1955 Ford Thunderbird took the world by storm, invented a new type of car and started a dynasty.
While touring the Paris Auto Show in October 1951 with his stylist George Walker, Henry Ford saw the new Jaguar XK 120 and asked his design chief, "Why can't we do something like that?" "Oh, we're working on it," Walker bluffed. That night, Walker put in a hurried call to Detroit, commanding his staff to start designing a sports car immediately.
Three years later, the 1955 Ford Thunderbird debuted to wild aclaim. Unlike Chevrolet's Corvette that had been introduced in 1953, the Thunderbird didn't pose as a sports car, instead, Ford invented a new classification for its low-slung convertible by calling a "personal car." Wildly successful, the Thunderbird sold over four million copies as it evolved through eleven generations before production ceased in 2005.
Immediately lauded for its glamorous looks and spritely performance, the first generation Thunderbird still stops traffic today. Simple, non-gimmicky styling, perfect proportions, and an absence of then-common excessive chrome trim made it an instant classic.
Ford's 1956 Thunderbird responded to customer complaints about its lack of visibility and trunk space by adding a porthole to the removable hardtop and mounting the spare in a "continental kit" on the rear bumper.
The 1957 Thunderbird lengthened its rear deck four inches to enclose the spare tire once again, added slick-looking fins and featured a re-designed front bumper. It set a new sales record with 21,380 units sold, outselling Chevy's Corvette by five times. But Ford saw even more sales potential and had a better idea about how to achieve them--they would enlarge the T-Bird into a four-seat design for 1958. Please click here for the story of Thunderbird's second generation.
For more info please enjoy the slide show below and:
1958-60 Ford Thunderbird: It's hip to be square
Carmaker archives: The Henry Ford Museum
First Corvette: The good, the bad, and the ugly
Classic fins: Cars of the 1950s and 1960s
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