26 · Starting October 1, 1908, the Ford Motor Company began production of the Model T (also called the Tin Lizzie or Leaping Lena) Rather than individually handcrafting each car, Ford developed an efficient fabrication method known today as assembly line production which helped reduce its price somewhat compared to other vehicles of the time · In fact, a case can be made that the Model T is the single most significant car in history Produced from , the Model T truly lives up to its tagline of "the car that put America on wheels" Henry Ford's big idea of building simple, affordable cars via a mass production line created the first car for ordinary AmericansWhile this car is not likely to be serial number 1, it is certainly the first T to be photographed, and very significant in that Henry took it on a hunting trip to Iron Mountain, Michigan in 1908 According to the account in "Tin Lizzie" by Philip van Doren Stern, the drive was 1357 miles round trip Ford Model