100 years ago in The Record
Tuesday, Mar. 11,1919. “It is not unusual to hear citizens of this city complain that Troy lacks every necessary facility for growth, and that it must pull itself up by its own boot-straps if it is to regain its ancient prestige,” a Record editorial writer observes. “Henry Ford, however, does not agree with this estimate, and he is perhaps a better judge of locations than any citizen of this community.” Ford, the world’s most prolific automobile manufacturer, plans to build a factory for a new economyprice car in Troy, according to his son, Edsel Ford. Ford’s announcement “confirms a report The Record received several days ago, but withheld from publication until it could befully substantiated,” our reporter writes. Sources in Washington D.C. tell our correspondent there that “the only possible obstacle to the choice of a site near Troy for the new industry would be a failure of Congress during the [upcoming] extra session to pass the general water power bill.” Congressional delays have held up construction of a Ford tractor plant in Green Island. Henry Ford “is known to regard hydroelectric power as the agency which will do a very large percentage of the future manufacturing work of the nation,” our writer notes, “To establish a plant of the magnitude which Mr. Ford would build would necessitate the construction of enormous dams.
“Why experiment when a great dam already exists at Troy?” a War Department engineer asks, “All Mr. Ford will have to do there is to build his plant, harness the water, and proceed to turn out tractors and other cars.”
Troy also appeals to Ford because its position on the Hudson River provides “a means of transporting [cars] cheaply to the markets of the world. Troy with its natural advantages meets all the requirements of the big manufacturer.”
Henry and Edsel Ford hope to build their new car independently of the Ford Motor Company, through a privately- owned company. They are likely to face a legal challenge from stockholders in the original company, most notably Dodge Bros., a rival auto maker.
“No idea of the new car’s design could be gained from [Edsel] Ford,” the Associated Press reports, “He declined to discuss the innovations of manufacturing which would make it possible to sell the finished car at $250 or even $150.”
The new car “would be for the use of people who had no urgent need for a motor car except to go to and from work, or for infrequent pleasure trips,” Ford says, “We expect to make it a competitor of the street car, rather than of the [Model T] Ford.”