As the trend lines kept dropping, Detroit kept upping the stupid with these “sporty-luxury” cars. During the previous four years, no one could make enough Pony cars, so one would have thought that someone swilling a martini at a Detroit cocktail party could have gotten drunk enough to catch a trend regarding their luxury coupes? NOPE.ĭetroit doubled down on stupid. What we seemed to have repeatedly saw from Detroit is an attempt to make a “sporty-luxury” coupe for a small market of toupe-wearing WWII veterans looking to swing with Ann Margaret. Why did it take a 1970 Chevy Monte Carlo to show Ford how to sell a personal luxury car? Ford invented the genre in 1958 but within a decade ends up with THIS? Talk about failing to catch a trend, right? WTH would have happened if those brougham styling touches showed up on a 1967 Thunderbird first? What Bunkie Knudsen did to the 70 and 71 is best left for another day. The single chrome Bird in the middle of the 67 was replaced by unfortunate twins, on on each headlight door and made the front look too busy, the 69 returned to a larger, again centrally mounted bird with heavy turquoise jewelry. that trim was dropped in 68 in favor of a simple rocker strip and in 69 by wide fluted rocker trim. (though a drop top version of the 67 to 69 versions would not have been a bad looking car.) The car pictured has been relieved of its rocker and lower fender moldings which tied the lines of the front and reat bumpers together. they sold in higher numbers than the convertible. Being built on the Wixom line along with Lincolns made using the carriage doors a matter of simplifying costs. The 4 dr essentially replaced the convertible in the line up. The Thunderbird was a premium Personal luxury Coupe. However, this was a response to market changes. Yes the immediately preceding “Flair birds” of 64 to 66 are my favorite. My father’s philosophy was “happy wife = happy life” and when I (upon moving to Manhattan) gave them my year old 1982 Honda Accord they turned the tough old bird over to my son Chris.Ĭhris killed the big bird in short order, along with a few other cars and motorcycles, and maybe even a boat (or so I’ve been told). The brick-red bird did nothing really well (even when running well) but its big broughaminess delighted my mother. The four-door soldiered on but not without a lot of time with my father and me bent over the fenders trying to squeeze hands and tools here and there to keep it running. Both were bought used off a Dodge dealer’s lot.īoth were problematic, the white two-door so much so it was gone in a year. ” And the less said about the “Bunkie beak” 1970 and 71 models, the better.Īt one time my parents actually had (2) Bunkie Beak T-Birds, a white two-door with a similar shape to the post’s subject bird, and a brick-red four-suicide-door model which was a bit less swoopy but roomier.
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