The Grand Prix, although beautiful, may have been a little more blue collar. The Grand Prix was a bit less of a direct competitor to both the T-Bird and Riviera, however, because it largely shared a body with the Catalina, while the Ford and Buick looked totally unique in their respective lineups. The second and arguably only other serious competition to the T-Bird was the Pontiac Grand Prix, which came within 15,000 of the Ford in sales. The T-Bird almost seemed like old money to the Riv’s nouveau riche, Tom Buchanan to the Riv’s Jay Gatsby. The Riviera was sporting and daring in a way that a T-Bird never was, and they likely attracted a different type of buyer. The first was the Buick Riviera, which sold at roughly half the Thunderbird’s sales totals, despite styling that is and was heralded as among the best of the 1960s. Although the Bullet Birds are by far my favorite T-Birds, I’ve long been warming up to the ’64 redesign.īy 1965, the Thunderbird’s once-exclusive market was shared with a handful of competitors. It caught my eye at Greenfield Village’s Motor Muster last year because of its Vintage Burgundy paint and white interior, which is the same color combination as my ’65 Mustang. Of course, the T-Bird continued to sell very well up until the last of the ’79 models, but none had quite the rarified air of this ’65. Alternatively, the differences between a ’72 T-Bird and a ’72 Mark IV are superficial at best, not that the buying public really cared at that point. Even though the ’60s T-Birds were based on the same platform as the Continental, no layperson would ever have known, creating that air of exclusivity. After 1966, every subsequent generation was a little less impressive, a little less in a niche by itself. I’ve long asserted that the last really special Thunderbird was the 1966 model, which was also the last convertible until 2002. Its excellent resale value accentuated the esteem in which the buying public held the T-Bird.Īnd that brings us to the fourth-generation T-Bird, introduced in 1964. Those jet age taillights, squared off roofline, and angled finlets were bound to make the Thunderbird a sales success. Ford always got its money’s worth when it trimmed the T-Bird.Įven though I’m an avowed Riviera fanatic, I’m still susceptible to the charms of the Bullet Bird, as evidenced by my perusing this ’63 on an Upper Peninsula vacation a few years ago. Thunderbird interiors were always luxurious and well-styled, with wraparound dashboards and back seats, consoles and buckets, swing-away steering wheels and attractive instrumentation. Perhaps the interior played an even more important role in the T-Bird’s success than its unique styling. The T-Bird’s styling and relative exclusivity in its size bracket created a car that, again, really had no direct competition until this ’63 model came along. The T-Bird had “it.”Īfter the Squarebird came the Bullet Bird, which retained the Thunderbird roofline but introduced styling cues from some old Ford “dream cars,” like the X-100. Some people just have “it,” and so do some cars. Even so, its more compact dimensions and quality build, along with its interesting styling, gave it an undeniable presence. The “Squarebird” had nice proportions, for sure, even if it arguably paled stylistically in comparison to the next two generations. Therefore, one must assume that the Thunderbird’s styling had much to do with its success. Ford, recognizing its own success, even copied the T-Bird’s roofline for certain Galaxie and Falcon models, creating the “Thunderbird look,” a move that could have diluted the image, but probably helped overall sales instead. It looked special, and nobody else had anything like it.įord beat GM to the punch surprisingly often in certain market segments, the T-Bird, Mustang, and LTD being examples of “better ideas” that sent GM scrambling for their drawing boards. When Ford introduced the four-seater ‘Bird for 1958, sales immediately exploded because Ford had made its dream car practical. It was unlike any other Ford or Mercury, and it was luxurious and attractive. Most likely, its popularity stemmed from its attainable distinctiveness. What accounted for this cachet? Why was the T-Bird such a special thing? (first posted ) Have you ever considered how odd it is that Ford, that manufacturer of solid, reliable, conservative transportation, produced a true competitor to Cadillac and Lincoln? The T-Bird, at least until the mid-1960s, was a status symbol for the rich and moderately well-off, a thing of beauty that really had a market all to itself until the Riviera came along in 1963 and even then, the T-Bird sold in greater numbers.

1965 ford thunderbird dash