The Ford Thunderbird (colloquially called the T-Bird) is a personal luxury car manufactured and marketed by Ford from model years 1955 to 2005 (with a 1997–2002 hiatus), across 11 generations. Introduced as a two-seat convertible, the Thunderbird was offered variously as a four-seat hardtop coupe, four-seat convertible, five-seat convertible and hardtop, four-door pillared hardtop sedan, six-passenger hardtop coupe, and five-passenger pillared coupe, with the final generation designed again as a two-seat convertible.
Ford targeted the two-seat Thunderbird as an upscale model, but the 1958 model year design introduced a rear seat and arguably marked the expansion of a market segment eventually known as personal luxury cars, positioned to emphasize comfort and convenience over handling and high-speed performance.
