Ford creates the personal-luxury segment with the Thunderbird, not rivalling the Chevrolet Corvette which had débuted for the 1953 model year. T’birds kept their emphasis on luxury with a sporty shape, though there were heavy, garish models as the models grew, and, briefly, even four-doors. The line was downsized for 1980 and returned to its more sporting origins in 1983, while the 2002 Thunderbird was a retromodern version of the original, complete with a porthole in the rear pillar.

• Ford Thunderbird (1955–7)
• Ford Thunderbird (1958–60)
• Ford Thunderbird (1961–3)
• Ford Thunderbird (1964–6)
• Ford Thunderbird (1967–9)
• Ford Thunderbird (1970–1)
• Ford Thunderbird (1972–6)
• Ford Thunderbird (1977–9)
• Ford Thunderbird (1980–2)
• Ford Thunderbird (1983–6)
• Ford Thunderbird (1987–8)
• Ford Thunderbird (1989–97)
• Ford Thunderbird (2002–5)

Marque: Ford

q.v. Lincoln Continental, Mercury Cougar, Ford LTD II, Ford Elite