Page 51 - Nov 12 Graffiti
P. 51
The glory years of the Ford Thunderbird were 1955
through 1957. Total production seemed quite low,
especially to today standards for styles.
1955, 16,155 Base price, $2,944
1956, 15,631 Base price, $3,148
1957, 21,380 Base price, $3,408
Total 53,166
The Thunderbird was developed in response to the 1953
Motorama display at the New York Auto Show, which
showed the Chevrolet Corvette. The Corvette in turn
was developed in response to the popularity of Europe-
an sports cars among Americans .
Sadly, Ford abandoned the sports car in favor of a more
clunky 4-passenger version.
The Thunderbird outsold the Corvette in 1955, when
only 674 Corvettes were sold.
