CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. — If a car is the chrome-clad autobiography of its owner – and many believe it is – then the earliest Fords tell a tale of the authenticity, frugality and sheer grit of burgeoning American motorists. Visitors to Jenkins & Wynne’s new auto dealership will witness various chapters unfold, each month, through a classic car exhibit called “Ford: Milestone Models through the Decades.”
The exhibit opened at the Ford-Lincoln showroom at 2655 Trenton Road on May 2, debuting its first vehicle, a 1911 Ford Model T Runabout. A different vehicle will arrive each month through April 2017, each representing a Ford milestone in design and ingenuity.
Ford Motor Company founder Henry Ford produced his first car in 1903. But it wasn’t until 1908 that he unveiled the Model T, which he dubbed the “motorcar for the great multitude.” Of the lightweight, inexpensive vehicle, Ford wrote in his “My Life and Work” autobiography: “They were tough, they were simple and they were well made.”
The “Ford: Milestone Models through the Decades” exhibit will feature two Ford Model T body styles in an exploration of the vehicle that defined the Ford Motor Company through 1928. Ford’s philosophy was to build one model, improve upon it annually, and continue to discover how inexpensively it could be produced. He called the Model T the “universal car,” noting that it possessed six key attributes: quality of materials, simplicity in operation, power, reliability, lightness and control.
As the exhibit examines cars through the decades, visitors to Jenkins & Wynne will see how the Ford Motor Company adapted its designs for the times. For example, Ford finally abandoned the Model T in 1927 and began work on the Model A, so named to commemorate the first Ford produced, the 1903 Model A. The Jenkins & Wynne exhibit will feature a 1930 Ford Model A, with which Ford introduced features considered essential today, such as safety glass, brake lights, bumpers and fuel gauges.
As counterpoints to the simplicity of the early Fords, the cars of the 1950s emerged during economic boom times, heavily loaded with options that were once unheard-of luxuries. These vehicles possessed larger-than-life bodies that took inspiration from airplanes, complete with jaunty fins.
The “Ford: Milestone Models through the Decades” exhibit will feature some of these 1950s vehicles, as well as a vehicle from the “muscle car” era of the 1960s.
Also to be included in the exhibit is a Ford of a more recent vintage, an 11th-generation Ford Thunderbird from 2004.
John Butler, a local car enthusiast who has owned several classic Fords, organized the lineup of vehicles for “Ford: Milestone Models through the Decades.”
Butler said, “Each of these cars illustrates different aspects of American culture and design. With the Model T Ford, the exhibit celebrates the ‘horseless carriage,’ as cars were then called, and presents an invention that was a novelty for its time. As the exhibit travels through the decades, it unveils cars that were as visually arresting as they were pivotal to the American Dream.”
Don Jenkins, the president and CEO of Jenkins & Wynne, said, “This exhibit celebrates American history and ingenuity, as well as the beauty that is found in function. We look forward to sharing these classic cars with Jenkins & Wynne guests, be they families, car lovers or anyone who appreciates good design.”
Casey Jenkins, the dealership’s Internet manager and third-generation auto dealer, said, “We’re excited to put this collection on exhibit for the next year. It’s a unique opportunity to show the public examples of great automotive design, as well as to share the story of Henry Ford and the Ford Motor Company, which is one of the most compelling tales of American entrepreneurship ever told.”
To learn more about Jenkins & Wynne and the “Ford: Milestone Models through the Decades” exhibit, please visit www.jenkinsandwynne.com.