“The Public Can Have Any Color It Wants, So Long As It’s Black”

The 1910 Ford Model T.

On the assembly line, Ford Motor Company, because of its state-of-the-art engineering, could produce a Model T, start to finish, in 93 minutes.

At such a hectic pace, the only exterior finish that would dry fast enough was black Japan enamel. Any other exterior finish would have bogged down production.