![]() ![]() ![]() The T-Bird was more luxurious than the other Fords of this era. The 1958 T-Bird was spared no luxury or convenience option, so many of these beautiful cars were loaded with options. Yet it still had the rear fins and other styling cues that customers wanted in the late-1950s but they were understated compared to many other cars of this era. The 1958 T-Bird had beautiful new squarish styling which was a foreshadow of the cars to come in the 1960s. Production for the 1958 Thunderbird (T-Bird) was 37,892 units. This move would forever make “McNamara” a dirty word among 2-seater Thunderbird purists, but it caused sales to nearly double overnight. For McNamara this wasn’t enough, after careful study he realized that adding a backseat to the Thunderbird would broaden its appeal thereby substantially increase sales. Sales steady increased to 21,380 units for 1957. ![]() When the 2-seater 1955 Ford Thunderbird became an overnight success, Ford continued the streak through the 1957 model year. All made it to production due to McNamara’s insistence and his great ability at predicting future trends. For instance, the 1961 Lincoln Continental, 1960 Ford Falcon, and 1958 Ford Thunderbird were all revolutionary and very successful cars. McNamara understood what buyers wanted before they did. McNamara was one of the first automobile executives who studied trends and released cars to fuel these trends. Most people are unaware that McNamara’s legacy at Ford lives on today. It was this job that McNamara will forever be remember for, he would step down from the position in early-1968 during the height of the infamous Vietnam War which he boar some of the blame for escalating. In November 1960 he became the President of Ford Motor Company, but a few weeks later he would make history when he became JFK’s Secretary of Defense. There was a rising star at Ford who’s name was Robert McNamara. Chrome wasn’t just something that was added to a car but it was showered onto cars with no restraint. Styling was reaching a new apex where cars were no longer were just cars, but works of art. ![]()
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