Knudsen was impressed with what the Pontiac grille styling did for that brand he then desired to try the same with Thunderbird. Ford had hired Semon “Bunkie” Knudsen from General Motors. Some thought it had a bit of a Pontiac look and there was a reason for this. This new front end would be the most significant change you would notice with the 1970 model. These new T-Birds were the largest and most luxurious examples offered to date so the Glamor Bird name was quite appropriate.įor 1970–71, Ford dropped the gaping fish-mouth grille in favor of a narrower grille that jutted forward in the middle. Thunderbird fans gave the name “ Glamor Bird” to these fifth generation models. With all this competition building, the Ford Motor Company decided to move the T-Bird more upscale and with that the changes mentioned above were put in place. In fact, by the 1970 model year, there were as many as six nameplates competing for the personal luxury buyer. Both models prior to 1967 were two door vehicles and both in a way found themselves competing with each other. The Thunderbird was a snazzy comfortable car with a sporty look.ĭuring the 1960’s the Thunderbird and the Mustang began overlapping. While the Corvette was more of a sports car, Thunderbird put an emphasis on creature comfort. The T-Bird originally came out as a luxury sport car in competition to the Chevy Corvette. The cars were longer and heavier and actually started to look like Lincolns. Look at a 1966 Ford Thunderbird and then look at a 1967 model and you’ll see a major styling change and the model was re-engineered as well. The new four door model was officially known as the Landau Sedan. In addition the T-Bird moved from unibody to body-on-frame construction. Starting with the fifth generation in 1967, buyers could no longer buy Thunderbird convertibles and now they saw the addition of a four door full size version with suicide rear doors.
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