Command And Consent-Mene Mene Tekel Upharsin,Part 4

Conversations with Trentino ^ | Sept. 19, 2002 | Trentino

[Davis]

When Henry Ford declared that his customers could have any color car they wanted "as long as it's black,"--Model T's were available only in black from 1914 to 1927–surely he was behaving like a commissar. When Ford, an abstemious and thrifty man, banned smoking in Ford factories, that was another commissar/coercive act. Old Henry was behaving like a commissar or a thug–Don Corleone comes to mind--wasn't he?

Not quite. A black Model T was a deal which potential customers could refuse...more

[Davis]

Click here and scroll down for previous parts to this series.

http://www.atrentino.com/ConningSEPT.html

[rudypoot]

This is kind of off topic but the reason why Henry Ford said, "as long as it's black" was because that was the only color available at the time. Carbon black was the only pigment that worked against corrosion at that time. If the pigment was changed then you had a rust bucket within a couple of weeks. And even with the black paint, people had to wax their cars every 3 months or so to prevent rusting. The author should at least research the quote if he is going to use it.

[Davis]

For years preceding 1908, Fords were painted in colors, often two tones. And Chevys came in colors, and lots of others did, too. It wasn't for lack of color paint that Mr. Ford had them painted them black.
check out
http://www.ahooga.com/info/black.shtml