Word: thunderbird
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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What's in a good name? "It ought to create a surge of satisfaction in the owner when he hears it spoken," says Thomas Moulson, a marketing-research manager at Ford. Still, the definition is elusive. Birds of prey, even imaginary ones, have been big successes (Thunderbird, Eagle, Skyhawk), as have weapons (Cutlass, Le Sabre, Javelin, Dart). American cars generally have more aggressive names than European models, which often wear numbers (3201, R-18), and domestic Japanese autos, which often have docile names (Fairlady, Bluebird, Sunny...
...most advanced of the new European-styled Fords is the $12,000 Thunderbird. Its looks have won raves from auto enthusiasts, but the car's performance in the showroom has been comparatively disappointing. Thunderbird sales for the second quarter of 1983 are up 203% over the same period last year, but sales of the Mercury Cougar, which has a similar but less radical profile, are up 447% compared with the same period in 1982. The public thus seems to want some change-but not too much...
...with a long-hood, short-rear-deck configuration called the Mustang that in 1964 set a record for automobile sales by a first-year model (418,000). Four years later he reached into Ford's spare-parts bin again and launched the limousine-like Continental Mark III on a Thunderbird chassis...
...were being driven year round. After World War II the convertible again began to rise in favor. By the mid-1960s, half a million convertibles were selling yearly, accounting for 7% of car sales. All the major automakers had versions, including Chevy's Corvette and Ford's Thunderbird. Automen, ever macho, called convertibles the "mistress every man wants...
...night bowling league has arrived. The cars bear testimony to hard times. In the '70s, the boom years, those cars would have been new. Now only an occasional '82 Buick Regal or Chrysler Le Baron gleams hopefully among older Coupe de Villes, Torinos and Caprice Classics. A Thunderbird stands in ruinous decay next to the embarrassing glint of a new Toyota. An ancient Ford station wagon, held together by spit and masking tape, boasts a bumper sticker that says: THUMBS UP FOR MICHIGAN...