[HARRY304E]

As we all should know,Henry Ford never gave up on his ideas that have roots in the 1870's,Without him,this world we live may be much different than it is today.


The first video is about the race car he built in 1901,at that point in time there was no mass produced automobile,in fact that did not happen until the 1910's , The story is in the second video.

These videos were posted in a current thread on Mike Holts forum.

http://forums.mikeholt.com/showthread.php?t=159554

 

[Going_Commando]

Did you also know he built a town in Brazil to be his image of a utopian society, and he was also a big supporter of Hitler and the Aryan movement? He even went so far to tell the US Gov't during WW2 that if they bombed his truck plants in Germany and Austria that he would stop ALL Ford production of war materiel for the duration of the war. Don't get me wrong, the guy revolutionized the automobile industry and changed the United States and the world, but there is a lot more to the story than the assembly line and $5/day wage.

 

[erics37]

Yeah he pioneereed the mass production of the automobile which led to the mass urban decay and sprawl and suburbanization of America. Not to mention the unprecendented massive auto industry subsidies (in the form of our highway system) and huge expense, in money and resources, involved with people living in such an arrangement.

Good job Henry Ford.

 

[ponyboy]

Who invited the good news bears. You guys are a ball of sunshine.

 

[rewire]

His dislike of the jewish people is well documented and he was opposed to the labor movement to the point of hiring strike breakers for his plant.
In 1931 Ford laid off 75,000 people, leading to the Ford Hunger March in 1932. Dearborn, Mich., police and Ford security opened fire on unarmed marchers, shooting dozens and killing five. By 1941 wages at the Ford plant were less than the industry average.

 

[Going_Commando]

Yeah he pioneereed the mass production of the automobile which led to the mass urban decay and sprawl and suburbanization of America. Not to mention the unprecendented massive auto industry subsidies (in the form of our highway system) and huge expense, in money and resources, involved with people living in such an arrangement.

Good job Henry Ford.

The highway system has turned into an epic maintenance nightmare, but the original intent was a way to move war materiel (tanks, ICBMs, supplies, troops, etc) first, and to bolster interstate commerce 2nd. Ike wanted our troops and such to be highly mobile to give the Ruskies tougher targets for nukes.

I definitely agree on the downsides of urban sprawl now. The local market setup we had pre-interstate system made a lot more sense than what we have now. Now we have consolidated pockets of commerce and big box stores versus a variety of mom&pop small businesses. My town of 6500 (been about that since 1910) used to have 12 gas stations, 8 markets/grocers, 3 or 4 "department" stores, 8 restaurants/coffee shops, a movie theater, 8 hotels, 6 or 8 pharmacies, 5 hardware stores, 2 lumberyards, etc. Now we have 2 dollar stores, 1 grocery store, 6 gas station/convenience stores (3 with diesel), a Dunkin Donuts, a Rite-Aid and 2 small pharmacies, and 1 surviving mom&pop department store (not sure what else to call it, and a hardware store/lumberyard. They sell clothes :laughing. The big box stores are the next town over (about 15 min drive), and if you want electronics or a JC Penney/TJ Max type store you have to drive 40 minutes.

Now I am making things worse because instead of driving 60-80 miles round trip to do variety shopping, I just order most everything online. If I could buy it locally I would, and do when possible, and even pay more to do it. I will not, however, burn $16-$20 in gas just to overpay for something at a box store. I much prefer to have instant gratification, but spending 1-2 hours in my vehicle to drive somewhere to buy $100 worth of stuff is just silly when I can order it from Amazon for less money. Pretty sad, really.

 

[HARRY304E]

Did you also know he built a town in Brazil to be his image of a utopian society, and he was also a big supporter of Hitler and the Aryan movement? He even went so far to tell the US Gov't during WW2 that if they bombed his truck plants in Germany and Austria that he would stop ALL Ford production of war materiel for the duration of the war. Don't get me wrong, the guy revolutionized the automobile industry and changed the United States and the world, but there is a lot more to the story than the assembly line and $5/day wage.

Yes I know his history,And it was discussed in the second video.

 

[Going_Commando]

Yes I know his history,And it was discussed in the second video.

I wasn't going to watch a 46 min documentary just to see if that info was there Harry, sorry. There are also some good documentaries on Netflix about Henry Ford, and the episode of "The Men Who Built America" on the History Channel had some great info on his beginnings. Dude was a straight up looney, but a genius none the less.

 

[HARRY304E]

Yeah he pioneereed the mass production of the automobile which led to the mass urban decay and sprawl and suburbanization of America. Not to mention the unprecendented massive auto industry subsidies (in the form of our highway system) and huge expense, in money and resources, involved with people living in such an arrangement.

Good job Henry Ford.

Eric,your always welcome to put your money where your mouth is and move to Africa where most of it is still Pre-industrialized and you can enjoy the much shorter lifespan that comes with it.

Also,Considering that you own your own single family home in a suburban neighborhood,you seem to think others should not be allowed to live like you.

Just sayin.....:whistling2::laughing:

 

[erics37]

Eric,your always welcome to put your money where your mouth is and move to Africa where most of it is still Pre-industrialized and you can enjoy the much shorter lifespan that comes with it.

Also,Considering that you own your own single family home in a suburban neighborhood,you seem to think others should not be allowed to live like you.

Just sayin.....:whistling2::laughing:

:laughing::laughing:

I'm a product of my environment, buddy, but at least I recognize it.

When did I say anything about people not being allowed to live a certain way? Never uttered a word to that effect.

What I DID say was that the whole concept, from the beginning, of suburbanizing and spreading out and connecting everything and everyone together with automobile infrastructure was a massive misuse of money and resources. The damage is done, there's no taking it back.

