As Ford reached the end of its 1911 model year on September 31, 1911 the automotive industry knew one thing for certain. The Model T Ford was the best selling car on the planet! Ford had sold about 40,000 Model T’s during the 1911 model year, about 25% more than it had sold during the 1909 and 1910 model years combined! Nearly the entire chassis and engine had been revised during the 1911 model year, making production easier and the cars more reliable. No doubt the 1912 season was going to be even better for Ford.
Ford announced its offerings for the 1912 season as the touring, town car, torpedo runabout, open runabout, and the delivery car. Not shown in the catalog but available were the bare chassis. Not advertised or listed in the catalog, a handful of 1912 Model T coupes were built, probably for Ford executives. At the beginning of the model year the touring bodies were the same as those used at the end of the 1911 model year as seen above. The firewall is the “two piece” variety. Ford announced at the beginning of 1912 model year that new removable “fore doors” would be standard equipment on all Model T tourings. Ford was doing this in response to trends seen in the rest of the automotive industry. The Model T was “old fashioned” looking with no front doors.