- This car was meant to be Ford's answer to the Corvette
and today we're going to talk about all of them.
We're gonna talk about Square-Birds, Bullet-Birds,
Aero Birds, Larry Birds, Angry Birds.
The whole dang flock of birds is here.
We're gonna meet the people that made it happen
and follow along as it grew into a national treasure.
Except this one, we don't have to steal from the declaration
of Independence.
- Wow.
- This is everything you need to know
to get up to speed on the Ford Thunderbird.
Yah!
(thunderbolt cracks)
(upbeat gaming music)
As you all may of heard we've extended our
partnership with Valvoline.
And while Valvoline has faith in my abilities,
it's come to my attention that some people on the internet
have been questioning just how well I can pour.
So today I'm going to climb up this custom ladder
designed by NASA to deliver the tallest most perfect pour
you've ever seen in your life.
(ladder clanking)
(dramatic music)
(ladder dropping)
(dramatic music)
So NASAs got a bunch of really smart scientists, right?
You know who else has a bunch of really smart scientists?
Valvoline.
They've been making oil since like 1866
which is over 100 years before we even went to the moon.
Crazy.
Valvoline is the original motor oil.
They literally introduced motor oil to America.
Think about that.
And they didn't sit around and be happy with that,
they kept climbing.
They invented racing oil, they invented high mileage oil.
Next thing, they invented the synthetic blend.
Next they invented the phrase, "Mo powa, baby."
JK, I invented that.
(eagles screeching)
An original doesn't sit around, an original does something
that no one else has ever done.
Hu-uh.
That's why Valvoline has the ultimate protection
for every engine.
(eagles screeching)
That's why Mario Andretti uses it.
That's why my practically best friend, Chris Forsberg,
uses it.
But, personally, my favorite reason to use Valvoline,
is because their headquarters are in Kentucky,
my home state.
So take it from the Kentucky cobra.
(hisses)
- [Woman] I love you!
- I love you too!
Donut is proud to partner with the motor oil
with such a rich history and an innovative future.
This one's for you, dad.
(dramatic music)
- It's beautiful.
- Too-da-loo.
(dramatic music)
Thanks Valvoline.
Now, back to the show.
(logo swishes)
Up to speed.
Chapter one.
Lightning et cetera.
Like so many Oscar winning movies, this story starts
in WW2, I'm talking World War Two, baby.
American G.I.s in the European theater were busy
fighting for justice and whatnot.
And while they were there, they were surrounded
by some pretty dope cars.
Like the MG T-type and the Alpha Romeo 8C.
Now, they came home to factories that were ready
to produce on account of the war effort
and with a little money to spend.
But they found their options for cool roadsters
sorely lacking.
- You know, Sal, it's the darnedest thing.
I stopped by the old auto lot and there's nothing for me.
I've got all this cashola from the G.I. bill burning a hole
in my britches.
But all they had were old people cars.
Anyway, what can I do about it.
Let's go have three steaks and a bottle of whiskey
for lunch, it's the 50s.
- At Ford, a guy who saw this problem developing,
was Frank Hershey.
Now Frank was an automobile designer who got his start
working on a V16 engine for the Peerless motor company.
The car of his dreams was the Jaguar RKX120.
So he set about making something in that kind of style
and that kind of performance but with the creature comforts
American consumers had come to expect.
And if there's one thing I can tell you
about American consumers, boy, is that we love our
creature comforts.
Regular hamburger bun?
No thanks.
Throw two greasy donuts on there.
Mm, comfortable.
But when his boss, George Walker, found out about
his project, he ordered that it be shelved
as Walker believed there wouldn't be enough of a market.
Hershey saw potential though, he believed in his idea
and he kept working on his dirty little secret.
The dream of an American roadster.
Now, at the same time, Henry Ford II, AKA, Hank the Deuce,
was in France at the Paris auto show.
While he was there, he met up with the little guy named,
Enzo Ferrari.
Ford and Ferrari would go on to have a long standing
rivalry which someone really should make an internet
history show about and also, they should also do,
like a four part, yeah, I'd say four part podcast about it.
Oh, wait, we did.
You can check them out, I'll put the link in
the description below.
These guys would grow to hate each other.
But at the time, they really got along.
They got along so well, in fact, that Enzo gave the Deuce
a 212 Barchetta which Henry fricking loved.
He loved it so much that he turned to none other
than George Walker and said, "Why don't we have something
like this."
- "We do, sir, we've been working on it for a while.
Frank Hershey is something you're really gonna love."
- "Hershey, huh?
That sounds good, better get myself a chocolate bar
after eating my four steaks and bottle of Bourbon
for lunch."
- So Frank got his team together and went to work.
You know, it wasn't hard to get started again
because he had been working on models at home.
So they hit the ground running, boy.
One question was the name.
Ford had a company wide naming contest for the new model
and offered the most 50s businessy prize ever,
a $250 suit.
Cool, if you do this I'll give you an outfit to wear
to work.
