[Railcarmover]

Originally Posted by Jim/TX/GA

The page on the left was a preview, pre-release, advance notice ad to prompt people to go to the showroom on Dec. 2nd, 1927, and the drawings were not 100% accurate. All retail cars sold included bumpers.

The cars were in great demand in 1928, thanks to all of the hype and publicity, and supply was limited as Henry got the various assembly lines up and running. It was a major undertaking, similar to what Elon Musk is experiencing with Tesla and the roll out of new models. Ford at least had materials and manufacturing infrastructure in place from the Model T to build upon.

Ford eventually had them really coming off the line in 1929, which is why that is the year with the most total production. Demand was high and supply was good. The production numbers fell off in 1930 as the economic depression unfolded and demand waned, then it got even worse in 1931. Look at how many retail prices were lower in 1931, compared to 1930. Hard to move that iron when people don't have confidence about the future.

Ford spent 100 million in 1927 money developing the A..lost money in '28,'30 and '31..do you think they even recouped their investment?