Would You Shut Down Everything to Beat Chevrolet?

In May 1927, after selling about fifteen million Model Ts, Ford stopped building the car. Its plants closed, about 60,000 workers were laid off, and for roughly six months there were no new Fords for sale. Chevrolet had overtaken it, and the Model T looked old. This film rewinds to that decision: what Ford knew, the two roads in front of it, what the shutdown cost workers and dealers, and how the Model A did. It also marks where the record stops: what else Ford weighed before he stopped the line was never written down. Chapters 0:00 A Sudden Full Stop 0:11 Why Ford Stopped the Model T 0:21 Ford’s Last Model T 0:56 Two Roads, One Future 1:39 The Shutdown’s Costs 3:18 The Model A Arrives 4:00 Would You Have Stopped? Sources https://www.thehenryford.org/collecti... https://fi.edu/en/news/case-files-hen... https://artsandculture.google.com/ass... https://corporate.ford.com/about/hist... https://guides.loc.gov/this-month-in-... https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexpe... https://www.history.com/articles/auto... https://automotivehistory.org/the-15-... https://www.history.com/this-day-in-h... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History... Credits Music: Signal to Noise by Scott Buckley – released under CC-BY 4.0. www.scottbuckley.com.au Music: Aphelion by Scott Buckley – released under CC-BY 4.0. www.scottbuckley.com.au Archive film (public domain, via the Internet Archive): Henry Ford with Model A No. 1 / Assembling and Test Driving the Ford Model A / A Tour of the Ford River Rouge Plant (1927): https://archive.org/details/fc-fc-2577 Fifteen Millionth Ford / Camping / Twenty Millionth Ford / Model A Fords / River Rouge Plant and Freighter Benson Ford / Lumbering / River Rouge Plant / Ford South America / Ford Gardens / Henry Ford and Edsel Ford Inspecting V-8s (1927): https://archive.org/details/fc-fc-2581 Quadricycle, 1908 Model T, Fifteen Millionth Ford, and Model A Motor / Henry Ford Hospital (Oxygen Therapy) (1927): https://archive.org/details/fc-fc-3707 Cornerstone of the Henry Ford Museum / Henry Ford's Seventy-Fifth Birthday / Model A Fords (1928): https://archive.org/details/fc-fc-2605 Model A Final Assembly / Ford Ship and River Rouge Plant and Workers (1929): https://archive.org/details/fc-fc-1886 Ford Sales Promotion / Ford Plants Abroad / Workers On Overpass At Rouge / Henry Ford and Edsel Ford In Plant / Union Election / Ford Parade (1928): https://archive.org/details/fc-fc-3133 Fifteen Millionth Model T Ford (1927): https://archive.org/details/fc-fc-3704 WAKE UP [2]. [FORD AUTOMOBILE SERVICE IMPROVEMENT CAMPAIGN] (1928): https://archive.org/details/fc-fc-106 [SELLING FORD SERVICE] (1928): https://archive.org/details/fc-fc-135 Period photographs and print (public domain): 1927 Ford Model T Brochure. Denmark. Fold-out. — Public domain in the US (published 1927); scan via the Internet Archive: https://archive.org/details/101_20260... 1928 Ford Model A. New Beauty for the New Ford Brochure. USA. F-28 — Public domain in the US (published 1928); scan via the Internet Archive: https://archive.org/details/101_20260108 1928 Ford Model A Catalog. Denmark. — Public domain in the US (published 1928); scan via the Internet Archive: https://archive.org/details/101_20260... 1929 Ford Model A. A Variety of Ford Cars for Two Passengers. Roadster · Business Coupe · Coupe · Sport Coupe · Cabriolet — Public domain in the US (published 1929); scan via the Internet Archive: https://archive.org/details/101_20260203 1930 Ford Model A Brochure. USA. Form No. 16 — Public domain in the US (published 1930); scan via the Internet Archive: https://archive.org/details/101_20260... Narration: AI voice (ElevenLabs). Graphics and sound effects: The Rewind Point. The Rewind Point rewinds to one real business decision at a time: what they knew, what they chose, what happened. Subscribe to make the next call. #FordHistory #BusinessDilemma #1927