Hershey took the idea and began working on the vehicle. Walker promptly telephoned Ford's HQ in Dearborn and told designer Frank Hershey about the conversation with Crusoe. 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. 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". Crusoe and Walker met in France in October 1951. Hershey's participation in the creation of the Thunderbird was more administrative than artistic.
57 THUNDERBIRD DOOR PANELS SERIES
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. The Thunderbird was similar in concept, but was more American in style, more luxurious, and less sport-oriented.Ĭredit 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.
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.
Development Ī smaller two-seater sports roadster was developed at the behest of Henry Ford II in 1953 called the Vega. Thunderbird production ended in 1997, then briefly resumed as a two-passenger, marketed from 2002 to 2005.įrom its introduction in 1955 to its final phaseout in 2005, Ford produced over 4.4 million Thunderbirds. Sales were good until the 1990s when large two-door coupes became unpopular. Succeeding generations became larger until the line was downsized in 1977, again in 1980, and once again in 1983. For 1958, the Thunderbird was redesigned with a second row of seats. Ford positioned the Thunderbird as an upscale model and it is credited in developing a new market segment, the personal luxury car. Unlike the Chevrolet Corvette, it was not marketed as a sports car. The Thunderbird entered production for the 1955 model year as a sporty two-seat convertible. Introduced as a two-seat convertible, the Thunderbird was offered variously 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, with the final generation designed again as a two-seat convertible.įord targeted the two-seat Thunderbird as an upscale model, but the 1958 model year design introduced a rear seat and arguably marked the expansion of a market segment eventually known as personal luxury cars, positioned to emphasize comfort and convenience over handling and high-speed performance.
The Ford Thunderbird (colloquially called the T-Bird) is a personal luxury car manufactured and marketed by Ford from model years 1955-2005 (with a 1997-2002 hiatus), across 11 generations.
Sports car (first and eleventh generations).
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