Scott's Car Library - Ford Thunderbird

Ford Thunderbird

The Thunderbird or T-bird was first developed in the early 50’s by the Ford Motor Company. Its first production year was 1955 with them first being offered in September of ‘54. Ford designed the T-bird as a direct competitor to Chevrolet’s Corvette. The first Thunderbirds were two seaters with moderate engines and little trunk space. After the Thunderbird’s huge success in 1955 Ford addressed the trunk space problem by moving the spare tire to a hard case on the rear bumper. Ford also started to offer a larger more powerful engine as an extra option.

Dispite the success of the T-bird in its first three years, Ford thought that not enough people would buy the Thunderbird any more because of growing families in the U.S. Ford said that the only way that it would keep the bird was by making it a four seater. In 1958 the first of the four seater birds rolled of the production line at Ford. This 2nd generation of Thunderbird was dubbed the “Square Bird” because of its square roof line. Even though this change in design saved the T-bird, the outside design did not last long. By 1960 the bird was redesigned to appeal to the younger crowd.

The sixties were good times for the sales of the Thunderbird. In just on year in the early sixties sales were higher than the first three years combined. However the sixties were not all good for the T-bird. With more and more government safety regulations the convertible option of the Thunderbird was discontinued. Ford replaced the convertible option with a four door option, however this was not popular at all and was also discontinued after a couple of years in production. The emissions standards set by the government were starting to come into play the engines were forced to be smaller therefore putting out less power. It was these regulations that stifled the sales of the T-bird in the seventies.

The seventies were not good times for the entire automotive industry. Starting with the emissions standards set by the government and pushed by the environmentalists put an end to the powerful engines that the car companies were putting in their cars. What added to the problem was the oil embargo on the U.S. by OPEC. With changes in management at Ford the Thunderbird started to look more like a regular car rather than the distinctive image that it had created for itself in the previous twenty years. However the next twenty years started to look up for the declining bird.

The 1983 redesign of the Thunderbird proved to be a turning point for the car. It became more aerodynamic which made it possible to put a larger engine in it and still meet the government standards set in the sixties and seventies. Even with the popularity of the Thunderbird still high Ford discontinued it in the mid ‘90s. However the outcry from the Thunderbird fans forced Ford to think about coming out with a new completely redesigned T-bird. The concept car was unveiled at the 1999 Detroit Car Show and looks more like the Thunderbird of the 1950’s rather than where it was left off in the mid ‘90s.

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