An irony of history is that the first Volkswagen was designed by Henry Ford. He named his the Model T - but it was the first car for the people.
Before the introduction of the Model T on October 1, 1908, cars were for affluent people only - because only the affluent could afford to buy what were then largely hand-built, one-at-a-time and made-to-order cars. Ford’s ideas was to simplify - and standardize. Fewer parts - and each one made to fit every car that was made just like it. Instead of craftsmen hand-building cars one-at-time, a moving assembly line creating a brand-new Model T every 93 minutes by 1914.
These manufacturing efficiencies saved time - and that saved money.
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