The Classic Ford Thunderbird at a Glance ...

1966_Ford_Tbird_convertible The Ford Thunderbird was introduced in 1955 by Ford Motor Company as a sporty two seat car, but not necessarily as a "sports car." The T-bird was Ford's attempt to create a new market, "the personal luxury car."

Unlike the "other" popular two seater car that Chevrolet had on the market, the 1955 Ford Thunderbird offered such comfort items as roll-up glass windows, power 4 way seats, push button inside door handles, and Ford-O-Matic transmissions. It outsold the Vette in 1955 by a margin of 24 to 1, with over 16,000 Thunderbirds being sold.

Several names were suggested for the Thunderbird, and they had quite a range.... "The Beaver", "The Hep Cat", " The Detroiter", "Savile", "Arturus", "Coronado", "Apache", "Hawaiian", "Fordette", the "Ty-Coon" and "El Tigre".... were but a few of the names that were considered.

Ford Thunderbirds have gone through 13 generations, and many different body configurations, since that first T-bird rolled off the assembly line in 1955. During the last fifty years, over 4 million Ford Thunderbirds have been sold.

Thunderbird History Timeline:

1953, May 18th a painted "clay model" was presented to Lewis Crusoe
1954, February 20th, a wood mock up unveiled to the public at the Detroit Auto Show
1954, September 9th, first production Thunderbird off the assembly line

Quick Facts about the Thunderbird:

The Thunderbird was the first US car to use tubeless tires as standard equipment
The original speedometer reflected a "top speed" of 150mph
The 1955 Tbird outsold the Vette 16,000 to 700
3500 Thunderbirds sold in the first 10 days