WI Henry Ford had died of Spanish flu instead of the Dodge brothers?

Most of the price drops had been done by 1920, coming down to $395 that year, and gradual drops to $265 in 1925
From $395 to $265, in that era, isn't trivial...but I'll agree, the impact may be less than I thought.

I'm actually more concerned about the broader implications: does the *Model A (Z?) sell remotely as well as the OTL T? If not, does that lead to greater Detroit unemployment & a changed political climate?
 
From $395 to $265, in that era, isn't trivial...but I'll agree, the impact may be less than I thought.

I'm actually more concerned about the broader implications: does the *Model A (Z?) sell remotely as well as the OTL T? If not, does that lead to greater Detroit unemployment & a changed political climate?

I'd say an *A coming out in 1924 would have been in addition to the *T, since not all Plants would retool at the same time.

I use an Alt-T, as is likely that Edsel would have greenlit most of the '24-27 upgrades by 1922, plus I see him bringing in Lincoln and Mercury lines by time the original T was phased out, similar to how VW gradually phased out Beetle production, rather than shutting most everything down and retool for 18 months as OTL.

So I think FoMoCo wouldn't shed marketshare as OTL, and still be the #1 carmake by a comfortable margin
 
I'd say an *A coming out in 1924 would have been in addition to the *T, since not all Plants would retool at the same time.

I use an Alt-T, as is likely that Edsel would have greenlit most of the '24-27 upgrades by 1922, plus I see him bringing in Lincoln and Mercury lines by time the original T was phased out, similar to how VW gradually phased out Beetle production, rather than shutting most everything down and retool for 18 months as OTL.

So I think FoMoCo wouldn't shed marketshare as OTL, and still be the #1 carmake by a comfortable margin
Doing it that way makes a lot of sense. The phased change will avoid a lot of the shock I was expecting. I do think the end of the T will mean (some) loss of share, but maybe less than I thought; IDK how much. (I have to think the more expensive *A can't sell as well; how much of that is made up by Chevy &/or Dodge, or Plymouth, or Graham, IDK...) Does that put Ford at #2? No, not by a long shot. (If I implied otherwise, I was stupid.:eek::teary:)
 
I've read that Ford and Chevy preferred to build radial aircraft engines, because the inline, liquid-cooled Merlins required much tighter tolerances. True or not?
If anything I would expect the American companies to be better at producing Merlin engines due to their practices of mass production versus British methods of often requiring slight adjustments to be made to parts when assembling the engines, IIRC they had to delay things a little at the beginning as the British blueprints provided weren't drawn to tight enough tolerances for them.
 
I just realized that the P-63 Kingcobra was originally intended to have a Merlin rather than an Allison engine. If Edsel begins cranking out Merlin's in TTL and manages to produce more than Packard did I'd imagine that a large number of them could end up in TTL's P-63's if the USAAF decides to order any. Given the popularity of the P-63 postwar on the racing circuit, I could see them filling an interceptor niche.

If, however, the USAAF decides that they aren't worth it then I'd imagine that the USSR would have it's way and OTL's P-63 ends up coming about.

Another interesting possibility is raised by the P-39 variants ordered by the RAF. With earlier Merlin production, perhaps Bell and the Brits put two and two together and decide to stick a Ford-Merlin in the P-39? Assuming they put a properly supercharged one in, I'd imagine that the UK would not be disappointed with the top speed come their delivery in 1941.
 
I just realized that the P-63 Kingcobra was originally intended to have a Merlin rather than an Allison engine. If Edsel begins cranking out Merlin's in TTL and manages to produce more than Packard did I'd imagine that a large number of them could end up in TTL's P-63's if the USAAF decides to order any. Given the popularity of the P-63 postwar on the racing circuit, I could see them filling an interceptor niche.

If, however, the USAAF decides that they aren't worth it then I'd imagine that the USSR would have it's way and OTL's P-63 ends up coming about.

Another interesting possibility is raised by the P-39 variants ordered by the RAF. With earlier Merlin production, perhaps Bell and the Brits put two and two together and decide to stick a Ford-Merlin in the P-39? Assuming they put a properly supercharged one in, I'd imagine that the UK would not be disappointed with the top speed come their delivery in 1941.
By accounts, the *Lincoln-Merlin wouldn't be substantially sooner, so a Merlin P-39 is improbable. More production isn't certain, but the Merlin P-63 might happen. IMO, it's not good enough in the face of the P-51 t supplant it (or the P-47), so I'd guess you'd still see Allison P-63s going to SU & Lincoln Merlins going into P-51s & Canadian Lancs & Hurricanes (or Brit Spits).

A thought: does Ford have the industrial capacity in wartime to develop/build Griffons? I'm thinking either a licenced Rolls or a domestic variant.
 
A thought: does Ford have the industrial capacity in wartime to develop/build Griffons? I'm thinking either a licenced Rolls or a domestic variant.
Dodge didn't but didn't stop them from making a brand new factory that made better R-3350s than the ones C-W was building
 
Dodge didn't but didn't stop them from making a brand new factory that made better R-3350s than the ones C-W was building
Huh. I guess, with the wartime incentives to build new factories, if the management is inclined to, they can do just about whatever they like.

