Ernest Pfennig, a Chicago dentist, became the first owner of a Model A on July 23, 1903;[4] 1,750 cars were made in 1903 and 1904 at the Ford Mack Avenue Plant, a modest rented wood-frame building on Detroit's East Side, and Ford's first facility.

The car came as a two-seater runabout for $800 or the $900 [5] four-seater tonneau model with an option to add a top.

A planetary transmission was fitted with two forward speeds and reverse, a Ford signature later seen on the Ford Model T. The car weighed 1,240 lb (562 kg) and could reach a top speed of 28 mph (45 km/h).

[4] The company had spent almost its entire $28,000 initial investment funds ($949,511 in 2023 dollars [6]) with only $223.65 left in its bank account when the first Model A was sold.

[7] Although Ford advertised the Model A as the "most reliable machine in the world", it suffered from many problems common to vehicles of the era, including overheating and slipping transmission bands.