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Ford Thunderbird (second Generation)
The second generation Ford Thunderbird (also called Square Bird) was produced by Ford for the 1958 to 1960 model years as a successor to the popular 1955–1957 two-seater. In response to Ford-conducted surveys two major changes were made to attract potential buyers: two rear seats were added and the level of luxury and features of a full-sized car were incorporated into a mid-size platform. As a result, sales soared and the new model dramatically expanded the personal luxury car market, winning the Motor Trend Car of the Year in 1958. Sales totalled 198,191 over three model years, approximately four times that of the earlier two seat model. Along with the 1958 Lincolns, the 1958 Thunderbird was the first Ford Motor Company vehicle designed with unibody construction. Design Although the 1955-1957 Ford Thunderbird had proved successful (in comparison to the Chevrolet Corvette), Ford executives—particularly Robert McNamara—still felt its overall sales volume had room to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ford Motor Company
Ford Motor Company (commonly known as Ford) is an American multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Dearborn, Michigan, United States. It was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. The company sells automobiles and commercial vehicles under the Ford brand, and luxury cars under its Lincoln luxury brand. Ford also owns Brazilian SUV manufacturer Troller, an 8% stake in Aston Martin of the United Kingdom and a 32% stake in China's Jiangling Motors. It also has joint ventures in China (Changan Ford), Taiwan (Ford Lio Ho), Thailand ( AutoAlliance Thailand), and Turkey ( Ford Otosan). The company is listed on the New York Stock Exchange and is controlled by the Ford family; they have minority ownership but the majority of the voting power. Ford introduced methods for large-scale manufacturing of cars and large-scale management of an industrial workforce using elaborately engineered manufacturing sequences typified by moving assembly lines; by ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ford Thunderbird
The Ford Thunderbird (colloquially called the T-Bird) is a personal luxury car produced by Ford from model years 1955 until 1997 and 2002 until 2005 across 11 distinct generations. Introduced as a two-seat convertible, the Thunderbird was produced in a variety of body configurations. 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. Ford 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. This class of cars was positioned to emphasize driving comfort and convenience features over handling and high-speed performance. From 1968 through 1998, Lincoln-Mercury marketed rebadged variants of the Thunderbird as the Contin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lincoln Continental
The Lincoln Continental is a series of mid-sized and full-sized luxury cars produced by Lincoln, a division of the American automaker Ford Motor Company. The model line was introduced following the construction of a personal vehicle for Edsel Ford, who commissioned a coachbuilt 1939 Lincoln-Zephyr convertible, developed as a vacation vehicle to attract potential Lincoln buyers. In what would give the model line its name, the exterior was given European "continental" styling elements, including a rear-mounted spare tire. In production for over 55 years across nine different decades, Lincoln has produced ten generations of the Continental. Within the Lincoln model line, the Continental has served several roles ranging from its flagship to its base-trim sedan. From 1961 to 1976, Lincoln sold the Continental as its exclusive model line. The model line has also gone on hiatus three times. From 1949 to 1955, the nameplate was briefly retired. In 1981, the Continental was renamed ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ford Mustang
The Ford Mustang is a series of American automobiles manufactured by Ford. In continuous production since 1964, the Mustang is currently the longest-produced Ford car nameplate. Currently in its sixth generation, it is the fifth-best selling Ford car nameplate. The namesake of the "pony car" automobile segment, the Mustang was developed as a highly styled line of sporty coupes and convertibles derived from existing model lines, initially distinguished by "long hood, short deck" proportions. Originally predicted to sell 100,000 vehicles yearly, the 1965 Mustang became the most successful vehicle launch since the 1927 Model A. Introduced on April 17, 1964 (16 days after the Plymouth Barracuda), over 400,000 units in its first year; the one-millionth Mustang was sold within two years of its launch. In August 2018, Ford produced the 10-millionth Mustang; matching the first 1965 Mustang, the vehicle was a 2019 Wimbledon White convertible with a V8 engine. The success of the M ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Joe Oros
Joseph E. Oros Jr. ( ro, Oroș; June 15, 1916 in Cleveland, Ohio – August 2, 2012) was an automobile stylist for Ford Motor Company over a period of 21 years — known as the Chief Designer of the team at Ford that styled the original Mustang, and for his contributions to the 1955 Ford Thunderbird. Oros was also an artist, sculptor, painter and industrial designer, having designed appliances and other products. Oros was born to non-English speaking Romanian parents, originating in Transylvania. He was moved up a grade from 3rd to 5th because of his fantastic art work even though his math and science skills were questionable. Oros died on August 2, 2012 at the age of 96. He lived in Santa Barbara, California with his wife Betty Thatcher Oros, the first female automotive designer, until her death in 2001. His house was full of his own artwork, including paintings and sculptures. Oros was working on a 3D model of the Earth depicting all the original settlers. In 2009, it ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mercury Park Lane
