This wasn't the final nail in the coffin for the Thunderbird though, the rise of the luxury SUV was, with the Range Rover and Mercedes-Benz M class coming to dominate the late 1990s luxury market. Unlike the original Thunderbirds, this wedge-like design was derivative of other styles of cars coming from Japan and Europe. Ford began to adopt what their “New Edge” design, a more aerodynamic body style.

The New York Times suggested that, 'Even as Ford announced that it would stop making the Thunderbird, it held out hope to longtime fans that it might resurrect the model as a small two-seater a few years from now', as a cultural icon the model was significant in Ford's lineup.īut this tenth generation car failed to live up to the public's expectation of what a Thunderbird should be. In 1997 when reports that the car would get cancelled emerged. Using the MN12 platform, the Thunderbird like its stablemate at Mercury seemed less appealing than ever, with the like of BMW's 8 series now entering the market and showing what a two-row sports car could truly be. Times changed for the Thunderbird by 1997 when the final tenth-generation car rolled off the production line in Ohio. This wasn't Knudsen's only change to the Ford lineup though, he made the first-generation Mustang three inches wider before his successor Iaccoca would introduce the infamous second-generation model. This addition to the car came in 1970 and essentially acted as a part of the fifth thunderbird's facelift and attempted to give the Thunderbird the beak of an Eagle, incredibly patriotic. Legendary designer Larry Shinoda, of Corvette fame and thus a fan of pointed noses in his work, penned the beak. Others refer to this as simply a “long nose”, like the one found on the 1969 Pontiac Grand Prix. At this time, the manager introduced a design quirk to the Ford Thunderbird called the Bunkie Beak by enthusiasts.

But along his journey through the company he gave John DeLorean his break and led Pontiac to success in NASCAR A traitor to General Motors, 'Bunkie' became the President of Ford for a very brief stint. Joining the company before the United States had entered the Second World War, he worked his way up the ranks of Pontiac before departing in 1968. Semon “Bunkie” Knudsen had a long and successful history as a General Motors executive.

70 thunderbird convertible