Honda sent a real warrior over in the 1978 Accord, one of the first subcompact Japanese cars to feature great styling. That was quite an impressive achievement for a car once referred to by Henry Ford II as “a little shit box.” That figure even surpassed even Ford’s legendary Model T. In 1973 sales of the Beetle passed the 15 million mark. Year after year, it looked the same, felt the same, sounded the same.Īlthough the Big Three responded with small cars of their own, by 1969, more than i million imports were registered in the U.S. On the other hand, it was also efficient, functional as well as economical. The Volkswagen was the antithesis of the typical American car: it was small, noisy, homely, and uncomfortable. You can buy an American car for $3,000, or you can buy a Volks and a washer and a dryer and couple of television sets and a phonograph. Having its number one attraction, price, young people flocked to buy the “Bug”. A favorite among hippies and college professors, the Beetle became a symbol of the counterculture of the late 1960s.Īmong 1970s cars, its popularity was closely linked to its very lack of styling and pretense. market and although only two were sold that year, six years later, more than 20,000 were sold in the U.S. Options included air conditioning, cruise control, AM/FM stereo radio, AM radio with 8-track tape player, Brougham interior package, six-way power setas, power side windows, and the Limited-Edition Fiera Brougham optional package priced at $304.In 1949, the Beetle was introduced to the U.S. The 2-door Landau was the most popular with 36,847 units produced, followed by the four-door with 8,401 and the hardtop at 5,116 examples produced. Prices increased by approximately $150, with the hardtop having a factory base price of $4,960, the 2-door Landau at $5,100, and the 4-door at $5,180. Body styles remained the two-door hardtop, two-door Landau, and four-door Landau. The wheelbase sizes were similar to the previous year, but the length had increased and the entire car was lower. All body styles measured 215 inches in length. The two-door body styles rested on a 114.7-inch wheelbase platform while the four-door Landau had a 117.1-inch wheelbase. A single horizontal line ran along the mid-section of the body. It continued to use the sequential turn signals of the prior year, along with full-width tail lamps, although now with an inverted 'U' arrangement.
It grew in size and received more luxurious appointments, earning it the appropriately nicknamed 'Glamour Bird.'Īmong the most distinguishable features found on the 1970 Thunderbird was its new front fascia highlighted by a prominent projection resembling a bird's beak that was in line with long angular lines in the hood. The prior unibody construction was replaced with body-on-frame construction with rubber mountings between the body and frame, the convertible body style was eliminated, and a four-door model joined the lineup.
Since the Thunderbird and newly-introduced Mustang were competing against each other for sales, Ford management decided to move the Thunderbird upmarket into Lincoln territory. The Thunderbird had remained fundamentally unchanged from 1958 to 1966, offering buyers a sporty two-door coupe or convertible with two-rows of seating. In 1967, the fifth-generation Thunderbird brought the second major change in the car's design direction since its introduction in 1955. The original convertibles were replaced by much larger 'Square Birds' of 1958 to 1960, followed by the 'Bullet Birds' of 1961-1964 and 'Jet Birds' of 1965-1966. With each succeeding generation, the Thunderbird grew both in equipment and stature, in keeping with contemporary trends. Priced at nearly $600 less than the Corvette, the Thunderbird sales were an immediate success, with 16,155 units sold in its first year compared to 315 in Corvette's first year and 3,640 its second year.
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While the Corvette was initially only offered with a 2-speed autoshifter, the Thunderbird was made available with a manual 3-speed or optional Ford-O-Matic.
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It had an all-steel body rather than fiberglass, a new and powerful V-8 engine rather than an old-fashioned 6-cylinder, a well-fitted cloth top with hardtop optional rather than Corvette's cloth top, and roll-up windows with power assist optional rather than plastic side curtains.
The Ford Thunderbird was created in response to the Chevrolet Corvette, but watching it falter in popularity and sales, the Thunderbird was set on a new path as a radically different personal car.
The name 'Thunderbird' was derived from southwest American Indian lore for a mythical bird glimpsed only briefly in the clouds and responsible for thunder and lightning, a symbol of power, speed and good fortune.
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