evidence: Why Henry Ford's Most Famous Quote Is Dead Wrong If Ford had asked people what they wanted, would they really have said 'faster horses?' [...] Henry Ford was one of the world's great innovators and a quotable gentleman at that, particularly in the realms of business and innovation. Perhaps the most famous quote attributed to Ford is this: "If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses." [...] In fact, customers would probably have told Ford exactly what they wanted -- specifically, a faster mode of transportation. They might not have mentioned the need for a combustion engine, but that's part of the art and science of understanding customer feedback.