Henry's Pricing Methodology for the N

From: "The Fords in My Past" by Harold L. Brock

"Mr. Ford said that to be successful and cost effective to farmers, the tractor should not cost more that the combined cost of a team of horses or mules, a set of harness, and the ten acres of land required to grow food for the animals. If the project was successful, this would eliminate the toilsome caring for animals after a hard day's work. Likewise, farmers could raise foodstuff from the ten acres of land rather than raising fodder for animals. If we could meet this objective, Mr. Ford was convinced he finally could accomplish for farmers what he did with the Model T car in providing a real value. A profit or return on investment was never mentioned in the discussions."

Now that is real vision!

Regards

Sal

"Mr. Ford inquired form our group as to what was the lowest cost tractor on the market at that time. We found that the little Allis-Chalmers Model B met this inquiry. THis little tractor was a basic garden tractor with a hand crank and a simple drawbar...Mr. Ford was not concerned that the Ford tractor was highly styled, having additional features of self-starter, a three pt implement hitch with hydraulic depth control, fenders and lights...Mr. Ford agreed to establish a retail price of $585 for the new tractor, which met the objective of the cost of a team of animals, the set of harness, and the cost of ten acres to feed the animala. The price was also competitive with the Allis-Chalmers Model B."