Cars

1957 Ford Thunderbird

Finn L.

Originating from Dearborn, Michigan, the 1957 Ford Thunderbird in my opinion, is one of the best classic cars to exist. With a powerful V8 engine and aerodynamic front and rear ends the thunderbird is granted with power, speed, and performance. The creation of the 1957 Thunderbird was purposed for power steering, better drivability, and windows.

The thunderbird’s engine was made up of “90 degree V8 cylinder layout, 2 valves per cylinder and an overhead valve gear” with an engine output of 480 rpm(revolutions per minute) and 270 hp(horsepower)!  The “power gets transferred to the wheels of the car via a 3 speed manual transmission” giving the car a top speed of 124 mph(miles per hour). Some updates that were made to the 1957 model were a large porthole and a removable hardtop for the convertible aspect of the car. Also, in the models made in the 1950s, there was a problem with having an offbeat driving position that was fixed. This basically meant that people found that it was uncomfortable because of the low seat and steering wheel that was too close to the driver’s chest.

The Thunderbird was made by George Walker and Louis D. Crusoe. This idea was thought of because of the fact Ford needed a car with sportier design and body and the 1955 model was named the “True Ford Sports Car”. This car just kept getting better and better as time went on and Ford came with making different variations for just over 11 generations. The influence for the creation of the Thunderbird series was that Louis was admiring some European designs when he was on a trip in Paris to go see a auto show. The attention this car was getting put into a lot of pop culture references which gave this vehicle a high cultural significance.

Overall, this car is probably one of the best and most popular cars of its time and has a stunning performance all around. Throughout all of the models, Ford has made many great upgrades to this car especially in the 1957 model’s aerodynamics. The specs of this vehicle are great and give it speed, quality, and performance no matter where you are in the world.