"You could get any color you wanted so long as it's black."
The film begins with black and white photos of Henry Ford's new Model T car. His creation moved the country forward in more than one literal way. He not only created the new mode of transportation for the world, but he also created the way in which nearly everything would be made: the assembly line. Thus, this quote relates to the reality that people can create the life they want with any work they want, just as they can pick the color of their Model T Ford, so long as the work they choose is assembly work (i.e. so long as the color is black).
"Sure. Sure I can fix it."
A man pulls up to Charles' bicycle shop with his Stanley steamer car having broken down, he asks Howard if he can fix it. Howard says he can, when in reality he's never worked on one before. Nonetheless, the experience of tearing it apart and putting it back together teaches Howard all he needs to know about cars, and in so doing he not only fixes the man's car but makes it better.
"You don't throw a whole life away just 'cause you banged up a little."
Tom says this to Howard the first time he meets him, after Howard asks why he keeps the horse with a broken foot if it can never race again. Tom's perspective on life is not about dollars but about sense.