A designer at Ford, a guy named, Alden Gibberson,
was having coffee at a diner one morning
and on his coffee cup was a drawing of a magnificent
bird of thunder.
A thunder bird if you will.
Aah!
He submitted that name and he won.
With the name set and the designs ready to go,
the car was ready for the world.
And on February 20th at the Detroit Auto Show,
the first Thunderbird took flight.
(engine roaring)
Chapter two.
Thundaaaa.
Just 20 months after Hank the Deuce said do this,
Ford did it.
It came out for the 1955 model year and because of
the rush job, some of the design elements were
borrowed from other Fords.
The round head lamps and stubby tail fins can be
found on some Mainline and Crestline models.
But the bibe, man, the vibe, that was the first
for Ford.
It was a two-seater with a detachable hard top
or a folding soft top.
And a wedge shape that said, "Hey, I'm going places."
The speedometer went all the way up to 150 miles per hour
and it had a 4.8 liter Y-block V8 for mercury
making 193 hrsprs.
(engine idling)
All of this was new for Ford because for years,
the big three had an aversion to making
American sports cars.
It was marketed as a personal car.
It had power seats, the right qualities, top notch.
The windows rolled down, the called it 7th heaven
on wheels.
Now, remember that the Corvette had just been launched
and it was sold as a sports car.
But it couldn't find buyers.
The first gen Corvette was a relative flop.
It wasn't until 1955 when they started becoming all right.
And, even then, it took a few years for the world
to get out.
But for this video, what you need to know is
Ford's personal car outsold Chevy sports car,
(whistle blowing) (bell pinging)
23-1.
For the next few years, the T-Bird would see significant
updates like an optional Paxton supercharger,
bringing horsepower up to 300.
It also got its fame, its porthole window to accommodate
a pretty gnarly blind spot.
One of the people responsible for updating the T-Bird
was McKinley Thompson.
Now McKinley was the first major African-America designer
at one of the large firms.
And blazed a trail for black designers, in what was then,
and is now, too often, a predominantly white industry.
In his words, he fell in love with cars one day
when he spotted a 1934 Chrysler Desoto Airflow
in a beam of sun, just as the clouds parted.
All lit up like a searchlight.
He entered a contest in Motor Trend magazine to imagine
the car of the future.
His winning drawings were roomy, made of light-weight
plastic and powered by a turbine engine.
From that, he received a scholarship to go to
the Art Center College, and soon after that,
he was hired at Ford.
While he was there, he had his hands on everything
including the T-Bird, the Mustang, but most significantly,
he was involved with the Bronco.
He was also responsible for some sweet concepts,
like this two-wheel, two-seater, called the Gyro.
Is it Yiro?
Yuro?
It's Yiro, right?
(beeps)
He died in 2006 but his legacy lives on both in some
incredible designs and in the doors that he help open
for a more diverse industry.
Chapter three.
Square-Birds and Bullet-Birds.
As the demands of the public changed, the Thunderbird design
changed to accommodate them.
A lot of that push came from Bob McNamara.
Now he's famous for a lot of things.
But at the time, he was one of the whizz kid executives
at Ford.
- You know, Sal, it's the darnedest thing.
I stopped by the Ford lot today and they didn't have
anything for me.
I'm young and fun but I also have these two kids
I need to cart around.
Anyway, it's 4:30, let's go have eight martinis.
I love the 60s, I hope everyone always drinks this much.
- So, with an eye on sales in 1958, Bob turned
the two-seater into a four-seater.
As you might guess, that made it longer.
Two feet longer.
And a full thousand extra pounds of weight.
It lost its wedge shape, getting more square off profile
that would earn it the very creative nickname of,
Square-Bird.
To deal with all that extra weight, Ford put a 5.1 liter V8
and had the option of a 7 liter V8, making 350 hrsprs.
I mean that's a lot today but this was in the late 50s.
They didn't even have airbags or seatbelts.
Ford also placated want-to-be car nerds in the next
generation by offering a sports roadster package.
Now it had 48 spoke wheels and, most importantly,
its no-cover for the back seats.
You don't like back seats?
We got you, we hear you, buddy.
Just cover 'em up.
This generation had a more aerodynamic bullet-like
silhouette, earning the, again, very creative nickname,
Bullet-Bird.
(engine roaring)
The Flair Bird of 1964 is the epitome of mid-century
space age-iness.
But its specs didn't really keep up with
the increased weight.
By 1966 you had to have that 7 liter V8 if you wanted
to get to 60 in under 11 seconds.
And now as the years went on, the T-Bird would start
to suffer from a lack of attention inside the company.
Lee Lacocca.
Lee Lacocca, (speech slowed down)
became the general manager and that meant the debut
of his pet project.
- [Male Narrator] Family car, sports car, luxury car.
Total performance car.
The new Ford Mustang.
- Now the Stang wasn't gonna hear any of
this personal car nonsense.
It was about speed and muscle and being way, way cool.
But that meant that the Thunderbird segment of the market
got smaller.
