![]() The most striking of T-bird features were the hideaway headlights and grille housing that did not span the entire width of the front. Like many cars of the era, the T-bird now sported Coke bottle styling – however subtle, angularity was the primary styling motif. With ‘S” shaped irons and a gold medallion, the Thunderbird was an odd blend of Baroque and Mid-Century modern. The fifth generation also marked the beginning of the more modern Thunderbird with styling not inspired by ‘60s rocket lore. For import markets only one engine was available, a 265-hp. The engine options were carried over from the 1966 model with the 390 Base V8 (315hp) and the step up 428-cid V8 (345-hp). Performance was on par with most of its contemporaries, and even improved in time. Now with more room and luxury it had everything you could want from a personal luxury car, except high performance. 1967 was also the point where the Thunderbird shed the silhouette it had evolved since its creation. It also helped that the wheelbase had grown an inch over the ’66 model on the coupe (114.7 inches) and 4 inches on the new sedan. To make it quieter, engineers moved to a perimeter frame and an all coil-spring suspension for a smoother ride. 1967-1971 would be the first and only time Ford offered a four-door version of the Thunderbird. The sliding sunroof would appear as an option in 1969.įord’s “personal luxury car” dispensed with the convertible by offering a fixed roof coupe and four door sedan. These special cars were all painted blue cost $15,000 to convert. This was in a time when AF sold hunting gear to wealthy older gentlemen. They were converted into Landau models with sliding sunroofs by a metal fabrication company in Detroit. Abercrombie & Fitch ordered 5 two-door ’67 hardtops to display at its top stores. The positioning of the Thunderbird as a proper gentleman’s car got a big bump in an interesting marketing ploy. More importantly, they were less reliable day to day cars – a factor in rich vs. Their V8 engines tended to be smaller, but used advanced technologies like aluminum blocks and quad cams for similar power outputs. While those names sound exotic, mechanically they were similar to the Thunderbird in some respects. Built (mostly) at Ford’s Wixom, Michigan factory, Ford ‘s product planners had higher aspirations as it set its eyes on competitors like Jaguar’s beautiful 340/Mark II and Maserati’s expensive Quatrroporte. The crowded (and similarly sized) domestic competition reinforced the decision to upsize. In fact, there was a sudden wave of new coupes, some nearly as old and big as the Thunderbird like the Eldorado, Toronado, Grand Prix, Riveria and Charger. The Mustang’s impact was considerable on the industry with Ford’s Mercury division getting in on the action with it’s own tarted up version of the Mustang it called Cougar.Īlthough it was smaller than the Thunderbird, Ford execs still felt the need to further distinguish the two cars’ missions by emphasizing luxury and the size of the Thunderbird vs the smaller sportier nature of the Cougar. Designed around space age aspirations of modernism, the Thunderbird was one of Ford’s most recognizable designs until the Mustang came along in 1964. Before that I only admired more recent Thunderbirds from my teen years. I’d never given the 5th gen much thought until I saw one in a Prince video (of all places). Ford had already cultivated an image of luxury for the Thunderbird, but added practicality. That period of experimentation started in earnest with the fifth generation in 1967. The Corvette remained a two door, two seat sports car while the Thunderbird would experiment with different configurations on its way to defining the personal luxury coupe category it created. Although they were often compared, the Thunderbird and Corvette could not have been more different, especially as time went on. As Ford’s flagship product, it was a sports car geared more towards luxury, as opposed to Chevrolet’s Corvette which aspired to be an all-out sports car with a few luxuries. ![]() The Ford Thunderbird was positioned as Ford’s top car in America since its inception in 1955. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |