The real story

No documented evidence places this quote in Ford's actual writings or verified speeches. Ford died in 1947, but the saying was not linked to him until 1999, when cruise designer John McNeece speculated about what Ford's customers might have wanted. The first direct attribution to Ford appeared in a 2001 Marketing Week letter. Conceptually similar ideas about faster horses vs. new technology appeared in print as early as 1930 (Edward J. v. K. Menge) and 1946 (Lewis Mumford), with no Ford connection. Quote Investigator concludes this is an apocryphal attribution.