# Ford - A Car for Everyone - Commoncog Case Library **URL:** \ **Category:** Blog Comments\ **Created:** [November 22, 2023, 4:16am UTC](https://forum.commoncog.com/t/ford-a-car-for-everyone-commoncog-case-library/1668 "2023-11-22T04:16:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![cedric](https://forum.commoncog.com/user_avatar/forum.commoncog.com/cedric/32/3_2.png) [@cedric](https://forum.commoncog.com/u/cedric)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2023, 4:16am UTC](https://forum.commoncog.com/t/ford-a-car-for-everyone-commoncog-case-library/1668/1 "2023-11-22T04:16:36Z")
Henry Ford didn’t invent the gas-powered car, nor did he invent the assembly line, but he changed the way we live our lives by introducing _the_ inexpensive, mass-market car — [the Model T](https://www.encyclopedia.com/history/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/how-things-got-bigger-economy-scale). * * * This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at [https://commoncog.com/c/cases/ford-a-car-for-everyone](https://commoncog.com/c/cases/ford-a-car-for-everyone) ---
**Author:** ![cedric](https://forum.commoncog.com/user_avatar/forum.commoncog.com/cedric/32/3_2.png) [@cedric](https://forum.commoncog.com/u/cedric)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2023, 4:17am UTC](https://forum.commoncog.com/t/ford-a-car-for-everyone-commoncog-case-library/1668/2 "2023-11-22T04:17:50Z")
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**Author:** ![ajzitz](https://forum.commoncog.com/user_avatar/forum.commoncog.com/ajzitz/32/917_2.png) [@ajzitz](https://forum.commoncog.com/u/ajzitz)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2023, 4:26pm UTC](https://forum.commoncog.com/t/ford-a-car-for-everyone-commoncog-case-library/1668/3 "2023-11-21T16:26:15Z")
This was a good case. Could you argue this was the first instance of scale economies shared, the model that Costco is famous for? They did all they could to reduce price: reducing transport cost by assembling closer to the consumer; were ruthless with waste and tried to repurpose; tried to insource any production they could; invested the assembly line to reduce production time; and did not overbuy / hedge. ---
**Author:** ![cedric](https://forum.commoncog.com/user_avatar/forum.commoncog.com/cedric/32/3_2.png) [@cedric](https://forum.commoncog.com/u/cedric)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2023, 4:32pm UTC](https://forum.commoncog.com/t/ford-a-car-for-everyone-commoncog-case-library/1668/4 "2023-11-21T16:32:06Z")
Ooh yes, absolutely. It’s a little wild, but Sleep and Zakaria actually _do_ call out Ford as an example of scale economies shared in the Nomad letters! ---
**Author:** ![ajzitz](https://forum.commoncog.com/user_avatar/forum.commoncog.com/ajzitz/32/917_2.png) [@ajzitz](https://forum.commoncog.com/u/ajzitz)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2023, 7:08pm UTC](https://forum.commoncog.com/t/ford-a-car-for-everyone-commoncog-case-library/1668/5 "2023-11-27T19:08:48Z")
I’ve tried to summarize this case - very helpful. One aspect worth pondering: as Ford lost its edge, it was because the market evolved aware from them - a demand for different colors, features, etc. So, the cost edge was replaced. Nothing is stationary! In addition, a lot of the automotive cost structure is variable today. Finally, and I am trying to find the quote, but the competitive battle is so fierce and there so many areas for differentiation, brands, features, financing, that it is a noisy competitive battle to begin with.