Word: thunderbird
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...manufacturer hopes to claim an 18% market share in 1984, up from 16.8% in 1982. Ford, which held 22.8% of the domestic market as recently as 1978, unveiled a slimmed-down Continental Mark VII ($22,231) this month. The company has been betting heavily on its streamlined Ford Thunderbird ($13,093) sports coupe, introduced with its Mercury Cougar twin in February, and on the compact Ford Tempo ($7,557)-Mercury Topaz line that arrived last May. Ford said Thunderbird accounted for 2.6% of all U.S. auto sales in September. The Tempo-Topaz entry recorded an 88% sales gain...
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...