The Thunderbird entered production for the 1955 model year as a sporty two-seat convertible. From 1968 through 1998, Lincoln-Mercury marketed rebadged variants of the Thunderbird as the Continental Mark III, Mark IV, Mark V, Mercury Cougar, Lincoln Mark VII, and Lincoln Mark VIII. This class of cars was positioned to emphasize driving comfort and convenience features over handling and high-speed performance. These included a four-seat hardtop coupe, four-seat convertible, five-seat convertible and hardtop, four-door pillared hardtop sedan, six-passenger hardtop coupe, and five-passenger pillared coupe, with the final generation designed again as a two-seat convertible.įord targeted the two-seat Thunderbird as an upscale model, but the 1958 model year design introduced a rear seat and arguably marked the expansion of a market segment eventually known as personal luxury cars. Introduced as a two-seat convertible, the Thunderbird was produced in a variety of body configurations. wheels and tires, power moonroof, AM/FM/CD with premium sound and leather seats.The Ford Thunderbird (colloquially called the T-Bird) is a personal luxury car produced by Ford from model years 1955 until 19 until 2005 across 11 distinct generations. Some of the highlights on the option sheet included traction control, antilock brakes, leather seats, 16-in. The option package was called the 'cellular phone group.'Ī new standard feature this year was speed-sensitive power steering that was available with the V8 or the supercharged V6. So the factory cooked up a special deal to combine Ford Electronic's hands-free cellular phone at an attractive price with its premium sound system. The '95 models had no sheetmetal changes and minimal mechanical differences compared to the '94s.įord market research indicated that a high percentage of Thunderbird customers were cellular phone users. The Super Coupe was upgraded to 230 horsepower starting in 1994. The SC also came standard with and automatic-ride-control adjustable suspension. The SC, with the supercharged and intercooled 210-horsepower 3.8-liter V6 under the hood, had choices of a 5-speed manual or 4-speed automatic gearbox. A 4-speed automatic was the only transmission available with either of these engines. At the beginning of the '90s, the Ford Thunderbird was available in LX and high-performance SC (Super Coupe) series. LX T-Birds were powered by the base 140-horsepower 3.8-liter V6 or optional 205-horsepower 4.6-liter 'modular' V8.

Ford thunderbird 94