| Henry Ford
Henry Ford was born in 1864. When he was young, he
loved machines. From age 16 through 19, he worked in Detroit. Then, when he
was 25, he worked at an electric power plant.
Ford built his first car in his backyard. When he was 36, he sold cars full time. Every model he made had a different letter, for example, the Model T. In 1908, the Model T cost was $825. Back then, the Model T’s nickname was "Tin Lizzie". It sold for 19 years. The Model T sold 15.5 million in the U.S., 1 million in Canada, and .25 million in Britain. Henry Ford invented the assembly line in car factories. People who worked on the assembly line made $5 a day. Henry Ford died in 1947 when he was 83 . |
Ford Model T |
 Porsche 911 |
Ferdinand Porsche Ferdinand Porsche was born on September 3, 1885. He made his first Porsche in 1900, when he was 15. He designed the hub motor when he was 25 years old. Ferdinand Porsche designed the VW Beetle in the 1930’s. The Beetle was no longer made from 1978 to 1999. In 1999 production of Beetles began again in Mexico. When Ferdinand quit, his son and daughter took over the family business. Ferdinand Porsche died in Japan in 1951 on January 30. |
Walter P. Chrysler Walter Chrysler was born on April 2, 1875. He grew up in Wamego, Kansas. Chrysler founded the company that became the second largest automobile producer in the U.S. He was originally a machinist. But soon he became a manager of the American Locomotive Company. In 1912 Walter switched to the automobile industry. In 1916, he became the president of Buick Motor Company, which is a division of General Motors. In 1921 he joined Maxwell Motor Company. In 1925 it was renamed, The Chrysler Corporation. In 1935 he became the chairman of the board of Chrysler, a job he held until his death. He died on August 18, 1940. |
Chrysler |
| Gottlieb W. Daimler
Gottlieb Daimler was born on March 17, 1834, in
Schorndorf. He was a German inventor. He designed the carburetor that lets
cars run on liquid gasoline.
In 1885, Daimler put an engine on a bicycle. That was the first motorcycle. In 1890, he founded Daimler Motor Company. In 1926, the name of the company was changed from Daimler to Benz and Co. Gottlieb Daimler died on March 6, 1900. |
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