Not much more than a hundred years ago, an average American was going about his business in an age where everything modern lay ahead. There were no televisions or computers. There was not even the automobile. It was a vision in Henry Ford’s mind.

This conception, perhaps even considered by some to be a fantasy, became a tentative reality in June of 1896. 

History reports that Mr. Ford was only 32 years old. He would work for hours in the tiny workshop behind his Dearborn, Michigan home, experimenting ways to bring the gasoline powered engine to life. Finally, after more than two years of failure after failure, Henry put the finishing touches on what would become the first gasoline powered motorcar – or automobile. This first experimental car was dubbed the “Quadricycle,” because it ran on four bicycle tires!

The word automobile actually means to make oneself mobile alone. Public or mass transportation was the norm a mere century before. Now, through the genius and tenacity of one man, the country and world were forever changed. This taste of success by Henry was really the cornerstone of his automobile ambitions and would eventually lead to the founding of Ford Motor Company in 1903.

I’m sure most adults are more than a little familiar with the rest of Ford’s story. After two unsuccessful attempts, an auto factory opened in Detroit. It took two or three people to assemble each car and only a few were completed on a daily basis. Now Ford, credited first for the creation of arguably the most important invention ever, became the first person to envision the mass production of anything through the use of the assembly line. Before you knew it, hundreds of cars were being turned out each day and auto dealerships had to be devised for their purchase.

While most people have a walking knowledge of the beginnings of the auto industry and attribute it to Henry Ford, many average citizens do not realize the monthly payment plan system and credit market were also his brainchild. You see, back then no one could afford to purchase a new car for $820.00. So here was Henry Ford designing and manufacturing a product en masse, and there were no consumers in sight. Henry was forced to go back to the drawing board and figure out a way to put his product in people’s hand. That’s how auto financing was born, and the credit goes to Ford, literally.