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Before Tesla hype, there was Model A mania
Ford spent about $1.5 million on 2,000 newspaper ads as dealers promoted the car and crowds rushed to see its first public display.
- On December 2, 1927, Ford unveiled the new Model A, giving the public their first look at the car's models and prices after a five-day advertising blitz across 2,000 newspapers.
- By the late 1920s, the nearly two-decade-old Model T was showing its age, its features surpassed by shiny new vehicles from Chevrolet and Dodge Brothers, prompting Henry Ford to design a replacement.
- Ford paid approximately $1.5 million for the advertising blitz, believed to be "without parallel in the history of advertising." The six variants featured 40-horsepower motors capable of 55-65 mph, priced from $385 to $570.
- Dealers tracked attendance as "Model A mania" swept the Upper Midwest; 12,000 crowded into Fargo and 5,000 into Brainerd, demonstrating the public's hunger for a reasonably priced, good-quality vehicle.
- Months would pass before preorders were fulfilled, yet newspapers immediately reported on the car's impact: the first speeding arrest in Illinois and the first crash in Oklahoma signaled the Model A's arrival.
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Total News Sources22
Leaning Left0Leaning Right9Center9Last UpdatedBias Distribution50% Center, 50% Right
Bias Distribution
- 50% of the sources are Center, 50% of the sources lean Right
50% Right
C 50%
R 50%
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