That's bad user research. You don't ask them what they want, you ask them what individual features are helpful (e.g. "speed", in the case of Henry Ford), and yo

That's bad user research. You don't ask them what they want, you ask them what individual features are helpful (e.g. "speed", in the case of Henry Ford), and you give them some product options and ask them which one they most prefer, and why. The top speed of a Model T was about 42 MPH, comparable to the fastest horses. So Ford wasn't delivering on this user request regardless. https://techhistorian.com/ford-model-t-top-speed/ https://techhistorian.com/ford-model-t-top-speed/ https://horseyhooves.com/how-fast-can-a-horse-run/ https://horseyhooves.com/how-fast-can-a-horse-run/ While horses couldn't maintain this speed for long, horses also broke down much less frequently than the earliest cars. Given what was state of the art at the time, I would believe that people would have asked for smaller trains that don't need a track, and not for "faster horses", if they'd been given the question. And this smaller, trackless train, is effectively what automotive manufacturers delivered.