300 Horse 352 cubic inch special V-8, 3 speed transmission with
overdrive, power
steering, good chrome, good stainless, 117,000 miles, beautiful
interior, good body,
good radial tires, clean trunk, great runner and driver.
Ford's
decision to make the Thunderbird a family-sized car for 1958
was a good one.
This approval was demonstrated with significant sales
increases in 1958 and 1959.
The Thunderbird and the Rambler were the only two American
cars to show a pro-
duction increase over 1957 and Thunderbird production would
again jump in 1959.
Yes, the Thunderbird was the car everyone would love to own,
and there was simply
nothing else like it on the road at the time. In
1959, the Thunderbird was referred to
as a compact. The T-Bird was much smaller than any of
the other luxury cars on the
road, and offered features that were quite surprising for the
day. The luxurious
interior, with its individually adjustable front seats, panel
console, and beautifully
color keyed appointments, was a departure from the chrome
laden interiors found
in many other cars. And the Thunderbird was one of the
lowest cars on the road,
with distinctive good looks that would age very well,
especially when compared to
most other 1959 models. Improvements
in the rear suspension made the 1959
models easier to drive than their earlier counterparts.
New exterior paint colors
were offered, a new design for the front grille and rear
taillight grilles, new ornam-
entation on the body sides, indicate Ford wanted the success
of 1958 to carry over
into 1959.
The
advertising for the year targeted women, informing them that
the
Thunderbird was "America's most becoming car," and
beautiful models graced virtually
every advertisement. The T-Bird was just the thing to
take to the club, or to run
around town shopping with friends. This apparently
worked, the T-Bird was prominent
at most social functions of the day, and chances were good
you'd see more than one
in the parking lot of the trendy restaurants. The
Thunderbird was looked upon as
something just a bit more daring than the Cadillac's,
Lincolns, and Imperials of the
era, and it was also a wise investment, as resale on the cars
at trade in was quite
good. A Thunderbird in 1959 was a pretty good thing:
less expensive to buy new,
higher resale, good performance, plush accommodations,
distinctive styling, and the
knowledge that it was the car everyone would love to own.
Now, how could you top that?