A friend shared this photo of a 1906 Ford Model K. Ford Motor Co. sold just over 300 1906 Model K, listing for $2,500. Another 6 - 10 were sold through Ford of Canada.
While a small number by today’s standards, this number made Ford the largest six cylinder producer in the world. The Model K, like Ford’s other 1906 offering, the Model N, was the least expensive car in its market. Unique features included Ford’s own magneto design (developed by Ed Huff, major designer of the Ford Model T low tension mag). This magneto is more accurately described as the world’s first production CDI (capacitive discharge ignition) system. The mag was patented to Henry Ford and he and friend George Holley also sold the mag aftermarket through Holley Bros. For 1906, the Ford Model K provided 85% of Fords new car revenue (profit) and actually provided almost to the dollar all of the company’s profit for that year, keeping the company in the black during a major transition year as Model N production suffered from design and production delays.
While many historians mistakenly blame the Model K for dragging the company down, the reality (I have the receipts) is, the Model K kept the company profitable in 1906, and made a significant profit each of its three model years, 1906-1908. The rest is history..
