Dedicated to me
THUNDERBIRD Growing up, my dad took me to the city festival every summer. Each year there would be a antique car show lined up with hot rods. It wasn’t anything too fancy though. Cars were parked up on a open grass field with a background of traveling carnivals rides. I remember looking at the vehicles in awe of how beautiful they were. There was nothing like seeing an antique car with bright pink paint and a wide silver bumper. My favorites were always from the 50s, especially the first generation of Ford Thunderbirds. Boxy and long. These rides would put me back in time. I could imagine myself sitting in my very own Thunderbird. I would have my milkshake in one hand, and the other on the wheel while making my way to the drive-in theatre. Why is it that just from the look of the car I can imagine myself doing these things? I don’t have valuable knowledge on antique cars, but something in my brain can make the connection between the look of a Ford Thunderbird taillight and a diner with checkerboard floors.
+
=
WHAT A
girl WANTS
The only thing keeping me apart from owning a 1955 Ford Thunderbird is $30,000. The Thunderbird to me is that Van Gogh painting you secretly want in your living room. You might not know anything much about Van Gogh or the meaning of his paintings, but you admire The Starry Night anyways, even if you can’t afford it.
I don’t know anything about antique cars, but that hasn’t stop me from attending car shows. I was so eager to go everytime but, I always felt out of place. Not once, did I feel like I belonged. Maybe it’s because I don’t even know how to change my own oil, but we can forget I said that. It was very intimidating to be a girl in a room full of men holding rags and wrenches. The environment made it easy to feel small. The looks of the car where enough to keep me coming back. I couldn’t get enough of how different cars looked only 50 years ago. The colors, shapes, bumpers, radios, rims, seats, steering wheels, trunks, mirrors, tail lights, grills, and cabriolet ceilings are only a portion of what makes me bend over backwards for antique Thunderbirds. The relationship between the car and the time speaks for itself. If there’s anything that screams 1950s, it’s a classic Ford Thunderbird. When thinking about the car it reminds me of everything else I also admired happening in the 50s. The fashion, food, events, and people. Loving a antique car isn’t about knowing everything about it inside and out. It’s about the story you make with it.
When attending car shows, I would eventually forget about the anxiety when I immersed myself into the antiques. The looks of the car are clearly my favorite part, but I quickly realized that my admiration for the vehicle comes from how I imagine myself owning one. I would daydream about sitting behind the wheel of the Thunderbird and then my mind would put me into a fictional life in the 1950s. As different as I was from the owners of the cars, I think we could agree that Thunderbirds are time machines.
THE ICONS WHO DROVE AN ICON.
, 55
FRANK
The Ford Thunderbird is an American Classic. It’s no surprise that some of the coolest people to walk the earth were owners of a Thunderbird. The Capitol Records Company purchased this 1955 Thunderbird convertible for Frank Sinatra in September '55. This car has everything that you could dream of, luxury, style and power. This vehicle was far from ordinary with extra chrome trim. The car’s power was estimated at 193 horsepower, but was also built for showing off it’s flashy looks.
FLY ME TO T
ON O HE M
ELVIS PRESLEY In 1961 Elvis Bought his very own Thunderbird when he was known to be a Cadillac man. He had paid $6,284 for this 1962 8-cylinder sport roadster T-bird. Elvis was known as a luxury car collector. He was also known for buying flashy vehicles and giving them away to strangers. He loved giving away his cars and people would go to his hometown hoping for a new set of wheels.
CA D IL TH E
C A L
A M
TH U A S UY B N
NDERBIRD
MARILYN MONROE
SAILING ALONG
Marilyn is pictured her with her husband Arthur Miller.
H IG
AY W H
Marilyn’s photographer, Milton Greene, gifted her a 1956 Thunderbird that had a 225 horsepower engine. This luxury car had a “Raven Black” painted exterior paired with black and white detailing on the inside. Marilyn was known for cruising her Thunderbird around town with her besties. Her friend says “We’d take the convertible and with the top down, we’d go sailing along the highway. We both liked to feel the wind in our faces and the warmth of the heater on our legs.”
TH E
The T-bird Generation Collecting Cards 50 years from 1955 to 2005