This revolutionary car was made to look like a revolutionary camera.
Back in the day, businesses were looking for creative ways to promote themselves using cars. Wraps hadn’t been invented and hand-painted lettering on the sides was the common method. Kodak decided it wanted to take things a step further, using this 1914 Model T and morphing it into the shape of a folding camera from the time.
The ways that Kodak and whoever helped with this customization created a vintage camera on wheels was genius. Surely this craftsmanship helped to inspire other vehicles shaped to promote products, like the Oscar Meyer Wienermobile and the Red Bull Wings Team Mini Coopers. Where the driver and passenger sit is the body of the camera. Extending down the flat payload is the fold-out portion of the camera, with wood cut-outs bolted together to look like the hinge mechanism. Two faux lenses in the rear portion of the vehicle, plus the name “Kodak” in big letters makes it obvious exactly what this Ford Model T is advertising. Even more amazing, the camera portion of this vehicle is all to scale, so it doesn’t look weird in the least.
Of course, the nose of this car is original, including the flat windshield and brass grille. Gold pinstriping on the hood and all four black fenders is a nice original touch for the Ford.
Being an early automobile, this Model T isn’t even close to quick by today’s standards. A 4-cylinder engine with 20-horsepower on tap scoots it forward, with the help of the 2-speed planetary transmission.
The Ford Model T helped transform America by making the automobile affordable for the average household. It was so popular that between 1908 and 1927 Ford churned out 15 million cars. Kodak similarly spread cameras across the nation, so the average American could start taking snapshots of everyday life. You can get this incredibly unique Ford Model T through Volo Auto Museum.
