T-Bird Demise; What were they thinking?
This was a sorrowful day for my friends and me back in 1958. Since 1953 and 1955 respectively, the Chevrolet Corvette and Ford Thunderbird were the most popular of America's two-seat roadsters. We grade-school lads drooled over them both, but I had a love affair with the sleek, low-slung T-Bird.
Whenever I saw one whilst traveling with the family on two-lane Route 17,
I would get so excited that my mom and dad would tell me to "settle down." It was my dream to one day own a '57 T-Bird, midnight blue with white interior and a Continental tire kit.
Alas, this was never to be, but back in 1958 the dream was strong. Strong, that is, until the Ford Motor Company introduced the first Thunderbird with four seats. What a behemoth, what a tank! How could they do this to the only sports-type car they produced? Why? The new style was appropriately called the 'Square Bird' and could now carry four passengers. The bastards had turned a thing of beauty into just another overweight hunk of Detroit scrap iron.
When I first saw one up close and personal, I was revolted by its hideous lines and obesity. Calling the '58 ugly was being kind. I experienced a spiritual flash that would from that day forward change the way I viewed Detroit products in particular and the auto industry in general. No matter to me that the beast was powered by a 352-cubic-inch, 300 horsepower V-8. It was a hideous barge.
All of the '50s T-Birds are now American cultural symbols. If you are lucky enough to find one today and are planning on a purchase, make sure that your pockets are deep and lined with greenbacks. However, if you look for a model later than 1957 on which to spend all that cash, you might consider counseling, or perhaps buying a harbor tug or a farm tractor.