Henry Ford famously offered the Model T automobile in any color the customer wanted, as long as that color was black, but this was not actually an artistic choice.

A closer look

Henry Ford famously offered the Model T automobile in any color the customer wanted, as long as that color was black, but this was not actually an artistic choice. Between 1914 and 1925, the automotive assembly line moved so incredibly fast that black was the only paint cheap and durable enough to dry quickly before the cars rolled out of the factory. Ford literally sacrificed aesthetic variety solely to maximize profit margins and output speed, establishing the soulless corporate efficiency that perfectly defines the modern auto industry. Today we have endless color options, yet seventy percent of new car buyers inexplicably choose white, gray, or silver, proving that giving consumers free will was probably a massive waste of time anyway