Fordism and consumer credit: the rise of automobile finance and installment buying (1919–1940)

1. Ford’s moving assembly line scales Model T output

   Oct 1, 1913Labels: Highland Park, Moving assembly

   • Library Congress
   • HISTORY

2. Ford announces the $5 day and 8-hour shift

   Jan 12, 1914Labels: Henry Ford, 5 day

   • Ford Timeline
   • HFHA

3. CIT adopts auto financing as a major business line

   Jan 1, 1916Labels: Commercial Investment, Finance company

   • CIT history

4. GM creates GMAC to expand installment auto sales

   Jan 1, 1919Labels: General Motors, GMAC

   • SEC filing
   • Cambridge ES

5. Installment buying becomes mainstream in car retailing

   Jan 1, 1920Labels: Car dealers, Installment credit

   • Cambridge LSI

6. GM’s financing model normalizes “buy now, pay later”

   Jan 1, 1923Labels: GMAC, Buy now

   • Cambridge ES
   • Cambridge LSI

7. Ford introduces the Model A amid changing demand

   Dec 2, 1927Labels: Ford Motor, Model A

   • Smithsonian
   • The Henry Ford

8. Ford helps create Universal Credit Corporation (UCC)

   Jan 1, 1928Labels: Universal Credit, Ford

   • UCC summary

9. Auto sales and installment debt swell before the crash

   Jan 1, 1930Labels: Installment debt, Auto sales

   • Cambridge LSI

10. Ford sells UCC during Depression-era financial stress

    Jan 1, 1932Labels: Universal Credit, Henry Ford

    • UCC summary

11. NIRA sets wage and hour goals for industrial recovery

    Jun 16, 1933Labels: NIRA, Industrial codes

    • National Archives
    • NIRA summary

12. Wagner Act strengthens collective bargaining in industry

    Jul 5, 1935Labels: Wagner Act, National Labor

    • NLRB history
    • National Archives

13. FLSA establishes nationwide wage-and-hour standards

    Jun 25, 1938Labels: FLSA, Federal labor

    • US DOL
    • FLSA summary

14. By 1940, auto credit is an established mass-market system

    Jan 1, 1940Labels: Auto credit, Mass-market finance

    • Cambridge LSI