The leisure suit set defected in droves to the Monte Carlo in droves.

Unfortunately for Ford, the public agreed with the press that the new Bird was a dud. Things would get really ugly when a new for 1980 model appeared. The press was not as forgiving, stating that the Thunderbird’s styling “offered every styling cliché know to civilization” (Road & Track) but in the same review praised Fords decision to make the Thunderbird more mainstream. Sales increased dramatically for the 1977 model over the 76 and steadily increased for the next two model years. Much of the success of the Thunderbird was due to Ford’s decision to reposition the car slightly down market to compete with lower priced iron like the Chevy Monte Carlo. The sales spike was due as much to cost cutting as it was shrewd marketing. Previous versions of the car had been rather exclusive, pricey and were built in smaller numbers. Thunderbirds sales during this period went through the roof. It was one of the faster personal luxury coupes on the market which Ford often suggested to by featuring middle aged men in driving gloves behind the wheel. By this time the Thunderbird was not knows as a performance car, and its 0-60 time of around 10 seconds was encroaching on GT car territory.

You could order your Thunderbird with only a V8 engine and a 4-speed automatic transmission. Some cars were fitted with a rear limited slip differential, suggesting performance, but the “new” Thunderbird was nothing more than a comfortable near luxury car. It featured a conventional independent front and live axel rear suspension with front and rear anti roll bars, like nearly every American car of the era. Technically, there was nothing particularly special about the Thunderbird. As before the rear wheel drive Thunderbird could be ordered with a wide range of convience and powertrain options including four different V8 engines ranging from a 130 hp 5.0 to a huge 6.6 L with only 173 hp. The overall look was elegant, but a far cry from the sporting birds of the 60s.

All Thunderbird’s featured the distinctive wrap over roof design (soon copied by Chrysler on the Cordoba) and opera windows in the B pillar.

79 thunderbird