Ford · 1955–present

Ford Thunderbird

The Ford Thunderbird is a personal luxury car manufactured and marketed by Ford Motor Company for model years 1955 to 2005, with a hiatus from 1998 to 2001. Ultimately gaining a broadly used colloquial nickname, the T-Bird, the model was introduced as a two-seat convertible, subsequently offered variously in a host of body styles including as a four-seat hardtop coupe, four-seat convertible, five-seat convertible and hardtop, four-door pillared hardtop sedan, six-passenger hardtop coupe, and five-passenger pillared coupe, before returning in its final generation, again as a two-seat convertible. At its inception, Ford targeted the two-seat Thunderbird as an upscale model. The 1958 model year design introduced a rear seat and arguably marked the expansion of a market segment that came to be known as personal luxury cars, positioned to emphasize comfort and convenience over handling and high-speed performance.

Text from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).

All Ford Thunderbird data: UK builds, safety, recalls, model years →

Overview

The Thunderbird entered production for the 1955 model year, marketed as an upscale, "sporty" two-seat convertible rather than as a sports car, per se — averting direct competition with the Chevrolet Corvette. With the 1958 introduction of second row seating, the Thunderbird led a new market segment, the so-called personal luxury car. Subsequent generations became successively larger until the line was downsized, first in 1977, again for 1980, and once again in 1983. By the 1990s, the Thunderbird's core market, the large two-door coupe, had fallen almost completely out of favor. Production ended with the 1997 model year, resuming again from 2002 to 2005 as a smaller two-passenger convertible. From its introduction in 1955 to its end in 2005, production reached over 4.4 million.

Development

A smaller two-seater sports roadster, named the Vega, was developed in 1953 at the request of Henry Ford II. The completed one-off generated interest at the time, but had meager power, European looks, and a correspondingly high cost, so it never proceeded to production. The Thunderbird was similar in concept but was more American in style, more luxurious, and less sport-oriented. Credit for the development of the original Thunderbird is given to Lewis Crusoe, a former GM executive lured out of retirement by Henry Ford II; George Walker, chief stylist and a Ford vice president; Frank Hershey, chief stylist for the Ford Division; Bill Boyer, designer for the Body Development Studio, who became the manager of the Thunderbird Studio in the spring of 1955; and Bill Burnett, chief engineer. Ford Designer William P. Boyer was the lead stylist on the original 1955 two-seater Thunderbird and also had input in the following series of Thunderbirds that included the 30th Anniversary Edition. Hershey's participation in the creation of the Thunderbird was more administrative than artistic. Crusoe and Walker met in France in October 1951. Walking in the Grand Palais in Paris, Crusoe pointed at a sports car and asked Walker, "Why can't we have something like that?" Some versions of the story claim that Walker replied by telling Crusoe, "Oh, we're working on it..." Although if anything existed at the time beyond casual dream-car sketches by members of the design staff, records of it have never come to light. Walker promptly telephoned Ford's HQ in Dearborn and told designer Frank Hershey about the conversation with Crusoe. Hershey took the idea and began working on the vehicle. The concept was for a two-passenger open car, with a target weight of 2,525 lb (1,145 kg), a 252 cu in (4.1 L)

