sold in small numbers, the first-year T-Bird managed to win over 16,155 customers. While other sports cars for sale in the U.S. Optional power assists cradled passengers in the lap of luxury. A standard telescoping steering column helped drivers find an optimal position behind the wheel. Roll-up windows and the availability of a removable fiberglass top lent more all-weather comfort than the folding tops and snap-in curtains associated with most other two-seaters. Its family car-like suspension delivered a softer ride than 'pure' sports cars (and would be made softer still in 1956). Though it was inspired by the many - mostly foreign-built - sports cars that were capturing the imagination of American enthusiasts in the early 1950s, the Thunderbird was built like a little luxury car. Overdrive was also available for stickshift cars. Equipped with a Holley four-barrel carburetor and dual exhausts, it made 193 bhp at 4,400 rpm in cars built with the standard three-speed manual transmission, or 198 bhp in those fitted with the extra-cost Fordomatic automatic gearbox. The power part of the equation came from the 292-cid version of the corporate 'Y-block' ohv V-8 shared with Mercury. The Thunderbird managed to avoid being cluttered with excessive chrome trim or outlandish two-tone paint schemes. (Ford pointed out in advertising that the Thunderbird's height from the cowl to the ground was just slightly more than three feet.) It had a 102-inch wheelbase - more than a foot shorter than a 1955 Ford sedan - yet borrowed heavily from the many new styling touches adopted for the year's full-size Fords. The introductory T-Bird had style in spades, owing to its low, two-seat bodywork.

New thunderbird convertible