Why did Ford Scrap all These Cars? 1929 Dis-Assembly Line Cash For Clunkers

After 20 years of producing millions of Model T's Ford had an inventory problem...a USED CAR Inventory Problem.

Find out why Ford scrapped all these derelict beaters; and it wasn't necessarily to get cheap scrap metal.

Yes, we know that the narration says that Ford used hydraulic compactors but the video shows a pulley based compactor.

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Sources:
My Forty Years with Ford; Charles Sorenson (1956)
Library of Congress Ford Motion Pictures Archives

We reserve the right to moderate comments that we feel fall outside of the scope of the Model A hobby.

#1928 #1929 #1930 #1931 #fordmodela #modelaford

[AModelA]

Yes, we know we mispronounced hearth.
Yes, we know that it is not a hydraulic press shown in the video. That information was taken from Charles Sorenson's book "My 40 Years With Ford" where he described this process in detail.

[oldsguy]

I learned to drive in a 1930 model A coupe back in the mid 90s. I’d wait for my parents to leave and then drive it to school so my friends and I could take it to lunch. We still have it, mostly together, it’s not a show car but always a good drive…I’d say of the 72 cars I’ve owned since it’s still the most fun to drive, and start (if you know how)

[billybarnes]

I remember my Dad talking about his first used car.I believe a 1953 bought in 57 for less than a hundred bucks.Boy do I miss him. May God bless everyone!

[rayers]

My grandpa has a 1929 Model A Roadster. It's a lovely restored, as close to original as possible, example. Even has a the original paint. With all the different things that was done with these and all the great memories having that car has created, I am said about all the scrapped examples. Really for any old car honestly.

[Fred-mpvf]

My mother once drove a Model T with no brakes more than 200 miles, back in the 1940's -- something that's hard to imagine today! 😄

[rossbryan]

I AM NEARLY 80 AND I REMEMBER SEEING THIS WHEN I WAS ABOUT 10!!
INTERESTINGLY, A FEW YEARS LATER I STARTED SCRAPPING
AND RECYCLING CARS!!

[heatleynoble]

In the 2000's the UK government paid £500 a car in the 'cash for scrap' scheme. It was dressed up as a green scheme but in reality it was to sell more cars. Same deal as this!

[MrRotaryrockets]

Henry missed my 1927 model t roadster pickup..good thing

[r.markclayton]

In 1930/31 my dad and some school friends bought a [running] Ford Model T for ten dollars ($10). As with old cars today there comes a point after a dozen years or more when the scrap value is higher than the used value and so the breakers beckon...

[asteverino]

Well, I still don’t see anything wrong with this from a business point of view.
If people thought it was just Henry being thrifty, then they were not aware of what PR is.
Thanks, I didn’t know this aspect of “recycling “ that was done.

[edcronin]

I worked for Toledo Scale Co every scale taken in trade for a new one ! Was destroyed never sold used, getting old ones off the market so only new models are available ! It did work !

[darold]

Yes, same reason we get a 'credit' for turning in our old cell phones. He was an innovator, just not the way we think sometimes.

[mr.goodpliers]

Fascinating. The problem with planned obsolescence is... Obsolescence.
It seems so odd that they chose such a labor intensive method. Auto wrecking in this era generally went as follows: Cars were lined up in a field, gas tanks were punctured, and the fuel soaked on the seats and fabric tops. They were then lit on fire to burn out the upholstery and body wood (of which many were manufactured, given that structural body wood was a common element of manufacturing well into the 30's). Then the carcasses were ready to scrap, with no further hand-disassembly required.

[stevekovacs]

In only a decade or so we were scrapping millions of these vintage autos for the war effort. I'm sure many salvageable beauties were hastily destroyed, not just cheap model A's and other similar cars.

[SuperMAZ]

That was some interesting idea Ford had. The issue with used junk cars taking up space became a problem later also with other manufacturers in the 1950s and later elsewhere in the world in the 1980s.

[needsaride]

Thank you for sharing these great videos of the Model A

[nevillemander]

Recycling before its time. Great innovation from the great man of auto-mation. Sparing resources and making cars aFORDable 😃

[KBQAA]

3:15 Clearly the compactor is NOT hydraulic. The sheave and cables visible show this is a Gravity compactor.

[ramblerdave]

Also, by crushing old cars, you increase the need for cheap new cars, while simultaneously, propping up used car prices, which also makes dealers happy.

[RivetGardener]

Henry Ford was very thrifty and he and his partner even invented charcoal briquettes (Kingsford Charcoal) from the wood scraps left over from producing model T's. This singlehandedly nationalized the American passion for out door grilling.