History of Ford Thunderbird :: essays research papers

The Ford Thunderbird, an American classic, is a car manufactured in the United States by Ford Motor Company. It was created only twenty months after Chevrolets Corvette as a comeback car and entered design for the 1955 model year as a two-seater resembling a sports car, which went on sale on October 22, 1954 (Wilson 116). As the Thunderbird was a better performer and cost four hundred and ninety six dollars less, no wonder it sold better. In fact, the sales figure for the first model was nearly four times that of the Corvette (Georgano 122). Through the development of the Ford Thunderbird it has evolved drastically in style and performance over its long history. Although none of this would have happened without the formation of the idea to create what is known as the Ford Thunderbird. There are two stylists credited with the creation of the Thunderbird: Lewis D. Crusoe and George Walker, who later became a chief stylist and a Ford vice-president. They took a trip to Paris, and while they were there they saw a sports car that got their attention. From that moment on, they knew they had to come up with something just like it. They went to work as soon as permission was given from headquarters. Their goal was to have a lightweight sports car with a V-8 engine that accelerated to speeds above 100 mph. They achieved this goal successfully, but they did not meet their projected weight for the car. Crusoe started a clay model of the car and finally gained the acceptance on it in May of 1953 (Wilson 116). Once the model was complete there came about the difficulty in deciding on a name. The designers were completely lost when it came to names but suggestions came pouring in by the thousands. Finally, the designers narrowed it down to just one name â€Å"Whizzer,† but Crusoe was just not satisfied with it. He devised a reward, a two hundred and fifty dollar suit, for anyone who could come up with a better name. It was not long before they received a submission from a designer named Alden Giberson. The name he came up with was â€Å"Thunderbird.† Crusoe approved it and the name was no longer negotiable. His idea for that name surprisingly did not come from the Native American symbol for â€Å"Thunder-bird,† but from a very prominent subdivision in Rancho Mirage, California.