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In the Model T days, a Ford dealership was a license to print money, so it was a valuable franchise.
I think James Couzens was one of those responsible for the dealer network. He was the general manager of Ford and one of the many who were responsible for the company's success. Not that Henry didn't have input into those matters, but I think that Couzens was really most responsible for that side of the business.
Here is a quote from an article I found about this:
"From the beginning of the great expansion of the company following the introduction of the Model T, Ford monitored very closely the activities of its dealers. James Couzens is generally given credit for the system that was set up. The dealers were supervised by branch offices. The branch managers were responsible for recruiting dealers, signing them to contracts, and supervising them. Dealerships were continually visited by company "roadmen" who would enforce strict rules regarding the appearance of showrooms and repair shops, the demeanor of salesmen, the availability of replacement parts and so forth. In addition these roadmen were able to offer instruction on how to carry out repairs, which helped to give Ford dealers a good reputation for servicing and repairing cars."
Here is the source of that quote:
http://cliometrics.org/conferences/A...0/OBrien.shtml