In the hot rod community there is a strong contingent of T-Bucket fans; those who love the modified and souped-up, chopped and/or lowered Ford Model T. But do you know all there is to know about the origin and history of the car that very well may have started the hot rodding hobby as we know it today? Well, most likely no one does, and if he or she claims to, then it’s smack talk time, but here’s some factoids about the “T” we found thanks to Hemmings Daily that will amuse and amaze.

The Ford Model T began production in October, 1908, at Ford’s Piquette Avenue plant in Detroit, Michigan, but was being design as early as four years prior. Its construction was based on what Ford had learned from the Models N, R and S. You could get one for as little as $825.

There were less expensive new cars, but none offered the stronger vanadium steel Ford used in the Model T. Only the French luxury cars that were much more expensive used this stronger steel alloy.

It’s a myth the Model T was only available in black. The first model year, you could buy your T in green, red, blue or gray. Black was offered the second year the car was on the market. Eventually all Model Ts were painted black to make manufacturing quicker. Speeding up assembly drove cost down. Who would lower cost today?

The car’s engine was a 177 ci inline-four banger that was the first to offer a removable cylinder head. It made a whopping 20 hp and was backed up by a three-speed manual transmission that had two forward gears and reverse. Under ideal conditions it was said to top out at 45 MPH. And the manufacturer claimed it delivered 21 MPG. How many cars today get that?

And you think flex-fuel capability is something the automotive engineers dreamed up recently? Henry Ford delivered flex-fuel burning Model T’s when gasoline was not easy to make or find. They could run on gasoline, kerosene or ethanol.

The Model T came in Touring, Runabout, Coupe and Town body styles, ranging in price from $825 (Runabout) to $1,000 (Town). The Model T Delivery (1912) came with an enclosed van-style body for $700. During the T’s 19-year run, Ford set production records, 2 million Model Ts were built in 1917, 5 million in 1921 and 10 million in 1924. And when production ended in 1927, more than 15 million Model Ts had been built. That record stood until 1972 when the Volkswagen Beetle broke it.

Some say Ford invented the assembly line, but many non-moving lines existed at the time. He created the first moving assembly line, but it’s likely if he had not, some other automotive manufacturer would have sooner or later.

The Model T did however pioneer stronger steels, a separate cylinder head and block, multi-fuel engines, and will always be remembered as one of the cars that truly began the hot rod era.