So did the (indistinct) Lacocca leaned into the Thunderbirds
overall bodiness.
The size increase came at a bad time
as new emissions regulations and, eventually,
the gas crisis meant its engine displacement
didn't grow along with it.
I know you guys love it when I talk about the gas crisis.
If you want me to make gas crisis shirts,
hit the like button.
New safety regulations ended the T-Bird convertible too
as Ford didn't see much point in figuring out
how to make the aging Thunderbird not kill you
if it rolled over.
And because of all this stuff, it spent most of the 70s
really not having an identity, it was just kind of a mess.
Chapter four.
Turbo Coupes.
Tsk tsk.
The Fox Body was one of Lee Lacocca last pushes before
he moved to Chrysler.
It was rear wheel drive, with unibody construction
and MacPherson struts up front, meaning it left room
for a lot of engine options.
So it was incredibly versatile.
It became the base for the Mustang, the Mercury Cougar,
the Mercury Marquis, the Lincoln Mark VII.
If you want to know more about that platform,
check out this episode of Bumper to Bumper.
But basically, if your dad had great taste in the 80s,
he got himself a Fox Body.
(beeps)
Now Ford knew that there was an opening in their line
for an upscale car that also put up some awesome numbers.
In 1983, Ford debuted the overhauled look with
three new trims.
The base, the heritage with a Windsor V8
and the performance trim, the turbo coupe.
This bird had a 2.3 liter turbo four cylinder
with ported fuel injection, traction lock diff,
performance suspension, alloy wheels.
The only transmission that was available
was a five speed manual, it was an enthusies car
aimed at import competition like the BMW 320i
and the Saab 900 Turbo.
Ford had finally figure out that there was room
for something speedy next to the Mustang.
Now these Aero Birds, nicknamed for their more
aerodynamic look, again, so creative.
These Aero Birds were a hit.
Sales increased for the next few years.
And in 1987, Ford doubled down on the Turbo Coupe,
giving it a tasty little redesign.
They went for a grill-less look up front,
added hood scoops for the new intercooler.
They also upped the boost by 50% and put in
a double exhaust for higher output, getting 190 hrsprs
and 240 pound feet of torques.
(engine revving)
It was so well received, that Motor Trend named it
the Car of the Year in 1987.
A full 32 years after the first one debuted.
And it was Car of the Year again in 1989 when it,
again, got a full refresh.
This time they swapped out the turbo for a blower,
a 3.8 liter V6 with an Eaton M90 supercharger
to be exact.
The Thunderbird Super Coupe had 210 hrsprs and
350 pound feet of torque.
(engine revving)
Throughout its history, the Thunderbird has been
motor sports adjacent, you saw it here and there
at the track but it wasn't doing anything bananas.
In 1977 though, it replaced the Torino as Ford's
primary NASCAR model.
And it did all right.
But in the 80s, things really took off.
Bill Elliot in particular, crushed with these cars.
He won a championship one.
And in 1987 in Talladaga, he set the record for fastest lap
in stock car history with an average speed of 212.809
miles per hour.
A record that still stands, in a Thunderbird.
(star pings)
In the 90s though, sales fell and in 1997, Ford would end up
canceling the whole Thunderbird line, leaving us with
memories of a true American classic.
I'm James Pumphrey and that was everything you needed-
Wait a minute, I though they brought it back?
Oh, yeah, I forgot, they did.
They brought it back.
Chapter five.
Retro-Birds.
Ford did cancel the line in 1997 but in 2002,
they saw an opportunity to make a sales play
based on nostalgia.
- You know, Sal, I went by the Ford lot today
and it's the darnedest thing, there's nothing there
for me.
All they had were young people cars.
Everything's too fast, too sporty.
Anyway let's go drink some Ensure for lunch
and then poo-poo our pants.
(pigeon cooing)
- It was back to being a two-seater with an open top.
The iconic circular lights and classic grille,
the porthole windows and the long lines
were classic design elements that recalled the models
from the 1950s.
And they really worked.
But that's about all that worked.
It did have a big V8 but it was not a really fun one.
Oh my God.
(dramatic music)
Adjusted for inflation, it cost more than $50,000
and for that, you got a lot of cheap plastic
and recycled parts from other Fords.
Essentially, they just reskinned a Lincoln LS
and made it look like an old car.
And in 2005, Ford canceled the Thunderbird again.
Now it's a shame to see it go like that.
The Bird meant a lot to the American market.
It showed people that you didn't have to sacrifice
luxury for performance.
And it became synonymous with class
in America.
Hey guys, if you guys can hear it, I don't know how much
you can hear, it's a guy mowing his lawn next door.
Um, thank you guys so much for watching
this episode of Up To Speed and all
the other stuff on Donut.
Make sure you hit that subscribe button.
Check out this episode of Money Pit, hosted by my buddy,
Zach Jobe.
All right.
Follow me on Instagram @jamespumphrey/donut at Donut Media.
I love you guys, bye.