#Pic_A_Day (1223) @AlMachFineArt - 1907 Ford Model K (Ford "Alphabet" Cars)

[Albert Mach]

#Pic_A_Day  (1223) @AlMachFineArt

1907 Ford Model K (Ford "Alphabet" Cars)

This auto was seen at the AACA Museum in Hershey. http://www.aacamuseum.org/

This auto can now be seen with the rest of the Alphabet Ford Collection at The Ford Piquette Avenue Plant. http://www.fordpiquetteavenueplant.org/

There is also a picture of the Model K engine and the Model K both at the Seal Cove Auto Museum in Maine.

https://www.sealcoveautomuseum.org/

There is a historic image of Henry Ford, James Couzens, Elwood Rice, and Gaston Plantiff in a 1907 Model K thanks to Roberto Rodriguez of the Seal Cove Auto Museum in Maine.

Finally there is a picture Henry Ford with the Model K as a racer early on.

http://digitalcollections.detroitpubliclibrary.org/islandora/object...

 

Manufacturer: Ford Motor Company Dearborn, Michigan

Model: Model K

Base Price: $2,800

Engine: Six-cylinder, 40 hp

In it’s final year of production, the Model K was offered as a large touring car and a runabout replacement for the Model B. Ford produced the K, N, R and S models in 1908 with the K offered as a 3-4 passenger roadster and a touring car. With the promise of new Model T just months away, the 1908 models were contended to be 1907 and some, 1906 models. Dealers were reluctant to take the low-profit cars with the competition from Packard and Cadillac taking up a large part of their market share. This particular model is classified as a Mother-In-Law Seat Roadster. Today, only 10 examples of the model K are known to exist. The rare car was refurbished by members of AACA’s Susquehannock Region in 2010 and shown at several major venues, which earned it a 2011 invitation to the prestigious Amelia Island Concour d’ Elegance.

Museum Collection: Larry Porter Trust – “Alphabet Ford Collection”

 

It is believed that the first public showing of the Model K was at the 1906 American Motor Car Manufacturer's Association (AMCMA) Show held at the 69th regiment Armory, Lexington Avenue and 25th Street, New York in mid-January of 1906.

 

According to Wikipedia:

Ford Model K was an upscale automobile produced by the Ford Motor Company. It was introduced in 1906 and replaced the earlier Model B. The model K was aimed at the top end of the market and featured an inline-6 Ford’s first 6 cylinder power plant, (the only Ford six until 1941) giving 40 hp (30 kW). The wheelbase was 114 in (2896 mm) and could be ordered either as touring or roadster.

The Model K was a failure, something that can be attributed to both the high price (between $2500 and $3000 - between $66000 and $79000 today) and poor quality. Ford was also known to make inexpensive cars and people who wanted a more luxurious car bought other brands. Production ended in 1908 after 900 cars had been made. The failure of the upscale line, including the Model B and K, caused two critical changes at the Ford company: it would focus for the next two decades on entry-level volume models like the Model T, and led to the departure of Alexander Malcomson, one of the founding partners, leaving Henry Ford as the majority shareholder. Also, Ford himself cared very little for the expensive Model K

 

My friend Roberto Rodriguez said “We know of some 23 Model Ks including this one that is still at the Seal Cove Auto Museum (one of the last built in 1908). Two are in Australia.”

 

 

Model K Racer

View of mechanics working on Ford Model K car, with Henry Ford (wearing goggles) in foreground. On Ford's left is Gaston Plaintiff, Ford Motor Company's New York branch manager. Handwritten on back: "Ford, Life, May-June, 1971, p. 13. Henry Ford in goggles waits while mechanics work on the Model K racer before his unsuccessful, Aug. 1905, attempt to lower the world's record. At left is Gaston Plaintiff, the company's New York branch manager." Handwritten on back: "Ford, 1905."

This image is not for sale. - See more at: http://digitalcollections.detroitpubliclibrary.org/islandora/object...

 

The special activities today are sold out, but you can see the Alphabet Collection and all the other things at the Ford Piquette Avenue Plant museum now!

461 Piquette Street  -  Detroit, MI 48202 1-313-872-8759 

HOURS & ADMISSION

Regular Hours (APR- NOV) Wednesday-Sunday 10am-4pm http://www.fordpiquetteavenueplant.org/