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Ford Thunderbird (ninth Generation)
The ninth generation of the Ford Thunderbird is a personal luxury coupe that was manufactured and marketed by Ford for the 1983 to 1988 model years. In response to the sales downturn of the 1980–1982 Thunderbird, the Thunderbird underwent an extensive model revision for the 1983 model year. While remaining a personal luxury coupe (to minimize overlap with the Ford Mustang), the redesign of the Thunderbird marked a transition of the model range, emphasizing performance and handling over outright luxury and comfort content. As a central theme of the design, the ninth-generation Thunderbird marks the introduction of highly aerodynamic body design to Ford vehicles in North America (reducing its drag coefficient from 0.50 to 0.35), followed by similarly designed model lines, including the 1984 Ford Mustang SVO, 1984 Ford Tempo, 1986 Ford Aerostar, and 1986 Ford Taurus. The ninth-generation of the Thunderbird is derived from the Ford Fox platform, as with 1980 Thunderbird (t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Personal Luxury Car
Personal luxury car is a North American car classification describing somewhat sporty, sophisticated mass-market coupés that emphasized comfort over performance. The North American manufacturers most often combined engineering, design, and marketing to develop upscale, distinctive "platform sharing" models that became highly profitable. Although luxury coupes had been produced in North America for several decades previously, the beginning of the "personal luxury car" genre is generally considered to have started in 1958, due to the success of the Ford Thunderbird (second generation) when it was redesigned from a two-seat car to a four-seat car. These changes shifted the Thunderbird's emphasis from sporting to comfort and luxury, and sales increased by 50 percent. The Thunderbird was sold for eleven generations up until the 2005 model year. The longest-running nameplate of the personal luxury car was the 50-year production of the Cadillac Eldorado, which started in the 1953 mo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lincoln Continental Mark VII
The Continental Mark VII, later changed to Lincoln Mark VII, is a rear wheel drive luxury coupe that was produced by Lincoln. Introduced in August 1983 for the 1984 model year, the Continental Mark VII shared its Ford Fox platform with the Ford Thunderbird, Mercury Cougar, and Lincoln Continental. The Fox platform was originally introduced for the 1978 Ford Fairmont and Mercury Zephyr. The same platform was also utilized as the base for the 1982–1987 Lincoln Continental sedan, the Mark VII's four-door companion. Like its predecessor the Continental Mark VI, the Mark VII was manufactured at the Wixom Assembly Plant in Wixom, Michigan through 1992. It was replaced by the Lincoln Mark VIII in 1993. The Mark VII held a lengthy standard equipment list, including an onboard trip computer / message center and digital instruments (on all except the LSC models after 1985). Mark VII's also came with full air suspension at all four wheels. The 1985 LSC was the first American vehicle w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ford Aerostar
The Ford Aerostar is a range of vans that was manufactured by Ford from the 1986 to the 1997 model years. The first minivan produced by Ford, the model line was marketed against the Chevrolet Astro/GMC Safari and the first two generations of the Chrysler minivans. Introduced shortly before the Ford Taurus, the Aerostar derived its name from its slope-nosed "one-box" exterior (although over six feet tall, the body of the Aerostar retained a , besting the Lincoln Mark VII). The first minivan powered exclusively by V6 engines, the Aerostar was also one of the first vehicles to introduce all-wheel drive to the segment in North America. The model line was sold in multiple configurations, including passenger and cargo vans, along with an extended-length body. Sold primarily in the United States and Canada, a limited number of vehicles were exported outside of North America. The Aerostar was replaced for the 1995 model year by the front-wheel drive Ford Windstar; Ford sold both model li ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ford Tempo
The Ford Tempo and its Mercury counterpart the Topaz, are compact cars produced by the Ford Motor Company for model years 1984 to 1994. They were the downsized successors to the Ford Fairmont and Mercury Zephyr respectively. The Tempo and Topaz were the second in a series of aerodynamically-styled cars from Ford, preceded by the 1983 Ford Thunderbird and followed by the first generation Ford Taurus. Although Ford tried to portray the Ford Contour and Mercury Mystique that arrived in 1995 as new, up-market models, they are generally seen as the successors of the Tempo and Topaz. Development In the late 1970s Ford began planning to replace their compact rear wheel drive Ford Fairmont and Mercury Zephyr models with a new smaller front wheel drive (FWD) car. This new compact was expected to compete in the marketplace with General Motors' X-Body, but wound up more similar to GM's J-cars. Ford's chief development engineer for the new car was Ed Cascardo. The Tempo and Topaz chass ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ford Mustang SVO
The Mustang SVO is a limited-production version of the third generation Ford Mustang sold from 1984 to 1986, with fewer than 10,000 built. Although it departed both physically and mechanically from any prior version of the Mustang, it held the same spot within the lineup, both in terms of performance over "lesser" variants and in prestige, as had variants such as the Shelby-tuned and "BOSS" Mustangs of the 1960s and 1970s. History The National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act of 1966, establishing the NHTSA and federal motor vehicle safety standards; National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, which paved the way for the EPA and emissions controls; and the 1973 and 1979 oil crises all dealt significant blows to demand for American muscle cars, which went extinct from rising fuel and insurance costs and more strict safety and emissions controls imposed worldwide. As a result, the "big three" automakers (Ford, General Motors, and Chrysler Corporation), for whom muscle cars ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ford Mustang (third Generation)
