 Ford announced that ten percent of the US population came out to see the new car on its first day.

The Model A would prove a worthy successor to the Model T. The car was light weight, durable, and easy to operate just as its predecessor. Yet, it was magnitudes more modern, provided more comfort and  more functionality than the Tin Lizzy  could even dream of. Thanks to the influence of  Edsel Ford, the styling was up to date and the car was available in an attractive palette of colors.

The new four-cylinder engine produced 40 horsepower, nearly double that of  the T. The transmission was now a more traditional sliding gear arrangement with 3 forward gears and reverse.

Ford didn’t produce different models in this era, all cars and trucks were Model A’s. They came in a wide range of body styles plus trucks and commercial variants. Closed body styles with fixed roofs and doors became more widely available although these styles still cost more than their open top versions. When introduced, the lowest priced car was the two-door open style body called the “Roadster” at $325. The highest priced car was the four-door closed sedan called the “Fordor” which had a base price of $570. Prices would rise, especially as the Great Depression took hold toward the end of production in 1931, with the Roadster topping at $430 and the top of the line Town Sedan at $630.

Production and sales of the Model A topped in 1929 with 1,507,132 cars produced for the calendar year. As the Depression took hold, sales dropped. By 1931, total calendar year production was just 541,615 cars, still good enough for second place behind Chevrolet.