Ford Motor Co. Celebrates 100th Birthday with Model T Rides, Old Bethpage Village Counters with 1903 Horse-Drawn Wagon

               Horse vs. Horseless Carriage: Media Preview

                 Friday, May 23         11 a.m. - 1 p.m.
             Old Bethpage Village Restoration Spring Festival
   Round Swamp Road, 1/2 half mile south of the Long Island Expressway/
       I-495 at Exit 48 or Exit 39 South off Northern State Parkway

100 years ago, Henry Ford changed the world. His moving assembly line made cars -- and virtually every other product in our homes and garages today -- affordable. His $5-a-day wage for factory workers virtually created a middle class. His Model T replaced the horse and changed forever our landscape.

Ford will celebrate its centennial with a stop on its 100-city tour on Long Island during Old Bethpage Village Restoration's Spring Festival on May 24. Media Preview May 23:

* Journalists can ride in the Model T100, one of six modern Model Ts painstakingly recreated for the celebration. Interview its creator on the modern research and technology that produced these museum pieces. Driver in period costume.

* Old Bethpage Village Restoration counters with horse-drawn 1903 Brewster wagon

* Ford Centennial Tent displays model cars, video history, displays

* Ford Motor Company's most beloved modern vehicles also on display, including a prototype of the 2004 Ford F-150 pickup, the best-selling vehicle in the world.

* Representative of Old Bethpage Village Restoration available to talk about the Memorial Day Weekend Spring Festival: Period horse and wagon displays, sheep shearing, agricultural displays, brass band, Old Time Base Ball and other events.