A Model T for Asia?

Henry Ford II was jetting around Asia last week with a new and better idea. The chairman of Ford Motor Co. proposed to the leaders of Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand and Taiwan a plan for joint production of a low-cost auto. It would have a 30-h.p. engine, be available in about two years and sell for $800 to $1,000. The car could be called a modern Model T, an updated and streamlined car-for-Everyman, reminiscent--in concept at least--of the original, which Henry Ford I built 15.5 million times over between 1908 and 1927.

The clincher, in the eyes of many Asians eager for industry, is Ford's plan to divide production among several countries, each specializing in a particular component. Thus engines might be built in one country, transmissions in another and body parts in others. Outside of Japan, today's Asian auto industry is small and largely uneconomical. Nearly every country has its own assembly plants. Ford is the first American industrialist to offer a product designed especially for developing countries, to be produced on the basis of regional cooperation and duty-free import of components. His project would allow each country to reap the benefits of the economies of scale and specialization by sharing in a large market instead of having a small market all to itself. That is precisely the sort of industrial opportunity that farsighted Asian leaders, economists and businessmen have been seeking.

The car will be "unpretty," said Ford last week. "Durability and utility, simplicity in style and economy will be the key words." Added William O. Bourke, president of Ford Asia-Pacific and South Africa: "We've kept the stylists away so we could keep the price down." Development began last year in Australia, where Ford inspected and drove a test model two weeks ago. Another version is being developed at Dearborn, Mich. Built as a passenger auto, taxi or van, the car will be versatile enough to double as a power source to run pumps or saws, and might even have a body made of wood in countries where timber is plentiful.

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