The Birds would see few changes from ’55 to ’56 with the most noticeable being that the convertible’s hardtop would gain a porthole and a Continental kit was available out back for the first time, which the seller’s car has. That configuration would continue for many years to come, and the T-Bird would end up being one of Ford’s longest-running nameplates. They would go on to sell 37,000 copies in 1958, an increase of more than 70% over the peak 2-seater year of 1957. Thanks to our pal Larry D for sending this lead our way.įord would build more than 53,000 2-seat Thunderbirds before the brass decided that the car needed to be bigger and seat four people. The Ford is available here on eBay where the bidding has reached $7,000. This 1956 edition is a project that we’re told was stored indoors until recently and is in Catonsville, Maryland. The Ford would easily outsell the Chevy and its success may have helped save the Corvette because GM didn’t want to be outdone. While the Corvette was something of a sports car, the T-Bird was a personal luxury car without a back seat.
But the only thing they had a common was 2-passenger seating. Still, the public was not interested, and the sales continued to drop, which is why the brand finally discontinued the nameplate.When the Ford Thunderbird was introduced in 1955, comparisons to the Chevy Corvette were inevitable. The final attempt to revive the name and the car was in the early 2000s when Ford significantly modernized its T-Bird. The ninth-generation Thunderbird came to the market swiftly in 1983, adopting a new exterior design.Īdmittedly, the Thunderbird nameplate saw many other ups and downs during its long run. These two factors played the biggest part in poor critics and decreasing sales, so Ford had to make a move quickly to mend the damage to the nameplate. In summary, while more fuel-efficient (as per government's guidelines) and improved mechanically, the 1980-82 Ford T-Bird had both strange styling and underpowered engine options. These were just not good enough to make the potential buyers overlook the underpowered powertrains and odd design.
It also had comfortable seats, power windows (as well as locks and a driver's seat), and a digital instrument cluster. The 1980-82 Ford Thunderbird offered stable handling (better than the previous generations), heavy-duty suspension, aluminum wheels, and other excellent components.
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