The Ford Thunderbird Began Life in February 1953 In Direct Response to Chevrolet's New Sports Car, The Corvette, Which Was Publicly Unveiled in Prototype Form Just a Month Before. Under Rapid Development, The Thunderbird Went From Idea to Prototype in About a Year, Being Unveiled to the Public at the Detroit Auto Show on February 20, 1954. Like The Corvette, The Thunderbird Had a Two-Seat Coupe/Convertible Layout. Production of The Thunderbird Began Later On In 1954 On September 9 With the Car Beginning Sales as a 1955 Model on October 22, 1954. Though Sharing Some Design Characteristics With Other Fords Of the Time, Such as Single Circular Headlamps and Tail Lamps and Modest Tailfins, The Thunderbird Was Sleeker and More Athletic In Shape, and Had Features Like a Faux Hood Scoop and a 150 mph (240 km/h) Speedometer Hinting a Higher Performance Nature That Other Fords Didn't Possess. Mechanically Though, The Thunderbird Could Trace it's Roots to Other Mainstream Fords. The Thunderbird's 102.0 Inches Wheelbase Frame Was Mostly a Shortened Version of That Used in Other Fords While the Car's Standard 292 cu in (4.8 L) Y-Block V-8 Came From Ford's Mercury Division.
Though Inspired By, and Positioned Directly Against, The Corvette, Ford Billed The Thunderbird As A Personal Luxury Car, Putting a Greater Emphasis On the Car's Comfort and Convenience Features Rather Than it's Inherent Sportiness. Designations Aside, The Thunderbird Sold Exceptionally Well in it's First Year. In Fact, The Thunderbird Outsold The Corvette By More Than 23-to-1 For 1955 With 16,155 Thunderbirds Sold Against 700 Corvettes. With The Thunderbird Considered a Success, Few Changes Were Made to the Car For 1956. The Most Notable Change Was Moving The Spare Tire to a Continental-Style Rear Bumper In Order to Make More Storage Room in the Trunk. However, The Addition of the Weight at the Rear Caused Steering Issues, and Was Changed Back In 1957. Among the Few Other Changes Were New Paint Colors, The Addition Of Circular Porthole Windows in the Fiberglass Roof to Improve Rearward Visibility, and a 312 cu in (5.1 L) Y-Block V-8 Making 215 Horsepower When Mated To a 3-Speed Manual Transmission or 225 Horsepower When Mated to a Ford-O-Matic 3-Speed Automatic Transmission.
The Thunderbird Was Revised For 1957 With a Reshaped Front Bumper, A Larger Grille and Tailfins, and Larger Tail Lamps. The 312 cu in (5.1 L) V-8 Became The Thunderbird's Standard Engine, and Now Produced 245 Horsepower. Even More Powerful Versions of the 312 cu in (5.1 L) V-8 Were Available Including One With Two Four-Barrel Holley Carburetors and Another With a Paxton Supercharger Delivering 300 Horsepower. Though Ford Was Pleased To See Sales of the Thunderbird Rise to a Record-Breaking 21,380 Units For 1957, Company Executives Felt the Car Could Do Even Better, Leading to a Substantial Redesign of the Car For 1958.
Genesis
A Smaller Two-Seater Sports Roadster Was Created at the Behest of Henry Ford II in 1953 Called The Ford Vega. 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. The Thunderbird Was Similar In Concept, But Would Be More American in Style, More Luxurious, and Less Sport-Oriented.
The Men and Their Teams Generally Credited With the Creation of the Original Thunderbird Are: Lewis D. Crusoe, a Retired GM Executive Lured Out of Retirement By Henry Ford II; George Walker, Chief Stylist and a Ford Vice-President; Frank Hershey, Chief Stylist For Ford Division; Bill Boyer, Designer Body Development Studio Who Became Manager of Thunderbird Studio in Spring of 1955, and Bill Burnett, Chief Engineer. Ford Designer William P. Boyer Was Lead Stylist on the Original 1955 Two-Seater Thunderbird and Also Had a Hand in Designing the Future Series of Thunderbirds Including The 30th Anniversary Edition. Hershey's Participation in the Creation of The Thunderbird Was More Administrative Than Artistic. Crusoe and Walker Met in France in October 1951. 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"...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.
Walker Promptly Telephoned Ford's HQ in Dearborn and Told Designer Frank Hershey About the Conversation With Crusoe. Hershey Took the Idea and Began Working on the Vehicle. The Concept Was for a Two-Passenger Open Car, With a Target Weight Of 2525 lb, an Interceptor V-8 Engine Based on the Forthcoming Overhead-Valve Ford V-8 Slated For 1954 Model Year Introduction, and a Top Speed of Over 100 mph. Crusoe Saw a Painted Clay Model on May 18, 1953, Which Corresponded Closely to the Final Car; He Gave the Car the Go-Ahead in September After Comparing it With Current European Trends. After Henry Ford II Returned From The Los Angeles Auto Show (Autorama) in 1953 He Approved the Final Design Concept to Compete With the Then New Corvette.
The Name Thunderbird Was Not Among the Thousands Proposed, Including Rejected Options Such as Apache (The Original Name of The P-51 Mustang), Falcon (Owned by Chrysler at the Time), Eagle, Tropicale, Hawaiian, and Thunderbolt. Rather, It Was Suggested to the Designer and, in the Hurry-Up Mood of the Project, Accepted.
History
The Ford Motor Company Was Launched in a Converted Factory in 1903 With $28,000 in Cash From Twelve Investors, Most Notably John and Horace Dodge (Who Would Later Found Their Own Car Company). Henry's First Attempt Under His Name Was the Henry Ford Company on November 3, 1901, Which Became The Cadillac Motor Company on August 22, 1902. During it's Early Years, The Company Produced Just a Few Cars a Day at it's Factory on Mack Avenue in Detroit, Michigan. Groups of Two or Three Men Worked on Each Car From Components Made To Order by Other Companies. Henry Ford Was 40 Years Old When He Founded The Ford Motor Company, Which Would Go On To Become One of the World's Largest and Most Profitable Companies, As Well as Being One to Survive The Great Depression. As One of the Largest Family-Controlled Companies in the World, The Ford Motor Company Has Been In Continuous Family Control For Over 100 Years.