EDIT: Furthemore, considering that I live at least 2 hours away from any real cities with real suburbs, and my house is about half a mile from City Hall here in Depoe Bay (population 1,397), I don't think your statement is accurate.

 

[HARRY304E]

His dislike of the jewish people is well documented and he was opposed to the labor movement to the point of hiring strike breakers for his plant.
In 1931 Ford laid off 75,000 people, leading to the Ford Hunger March in 1932. Dearborn, Mich., police and Ford security opened fire on unarmed marchers, shooting dozens and killing five. By 1941 wages at the Ford plant were less than the industry average.

Yes because they were not unionized at that point.

 

[macmikeman]

What this country needs is more waterways. That would solve those pesky transportation problems.

 

[Going_Commando]

Eric,your always welcome to put your money where your mouth is and move to Africa where most of it is still Pre-industrialized and you can enjoy the much shorter lifespan that comes with it.

Also,Considering that you own your own single family home in a suburban neighborhood,you seem to think others should not be allowed to live like you.

Just sayin.....:whistling2::laughing:

What does Africa have to do with suburbanization? Suburbs really didn't come into their own until the 1960s and 70s due to the interstate highway system. Sure, they started springing up in post WW2 US with the housing boom, but not to the scale they are now.

Just look at the cities in decline such as Detroit. Miles and miles of suburbs with almost no one living in them. These are areas that will never be gentrified. That is the nice thing about urban areas. You can have gentrification, ie urban renewal. You can fix up or rebuild dilapidated buildings, and get fresh residents to fill them, which allows for urban renewal on a massive scale. With fresh residents comes more money, which allows for more businesses to open. The slums end up getting pushed out towards the city limits leaving the inner city a vibrant, bustling commercial center, much like how it was pre-interstates. You get commerce right next to residential areas, if not mixed in, which means people don't have to spend anywhere near the time travelling to go shopping or to get to work. This leads to more people using public transit, walking, or biking, which leads to lower traffic congestion and less smog, which is never a bad thing.

I'll be curious to see what happens to suburbs in the coming years. It seems like the general consensus in urban planning now, even in suburbs is to create vibrant city centers and have clustered multi-family residential areas. I am seeing tons of town-house and condo complexes being built within reasonable travel times of commercial areas, which also allows for public transit to become more cost-effective. I am also seeing more and more young people shying away from the McMansion, 4 car garage, swimming pool, sprawling suburbia lifestyle towards smaller domiciles, closer to city centers. Let's be honest, who actually likes commuting 30+ minutes each way? You are dealing with serious wear and tear on vehicles, steep fuel costs, and just so much lost time.

 

[Going_Commando]

What this country needs is more waterways. That would solve those pesky transportation problems.

Yarrrrrr

 

[erics37]

What does Africa have to do with suburbanization? Suburbs really didn't come into their own until the 1960s and 70s due to the interstate highway system. Sure, they started springing up in post WW2 US with the housing boom, but not to the scale they are now.

Just look at the cities in decline such as Detroit. Miles and miles of suburbs with almost no one living in them. These are areas that will never be gentrified. That is the nice thing about urban areas. You can have gentrification, ie urban renewal. You can fix up or rebuild dilapidated buildings, and get fresh residents to fill them, which allows for urban renewal on a massive scale. With fresh residents comes more money, which allows for more businesses to open. The slums end up getting pushed out towards the city limits leaving the inner city a vibrant, bustling commercial center, much like how it was pre-interstates. You get commerce right next to residential areas, if not mixed in, which means people don't have to spend anywhere near the time travelling to go shopping or to get to work. This leads to more people using public transit, walking, or biking, which leads to lower traffic congestion and less smog, which is never a bad thing.

I'll be curious to see what happens to suburbs in the coming years. It seems like the general consensus in urban planning now, even in suburbs is to create vibrant city centers and have clustered multi-family residential areas. I am seeing tons of town-house and condo complexes being built within reasonable travel times of commercial areas, which also allows for public transit to become more cost-effective. I am also seeing more and more young people shying away from the McMansion, 4 car garage, swimming pool, sprawling suburbia lifestyle towards smaller domiciles, closer to city centers. Let's be honest, who actually likes commuting 30+ minutes each way? You are dealing with serious wear and tear on vehicles, steep fuel costs, and just so much lost time.

Have you read The Geography of Nowhere?

That's pretty much what the entire book is about. Good read, well researched.

 

[Big John]

You guys are just too negative. How could you not want to live here?

The one on the bottom right has a pool. That's how you know he's unique.

 

[MTW]

Yeah he pioneereed the mass production of the automobile which led to the mass urban decay and sprawl and suburbanization of America. Not to mention the unprecendented massive auto industry subsidies (in the form of our highway system) and huge expense, in money and resources, involved with people living in such an arrangement.

Good job Henry Ford.

:sleep1:

 

[MTW]

You guys are just too negative. How could you not want to live here?

Yeah, that's so horrible. This is much better:

But what should I expect from a flaming liberal anyway. :whistling2:

 

[Going_Commando]

Have you read The Geography of Nowhere?

That's pretty much what the entire book is about. Good read, well researched.

I haven't. Just bought it on Amazon for my kindle for $3.99. I find urban planning a strangely fascinating subject. Thanks for the tip.

I think one of the biggest indicators of which way we are swinging is the Tiny House Movement. Granted, this is just the fringe element of Gen X and Y, but still fascinating none the less. Probably all Ralph Waldo Emerson's fault. :laughing: People who grew up in the McMansion/Suburbia lifestyle don't want to live the same way. Pretty fascinating stuff, really.

 

[Big John]

Isn't it some sort of sin to troll people on the Sabbath? :laughing: