Starting the "Ford" portion now. What do you think of it?
A beautiful Model N shown as a Model a
Also, the quad is mentioned as the first Ford, and that it was "prone to breakdowns". That would cover all my cars
Just turned it on thanks rob
I've got it on but the only thing I paid attention to was a couple of quick looks at the cars racing and the close up of the actors face. I suppose I better put my pants on, take my Nexium and switch my insurance to Geico.
Totally confused, inaccurate historically on any number of levels, not terribly interesting. Intellectually corrupt.
Yeah, what a waste to wait until the last segment for such a disappointment.
I agree, was expecting more.
What was the car Ford took to the race? It looked like it had electric headlights! And what was the car Rockefeller was in alot?
Some fine looking cars.
Ford's first factory was in Highland Park? I turned it off after I heard that. I placed the program on the same level as the bus tour through Savannah where I saw the dealership where Henry secretly developed the Model T.
George-the car Ford raced was a 1913 White, racing against a 1909 Alco. The Rockefeller car was a 1911 Mercer. All are owned by Long Island, NY collectors.
Thanks Chris....Chip
Didn't bother. I think I knew what to expect of TV after watching H.F. the Man & the Machine a few years ago. Showed Henry's take home & run in the kitchen engine with a modern lawn mower fly wheel on it.
I waited for this and was disappointed except for seeing the nice Model N Ford. I didn't know that Ford ever raced a 1913 White in 1901??
Charlie,
You didn't know Henry Ford invented the Briggs & Stratton 3hp engine?
I guess if you didn't know anything about Ford you'd be entertained but not very enlightened. Hey History Channel....OPPORTUNITY MISSED.
After watching the final episode, I was starting to doubt the whole series. If you are portraying history, do it accurately. Otherwise it is just another fictional movie. Beautiful autos, but period incorrect.
Ford did have early racing successes that "put Ford on the map". Two of the most important wins were with a two 2 cylinder racer and his most famous, 999 and Arrow racers. I'll also mention the Model K won a 24 hour race against several much more expensive large cars including a Pope.
Unfortunately, this program didn't depict the cars or story accurately. I'll try to find a few articles when I stop driving later.
Rob
having been involved in the production of several movies and shows, I can tell you that the producers know that the "average" citizen does not know or even care that the "history" they portray is accurate or not. They go for a "look" and once the look is achieved, all bets are off.
The car Ford was racing is a White speedster owned by a friend of mine. Since White did not start making gas engines until around 1910 the electric lights are the least of the inaccuracies. The cars used for the program were great even if they were not correct period cars. I believe one of them was a Stevens- Duryea, another was a Mercer and I think the Winton racer was a Simplex with the fenders removed and of course the Model A was actually a Model N. The show was no different than most of the things on TV including the news, inaccurate! I think it was Mark Twain who said something to the effect that if you don't read the newspaper you will be uninformed and if you do you will be misinformed. Obviously the same is true for watching television.
Maybe they should change the name of the channel. Not much history anymore just cheap to produce programs on junk hunters, money lenders, and worn out repeats.
Gary,
I agree. Used to be, the history channel and History International were among the first 3 or 4 channels I checked. Over the last several months, I haven't even checked the channel (due to: Pawn Stars, Pickers, Ice Truckers, etc).
The only reason I watched this was due to the forum and a couple of friends sending emails about Ford being featured last night.
Rob
I'm pretty disappointed by the inaccuracies. Especially if they existed during the Cornelius Vanderbilt segment. One of the "experts" used during this segment was a friend of mine who finished writing a book about Vanderbilt a couple years ago. He won a Pulitzer for the book. He also wrote a book on Jessie James and is currently working on Custer. He spends many, many years researching his work and I think would be very disappointed if they screwed up any part of his research. I always enjoy seeing him on the history channel as an "expert". I've had him sign first edition books on Jessie James and Vanderbilt. He keeps signing them to me personally so the signature would never mean anything to anyone else but means a lot to me. I haven't heard a report on how the Custer book is coming but I'm going to have to pester his dad and his brother to get an update.
I agree with Gary, the History Channel and the Discovery Channel have stretched their names to amazingly distorted lengths.