Ford—Yesterday & To-Day

Sun (Auckland), Volume I, Issue 248, 10 January 1928, Page 6

Ford —Yesterday & To-Day

Here’s how a writer in the New York “Evening Post” describes the new Ford: “The old Ford dript oil into our upturned faces as we lay under it on country roads at midnight. The new Ford is shown off like a modiste’s mannikin to a generation which has lost the joy * of getting its hands dirty. The old Ford ruined ten million pairs of overalls. The new Ford is unveiled in hotel ballrooms by salesmen in dinner jackets. “The new Ford is new; but it isn’t a Ford. It has theft-proof coincidental locks, pressure grease-gun lubrication, and five steelspoke wheels; it is as silky as a debutante and as neat as a watch; it will go 65 miles an hour and 30 miles on a gallon; it has a gas-tank behind the engine and a switch for all lights on the steering post; it was made with Johannsen precision gages, and it wipes its own ■windshield. “It is a remarkable piece of machinery, but it isn’t a Ford, because the Ford was an educational institution as well as a machine. The old Ford, the old black, rusty, cantankerous, obstinate sputtering Ford, brought wisdom to many fools and made many wise men go raving, tearing mad. This new lily-of-the-valley isn’t going to teach us anything. It looks as if it would run indefinitely without complaint, which is all wrong. It is made lor serenity and comfort, which is also all wrong. Where is the gas-tank? Out in front where it can be reached. Where is the timer? Up on top where it can no longer bark your knuckles. Where are the brake-bands? In a. ridiculously exposed position where their value as trainers of character and refined language is completely lost. “We are degenerating. We are entering a period of Roman luxury. The new Ford is a garage car. Back to the pioneer days when w r e threw sand under the fan belt and tightened the horn with a dime!”