Generations

=== First generation (1955–1957) === The Ford Thunderbird was introduced in February 1953 as a response to Chevrolet's new sports car, the Corvette, which was publicly unveiled in prototype form just a month before. Under rapid development, the Thunderbird went from idea to prototype in about a year, being unveiled to the public at the Detroit Auto Show on February 20, 1954. It was a two-seat design available with a detachable fiberglass hardtop and a folding fabric top. Production of the Thunderbird began on September 9 of that year, with the car beginning sales as a 1955 model on October 22, 1954. Though sharing some design characteristics with other Fords of the time such as single circular headlamps and tail lamps, and modest tail fins, the Thunderbird was sleeker in shape and featured a hood scoop and a 150 mph (240 km/h) speedometer not available on other Fords. It used mechanical components from mass-market Ford models. The Thunderbird's 102.0 in (2,591 mm) wheelbase frame was a shortened version used in other Fords and the standard 292 cu in (4.8 L) Y-block V8 came from Ford's Mercury division. Though inspired by and positioned directly against the Corvette, Ford advertised the Thunderbird at launch as a "personal car of distinction" and put a greater emphasis on the car's comfort and convenience features rather than its inherent sportiness. The Thunderbird sold exceptionally well in its first year, outselling the Corvette by more than 23-to-one in 1955 with 16,155 Thunderbirds sold against 700 Corvettes. With the Thunderbird considered a success, few changes were made to the car for the 1956 model year. The most notable change was moving the spare tire to a Continental-style rear bumper to make more storage room in the trunk and a new 12-volt electrical system

Convertible models

Alongside the original two-seat Thunderbirds of 1955-1957, the Thunderbird was offered as a soft-top convertible from 1958 through 1966. The model shared its convertible top retraction mechanism with the Ford Skyliner retractable-hardtop convertible and would also be shared the 1960s Lincoln Continental convertible. When the top was stowed, the rear-hinged trunklid was raised in order for the forward edge of the trunklid to serve as a metal boot cover. Though the hydraulically powered design reduced available trunk space, the metal top boot negated the need for a separate cover. Unlike hardtop models that used a conventional key-secured, forward-hinged design, the convertibles combined the trunk opening and closing within the convertible top operating system. The Skyliner-derived design could present challenges for troubleshooting a convertible top malfunction. The system consists of solenoids, relays, limit switches, electric motors, and a hydraulic pump/reservoir, as well as several hydraulic directional valves and cylinders. While the hydraulic system is not often a cause for trouble, electrical relays are known to fail. Malfunction of any of the numerous relays, motors, or limit switches prevents the convertible system from completing the cycle. For 1962 to 1964, the Ford offered convertible Thunderbirds with a rare "Sports Roadster" option, with a fiberglass tonneau cover over the rear seat offering the appearance of a two-seat car; the Sports Roadster packaged was sometimes combined with even rarer options including higher-performance engines and wire-spoke wheels.

NASCAR

Thunderbirds first made inroads into NASCAR racing in the 1959 season. The combination of the second-generation body style and the newly available 430 CID V8 took drivers Curtis Turner, Johnny Beauchamp, "Tiger" Tom Pistone, and Cotton Owens to victory lane. In the 1960 season, most teams returned to using the conventional full-sized Ford body style, and the T-Bird made only sporadic appearances through the rest of the 1960s, with no additional wins. Beginning in 1977, Thunderbird-bodied racecars replaced the Torino as Ford's primary body style in NASCAR, starting a trend of luxury coupe-type body styles (eventually the 1981 Imperial would also be seen racing) being used as a sheet-metal source on the race track. Bobby Allison won 13 races with this car driving for owner Bud Moore in the 1977 to 1980 seasons, though the cars looked boxy and un-aerodynamic. During 1981–1997, the downsized and aerodynamically clean Thunderbirds were successful in NASCAR stock car racing before they were replaced by Taurus-based bodies in 1998. The 1983 to 1988-bodied exceeded 200 mph and in one case during a qualifying session set the record of the fastest lap in stock car history at 44.998 seconds with an average speed of 212.809 mph (342.483 km/h) at Talladega Superspeedway, a record that still stands. Bill Elliott and Davey Allison, in particular, were successful with the cars, with Elliott winning the 1988 championship. Alan Kulwicki also won the championship in 1992 in a car nicknamed "Underbird", for his underdog status as a driver. The last time a Thunderbird was used in the Cup Series was when Billy Standridge failed to qualify for the 1999 Daytona 500.

Sections adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0); text is shortened. Read the full article for the complete history and citations.