The third-generation Mustang was produced by Ford from 1979 until 1993. Built on Ford’s Fox platform, it is commonly referred to as the Fox body Mustang. It evolved through several sub-models, trim levels, and drivetrain combinations during its production life. It underwent updates for the 1987 model year and seemed destined for replacement with a front-wheel drive Mazda platform. However, company executives were swayed by consumer opinion and the rear-wheel drive Mustang stayed, while the front-wheel drive version was renamed the Ford Probe. Enthusiasts group the generation into two segments: the 1979–1986 cars, with their quad headlight arrangement, and the 1987–1993 cars, with their aerodynamic composite headlamps and front fascia styling. Production ended with the introduction of the fourth-generation Mustang (SN-95) for the 1994 model year. 1979–1982 The 1979 model year Mustang was based on the Fox platform. This chassis was "Ford's initiative to build a one-s ... [...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] |
Personal Luxury Car
Personal luxury car is a North American car classification describing somewhat sporty, sophisticated mass-market coupés that emphasized comfort over performance. The North American manufacturers most often combined engineering, design, and marketing to develop upscale, distinctive "platform sharing" models that became highly profitable. Although luxury coupes had been produced in North America for several decades previously, the beginning of the "personal luxury car" genre is generally considered to have started in 1958, due to the success of the Ford Thunderbird (second generation) when it was redesigned from a two-seat car to a four-seat car. These changes shifted the Thunderbird's emphasis from sporting to comfort and luxury, and sales increased by 50 percent. The Thunderbird was sold for eleven generations up until the 2005 model year. The longest-running nameplate of the personal luxury car was the 50-year production of the Cadillac Eldorado, which started in the 1953 mo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jack Telnack
Jack Telnack (born John J. Telnack in 1937) is the former global Vice President of Design of the Ford Motor Company from 1980 to 1997. He is best known for his work with cars like the 1979 Ford Mustang (third generation), the 1983 Ford Thunderbird ( ninth generation), and the 1986 Ford Taurus that ushered in a new era of aerodynamic design to America's mainstream marketplace. Career After his training at the Art Center College of Design, Telnack began working as a designer for Ford in 1958, and became the head stylist of the Lincoln-Mercury Division in 1965. In 1966, he became the chief designer of Ford's Australian branch, where he led the redesign of the Ford Falcon, and served as the Vice President of Design for Ford of Europe in 1974. Ushering a new era of aerodynamic design to America's mainstream marketplace, Telnack and his team of designers were responsible for cars like the 1979 Ford Mustang (third generation), the 1983 Ford Thunderbird ( ninth generation), the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Manual Transmission
A manual transmission (MT), also known as manual gearbox, standard transmission (in Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States), or stick shift (in the United States), is a multi-speed motor vehicle transmission (mechanics), transmission system, where gear changes require the driver to manually select the gears by operating a gear stick and clutch (which is usually a foot pedal for cars or a hand lever for motorcycles). Early automobiles used ''sliding-mesh'' manual transmissions with up to three forward gear ratios. Since the 1950s, ''constant-mesh'' manual transmissions have become increasingly commonplace and the number of forward ratios has increased to 5-speed and 6-speed manual transmissions for current vehicles. The alternative to a manual transmission is an automatic transmission; common types of automatic transmissions are the Automatic transmission#Hydraulic automatic transmissions, hydraulic automatic transmission (AT), and the continuously variable transmissio ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Borg-Warner T-5 Transmission
The TREMEC T-5 is a 5-speed manual transmission for longitudinal engine automobiles. It includes one overdrive gear, a light-weight aluminum housing, and is adaptable for four wheel drive use. It is currently manufactured by TREMEC. History and design The T-5 was originally designed by BorgWarner based on the T-4 and earlier SR4, and was sold as the BorgWarner T-5 until the design was sold to TTC (aka Tremec) in the late 1990s. The SR4 was a light-duty 4-speed manual that used ball and needle bearings on the countershaft with bronze synchronizer rings. The T4 improved this design with tapered roller bearings on the input and output shafts and a straight roller bearing on the counter gear. The T-5 is a T4 with an added overdrive gear. The T-5 carries a part number of 1352-000-''xxx'', where ''xxx'' is a three-digit application-specific number ranging from 001 to 260 that also can be used to distinguish World Class from Standard T-5 transmissions. The first T-5s were installed in t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ford AOD Transmission
The AOD (automatic overdrive) is a four-speed automatic transmission, with the 4th gear as overdrive. Introduced in 1980, it was Ford's first four-speed automatic overdrive transmission. The gearset design is based on the Ford "X" automatic transmissions used during the 1950s, '60s, and '70s. The AOD replaced many of Ford's older transmissions such as the C4, C5, and light duty applications of the FMX. History In 1962 Ford began working on a new type of automatic transmission that would emphasize fuel economy and driveability. The new transmission was built around the Ravigneaux planetary gearset of the "X" transmissions. Where many transmissions had a fourth gear added on as an afterthought, Ford's new transmission was designed with a fourth gear integrated into the gearset. Because it was based on the "X" transmissions, its gear ratios from 1-3 were the same with the fourth being 0.67:1. The transmission featured a split-torque application for third gear as well as a lockup in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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