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 At 90, Model T is back on course
But driving historic automobile not easy
By Anita Lienert / The Detroit News

DEARBORN -- I flunked Driver's Ed: 1923.
    That's the new course being offered by the Henry Ford Museum & Greenfield Village designed to teach the rather complicated task (by today's standards) of driving a Ford Model T.
    I had a private version of the course Thursday morning, in advance of the celebration of the 90th anniversary of the Model T, the most significant vehicle in automotive history.
    At the celebration, Edsel B. Ford II, great-grandson of Henry Ford, hosted a by-invitation-only lunch and then lead Model T owners in an afternoon parade, which was open to the public.
    But back to my personal driving fiasco, which was doomed from the start. I chose to ignore the history books that warned me a Model T could be conquered.
    "A piece of wire, a hairpin and a screwdriver were all that was needed to keep it running," one advised. But all I carried in my purse were a cell phone and a tube of lipstick.
    That oversight didn't seem to faze my instructor, Guy G. Zaninovich, 32, the historical operating machinery specialist who gave me my lesson.
    "The hardest thing to starting a Model T is cranking them over when it's cold -- and by that I mean below 50 degrees," he said, shivering in the 40-degree wind. "But don't worry. I've already had this one running."
    Our test model was a 1923 black version that cost $360 when it was new. It was a fairly naked car with only a handful of options, including a lap-robe rail in the rear, aluminum step-plates on the running boards, a rearview mirror and a starter, just in case I had too much trouble turning the crank.
    There were no seat belts, air conditioning, heater, air bags or cupholder, but oddly enough it did have a primitive anti-theft device -- a steering wheel that could be locked with a separate key.
    "OK, there are eight steps to starting this," Zaninovich said, rattling off a confusing list and pointing to the car's three pedals -- clutch, reverse and brake. "Just forget everything you know about driving a conventional stick."
    There's no gas pedal on a Model T. To accelerate, you operate a lever to the right of the steering wheel. There's also no driver's side door.
    "Henry was cheap," Zaninovich said, referring to the auto pioneer whose Model T with its moving assembly line changed the face of manufacturing and created America's middle class. "The car was basic and ill-equipped."
    It also became a significant part of popular culture. Zaninovich, who has a degree in film and TV production from New York University, said comedians Laurel and Hardy "made the Model T famous," by using it in 80 percent of their films.
    "W.C. Fields used it all the time, and so did the Three Stooges," he said.
    I felt rather Stooge-like maneuvering the Model T through the crowds of elementary-school kids visiting the Village that morning. If it wasn't for Zaninovich constantly shouting instructions to me, including "Don't drive into the lake!" I never would have made it.
    Attempting to start the Model T with the crank was even worse. It took me 20 minutes to hear the engine rumble to life.
    When I asked Zaninovich to assess my performance, he said "I attribute your problem to coordination -- plus you need practice." But he said if he was grading me I'd get a B+. I noticed that he rolled his eyes while saying this.

Tin Lizzie facts

    The car known affectionately as the Tin Lizzie and the Flivver became the first dependable, widely affordable automobile. Some facts:
   * The first factory-made Model T appeared in October 1908 and sold for $850. For the next 19 years the Model T was Ford's sole model.
   * More than 17,000 Model Ts were sold during its first year, a phenomenal record. Four years earlier, the world's entire automobile industry produced 22,000 cars. By the end of World War I, almost half the cars on earth were Model Ts.
   * By 1914, the Ford Highland Park Plant alone produced almost 250,000 Model Ts. More than 700,000 were built in 1917.
   
    Driver's Ed: 1923 will be offered again in the spring at Greenfield Village in Dearborn. The two-hour course costs $65 and is limited to three people per class. For more information, call (313) 982-6100 and ask for the membership office.