* Witnessing early automobiles: Ford saw early internal combustion engine vehicles and recognized their potential, though they were expensive and unreliable. He saw the opportunity to make them accessible to the average person.
* His experience as a machinist and engineer: His background gave him the practical skills and understanding of mechanics necessary to improve existing designs and streamline manufacturing.
* The desire for efficient, affordable transportation: He recognized the need for a reliable and inexpensive mode of transportation that could move people and goods more efficiently than horse-drawn carriages. This was particularly relevant to the growing industrial economy.
* The assembly line: While not the inventor, Ford significantly refined and perfected the assembly line process, allowing for mass production of cars at an unprecedented scale. This was a crucial element in making cars affordable. The inspiration for this was likely a combination of observations in other industries (like meatpacking) and his own drive for efficiency.
* The growing middle class: The burgeoning middle class in the early 20th century provided a growing market for affordable automobiles, making Ford's vision of mass production economically viable.
In short, it wasn't a single "eureka" moment, but a combination of witnessing existing technology, possessing the skills to improve it, identifying a market need, and innovating the manufacturing process that drove Ford's success in making the car affordable and accessible.