The Mercury Park Lane is a full-sized automobile that was produced by the Mercury division of Ford Motor Company. While not officially introduced as the replacement of the Mercury Turnpike Cruiser, the Park Lane became the flagship of the Mercury model line upon its introduction. The second-generation Park Lane was positioned above the Mercury Montclair. In 1969, the Mercury Marquis was expanded to a full model line and replaced the Park Lane in the Mercury range. First use of name In 1956, the Park Lane name was used by the Ford Division as it created a two-door station wagon intended as a competitor for the Chevrolet Nomad. Based on the Ford Fairlane, the Ford Parklane (spelled as a single word) outsold the Nomad nearly two-to-one, though Ford marketers felt the vehicle had missed its target market; it was discontinued after its only year of production. First generation (1958–1960) The Mercury Park Lane was introduced for the 1958 model year as a premium model line fo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mercury Turnpike Cruiser
The Mercury Turnpike Cruiser is a series of automobiles that were produced by the Mercury division of Ford for the 1957 and 1958 model years. Named to commemorate the creation of the Interstate Highway System, the Turnpike Cruiser was marketed as the flagship Mercury model line, slotted above the Montclair when Mercury was positioned upmarket to luxury status when Edsel was introduced in 1958. The Turnpike Cruiser was produced as a luxury two-door and a four-door hardtop sedan. During the 1957 model year, a convertible (called the Convertible Cruiser) was offered on a limited basis, serving as one of the first replica pace cars for the Indianapolis 500 auto race. Mercury fitted the Turnpike Cruiser with a wide variety of advanced features for the time of its production, including a retractable rear window marketed as the "Breezeway", compound-curve windshield, mechanical pushbutton transmission controls and a trip computer. In total, 23,268 examples of the Turnpike Cruiser we ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chrysler 300 Letter Series
The Chrysler 300 "letter series" are high-performance personal luxury cars that were built by Chrysler in the U.S. from 1955 to 1965 and were a sub-model from the Chrysler New Yorker. After the initial year, which was named C-300 for its standard FirePower V8, the 1956 cars were designated 300B. Successive model years were given the next letter of the alphabet as a suffix (skipping "i"), reaching the 300L by 1965, after which the model sequence was discontinued while the "300" remained. At its introduction it was advertised as "America's Most Powerful Car". The 300 "letter series" cars were among the vehicles built by Chrysler after World War II that focused on performance, and thus can be considered the beginning of the muscle car, though full-sized and more expensive. Chrysler had a long history of producing race car products going back to the Chrysler Six that was entered in the 1925 24 Hours of Le Mans, 1928 24 Hours of Le Mans, 1929 24 Hours of Le Mans, and the Chrys ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Studebaker Speedster
The Studebaker Speedster was an automobile produced by the Studebaker Corporation of South Bend, Indiana during the 1955 model year. The vehicle was considered Studebaker's halo model for the 1955 season. Studebaker had previously used the Speedster name in the early 1920s, and was a marketing strategy revival of the President during that time. Description The Speedster was a member of the President series, and was based on President hardtop coupe. For 1955, the company heavily restyled its models to incorporate a larger front bumper and a massive chrome grille more in keeping with American cars of the era. An initial run of twenty Speedsters was made to be displayed at car shows for the 1955 model year. Reaction to the show cars caused Studebaker's management to put the car into production mid-year and offer it for the rest of the model year, after which it was replaced by the previously planned Hawk series. It allowed the company to offer a competitor to the Ford Thunderbird an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Robert McNamara
Robert Strange McNamara (; June 9, 1916 – July 6, 2009) was an American business executive and the eighth United States Secretary of Defense, serving from 1961 to 1968 under Presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson. He remains the List of United States Secretaries of Defense by time in office, longest serving Secretary of Defense, having remained in office over seven years. He played a major role in promoting the United States' involvement in the Vietnam War. McNamara was responsible for the institution of systems analysis in public policy, which developed into the discipline known today as policy analysis. He was born in San Francisco, California, graduated from University of California, Berkeley, UC Berkeley and Harvard Business School and served in the United States Army Air Forces during World War II. After the war, Henry Ford II hired McNamara and a group of other Army Air Force veterans to work for Ford Motor Company. These "Whiz Kids (Ford), Whiz Kids" helped re ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chevrolet Corvette (C1)
The Chevrolet Corvette (C1) is the first generation of the Corvette sports car produced by Chevrolet. It was introduced late in the 1953 model year, and produced through 1962. This generation is commonly referred to as the "solid-axle" generation, as the independent rear suspension did not appear until the 1963 Stingray. The Corvette was rushed into production for its debut model year to capitalize on the enthusiastic public reaction to the concept vehicle, but expectations for the new model were largely unfulfilled. Reviews were mixed and sales fell far short of expectations through the car's early years. The program was nearly canceled, but Chevrolet decided to make necessary improvements. History Origins Harley Earl, as head of GM's Styling Section, was an avid fan of sporting cars. He recognized that GIs returning after serving overseas in the years following World War II were bringing home MGs, Jaguars, and Alfa Romeos. In 1951, Nash Motors began selling an expensive t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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