That being true, there might just be Ford-Griffon Mustangs (& Spitfires?) before WW2 ends.:cool:

After the war, what happens to Dodge? I'm thinking first musclecar (equal to the GTO, but a Valiant with, say, a 325 poly V8; I'd go bigger, to a 340 or 392, if I thought Dodge would build it), first 1hp/cid, & a NASCAR team that would giver the Hudson Hornets a run for their money. I'm thinking Ford has the *Road Runner at entry level, if the *Chevelle doesn't take that slot.

I'd also love to see a Dodge poly be the standard Top Fuel engine...but maybe Chrysler still beats them with the hemi--unless Ford's *Ardun OHV/hemi gets there before both of them... That just might mean the SB Chevy gets butterflied:eek:...in favor of the Olds, frex, or maybe the Buick. (A Buick V8 being the SB of choice: lighter than any of the rest, & more common, & parts cheaper...?:cool::cool:)

Can Dodge be one of the core companies of *AMC in the '50s? Along with Hudson, Packard, Nash, & Stude (& Willys?)? (I like the idea of Dodge & Packard quality together--&, frankly, of Packard surviving.:))

I'm also thinking, if I haven't said so yet, there'd have to be something like a Cad Corvette to answer the '30s *T-bird.:cool: Does it end up with the Sting Ray treatment? Or does Cad go the 4-seater route? Does Packard? (I tend to think they'd be more conservative, given their customer base--but they'll have to deal with Baby Boomers sooner or later...) Or are GM & Ford (& Dodge & Chrysler, for all that) offering 2- & 4-seaters across the price range?:cool: (A 2-seat Lincoln *T-bird, & a Cad *'vette, & the Olds *F88?:cool: And a 4-seater Chevy & Buick *'vette, like the proposed Biscayne? {Or does Buick get the "boy racer", higher-profit, version?})

The early appearance of the *T-bird & *'vette will only hurt Jag sales in the U.S. in the '50s... Not to mention Triumph's & MG's.

Can *AMC (I hesitate to propose Willys doing it, but...) build the first *ponycar? Or, conversely, the first musclecar? The Willys Aero is the right size, lacking only the big (relatively) V8. I'm not at all sure the "theft" of the Jeep from W-O can be butterflied...but if it can, there might be the money to introduce a "fun car" equivalent to the 'stang postwar. (Doing it on something more like the Henry J or Rambler American platform would be better, IMO, than the Aero's; can Nash & Willys, & Hudson, merge? The small Nash-based chassis & the Hudson power, with the Aero styling, & race breeding...:cool:)

Or, in all that, is my vision for what the car market looks like too limited?:eek:

Also, borrowing from the Slant-4 thread, if Willys/Nash does produce a "musclecar", does that encourage a Dodge poly slant 4 based on the tooling (if not the material) of the 325 (or *340, or *392?)?
 
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A Buick V8 being the SB of choice: lighter than any of the rest, & more common, & parts cheaper...?:cool::cool:)
Eh? Nailheads really weren't lighter or smaller, they are 600 pound class motors, SBC and Ford Windsors are noticeably lighter and smaller

Without the Mustang's marketing, the Plymouth Barracuda would have fit, or if Dodge or Plymouth would have had the LA lighter V8 273 in time to put into the Lancer/Valiant, since the 'A' Blocks, though not much larger in size, were heavier.
Think of what a Lancer with 326 'Red Ram' Poly motor would have done for racing, 240HP. Too bad they were ugly as sin
 
Eh? Nailheads really weren't lighter or smaller, they are 600 pound class motors, SBC and Ford Windsors are noticeably lighter and smaller
The later V8s were (are): the 350 & 455 noticeably, compared to the SBC & 454. (Not counting the 215s, which might stay in production TTL.)
Without the Mustang's marketing, the Plymouth Barracuda would have fit, or if Dodge or Plymouth would have had the LA lighter V8 273 in time to put into the Lancer/Valiant, since the 'A' Blocks, though not much larger in size, were heavier.
Think of what a Lancer with 326 'Red Ram' Poly motor would have done for racing, 240HP. Too bad they were ugly as sin
:cool: I wouldn't wipe out the late 'cuda (not a particular fan of the first generation, tho my uncle owned one). I'm just thinking, who gets there first? Maybe not Ford, TTL. (I do doubt the engines will resemble OTL much, tho... I'll agree, the equivalent of a Lancer with a Red Ram V8 could be fairly blistering.:cool: TTL, maybe the styling's better?)

My guess is, no matter who builds the first *ponycar, it's not going to be a modified grocery getter (per OTL 'stang), nor is it going to lead to monster V8s & an inability to turn corners... I won't say the drag racers don't see a benefit, but SCCA will, too. So will CanAm. And it might mean Packard, Cad, Chrysler, Dodge, Ford, Chevy, Buick?, Olds?, & *AMC (presuming that's Willys/Nash/Hudson, not Packard/Stude & co) all have Le Mans entrants at some point.:cool: It also means NASCAR's going to be much, much more interesting...:cool::cool:

Which also suggests there's going to be pressure on the tire companies to develop better racing tires to prevent the high-speed blowouts that helped kill the OTL Daytona.:cool: (Now, if they just have the wit to mount the wing on the trunk...:rolleyes: Take a lesson from the Judge? Which, TTL, might be a more-sensible {smaller} W/N/H *Rebel Machine...:cool:)

Edit: A quick look back for this. Wow. That would be awesome. :cool::cool:
 
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