Henry Ford gave a 1916 Model T to friend Thomas Edison. American Dream has it on display
It only has a top speed of about 45 mph, but that hasn't kept Thomas Edison's 108-year-old Ford Model T from becoming the centerpiece for a simulated ride to the moon at American Dream mall.
This week, Edison's antique car was exhibited at the Thomas Edison National Historical Park in West Orange before its trip to East Rutherford. A 1916 Model T gifted to Edison by Henry Ford will be displayed at the Entertainment and Learning Center opening at American Dream in June, according to New Jersey Hall of Fame officials. That 10,000-square-foot center is set to house the New Jersey Hall of Fame and exhibits such as the simulated space ride called "Fly Me to the Moon."
"We want Edison's spirit of innovation to inspire new generations of inventors at his new home at American Dream," said John Keegan, president and chairman of the Charles Edison Fund and Edison Innovation Foundation and chairman emeritus of the New Jersey Hall of Fame.
The Edison Innovation Foundation, which owns the vehicle, had it delivered earlier this month from its longtime home in Ft. Myers, Florida, according to foundation records. There, Ford and Edison had neighboring winter estates and went for rides together on the local wagon-rutted roads.
Edison, one of the New Jersey Hall of Fame's first inductees, is known as one of America's greatest minds due to a slew of inventions credited to him in the 19th and 20th centuries. Ford, a mechanic and engineer, is best known for his self-named car company that helped build the modern American economy.
Ford, who previously founded what became the Cadillac Automobile Company, was nearly 40 years old when he founded the Ford Motor Company in June 1903. In its first few years, it produced eight models that had limited sales due in part to production restrictions. In 1908, Ford changed all that by introducing the mass-produced Model T. The car was a hit. Millions were sold over two decades.
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That all might not have happened if Edison hadn't allegedly encouraged Ford to improve his design following an 1896 meeting. Edison later put his own spin on the Model T, namely using latex tires made from goldenrod stems, something he experimented with in the 1920s.
"Edison never can do enough," Ford said before a tour of the Edison works in 1914, according to the Newark Star-Eagle. "He still is working out things that will do the most good for the most people. That has been his object throughout life. Whenever he has invented something new he has not thought 'How much can I make out of this?' but 'How can I use it so it will do the most good?'"
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Model T given to Thomas Edison by Henry Ford on display in NJ
