From the December 1976 issue of Car and Driver.

Anyone who doesn’t know that the flight of the Thunderbird has been redi­rected has to have been in a cave with his television turned off since the middle of last September. The Ford Motor Com­pany has been very intent on letting the world know that the Thunderbird is now a “popularly priced” car. This transfor­mation was accomplished through the marketing magic of a $2,727 price cut, and if that won’t catch the ear of the American car buying public, nothing will.

The Thunderbird had always been Ford Division’s car equivalent to Super­man. It was a sporty image car when the first two-passenger model was intro­duced on October 22, 1954, and it re­mained a trendsetter when changed to a boxy, four-passenger coupe in 1958. For years, the Thunderbird engine was the hottest burner you could buy in a Ford. When the emphasis shifted more to lux­ury, the Thunderbird became a plush carriage, very much a sister under the skin to Lincoln’s own Mark IV. But whether it was cars or engines, the Thunderbird name has always stood for Ford's best.

Still, there is a practical limit to the de­mand for the best Ford extant when the list price of the base car floats up toward the $8000 mark, as it did for the 1976 model. People may aspire to the best there is, but when the time comes to sign an order form, they tend to settle for something less. Being a full-service company in the car biz, Ford also of­fered something less in its model line­up—specifically, the Elite. But the multi­tudes tended to buy Chevy Monte Carlos instead. So Ford’s strategy in this sales contest is to send its Superman, the Thunderbird, down into the popular price class to relieve the poor old Elite, which was getting knocked out of the ring.

So much for the reasons why. You will be pleased to know that this Thunder­bird is a heavy-hitter in its new weight class. It's a lean, trim intermediate two­-door hardtop based on the Torino (now called LTD II) unit body. Compared to the old Thunderbird, size has been pared down by 6.4 inches in wheelbase and 10.3 inches in overall length. Weight is down by 630 pounds as well.

While the mechanicals are carried over from bygone Torinos, the look of the new Thunderbird is altogether new. It has a taut, linear shape with the sort of bold styling gestures usually seen only on show cars. The roof is very thin in the side view with a broad B-pillar, a sort of basket handle, that runs across the top just behind the front seats. The effect is very much like that of the old Crown Vic­toria, Ford’s most fashionable hardtop of the 1955 and 1956 model years, except that the pillar was chrome back in those days (it’s painted to match the lower body on the Thunderbird). Even without the basket handle, the Thunderbird’s roof is a major departure from the formal look—the wide rear roof pillars and small or nonexistent rear-quarter glass common on contemporary coupes from Detroit. Harking back, you might even say that the Thunderbird pioneered this formal style. The hardtop of the two-pas­senger models had a rear roof pillar so wide that a porthole (possibly the first modern opera window?) was added in 1956 to aid visibility. When the change was made to the four-passenger model in 1958, the rear pillar became even more massive, a shape that came to be a trademark of Thunderbird design. But now, after 22 years of formal dress, the Thunderbird has cast aside its wide rear pillars in favor of thin, graceful ones that give excellent rear visibility. The front pil­lars seem narrower than usual as well. No longer does the driver have to look through the forest of chunky roof sup­ports. Finally, fashion and function have come to a peaceful coexistence, a change we loudly applaud.

The interior is a fair compromise be­tween function and fashion as well. The thickly padded opulence of past models is gone, replaced with lean and straight­forward trim suggesting efficiency. More importantly, it does not intrude into a passenger space Ford intended to ac­commodate up to six adults. The front door panels, except for their molded armrests, stick close to the door itself. No broad, architectural sweeps to com­pete with you for shoulder room. The molded plastic panel on each side of the rear seat has a recess, similar to those found in jet airliners, to provide a bit more elbow room. The top of the roof is flat and extends well rearward, so headroom in back is no problem, even for six­-footers. In front, even the instrument panel seems to be mindful of the space it occupies. Its lower edge rolls forward to give extra room around the knees.

While the interior of the new Thunder­bird is undeniably functional and effi­cient, it still bears a strong resemblance to other Ford models, both past and present. The woodgrain trim on the in­strument panel and doors and the hori­zontal-bar steering wheel are familiar themes. Happily, the square instruments Ford favors for its sedans didn’t make the cut here. The Thunderbird has a row of four round dials directly in front of the driver. One of them is a speedometer marked in 10-mph increments up to 80 mph, a token gesture toward those wor­rywarts in the Department of Transportation who think the American Automo­tive Dream still centers around going out and pegging the speedometer. Another dial contains a “quartz” clock complete with day and date. Of course, we can’t speak for the clocks in all Thunderbirds, but this one sounded like an electric pencil sharpener on a steady diet of No. 4 Eberhard Fabers. In the Rolls Royce tradition, it sure made the rest of the car seem quiet.

In addition to the day-date clock, there are a number of other options to make one Thunderbird different from another. Bench seats are basic accommodation. By specifying the Interior Decor Group, you can have either a split bench in front with armrests in the center or bucket seats with a console. There is also an Exterior Decor Group including a vinyl roof (available in a choice of 12 colors).

Not all of the options are for appear­ance sake. The choice of engines is be­wildering in its complexity. Normal folks can choose between a 302-cubic-inch two-barrel (standard equipment), a 351-ci two-barrel, a 400-ci two-barrel, or a 400-ci four-barrel, all with single exhaust. Resi­dents of California may select a 351 two-­barrel or a 400 four-barrel. If you live in an area designated by the government as High Altitude (and you guys know who you are), you must choose between a 351 two-barrel or a 400 two-barrel. But either way, you have to take a 3.00 axle ratio instead of the 2.50 destined for the low-altitude folks. Everybody, however, gets an automatic transmission.

The test car was a low-altitude, 49-state 400 two-barrel, and even though that package is verboten for a number of you readers, we’re here to tell you that it runs just great and you’d like it if you could get it. Acceleration is reason­able—17.9 seconds and 75.4 mph in the quarter-mile—and the air cleaner pro­duces enough intake roar to keep this Thunderbird well above the Obedient Servant category.

This new Thunderbird is really a lot more active and agile machine than the old model. All the bulk and upscale in­tentions of the 1976 model gave it a leaden feel—slow, lethargic, cushioned to the point of insensitivity. But the new model behaves like a middleweight who does its daily road work. It’s moderately quick and decidedly graceful in its moves. All Thunderbirds get what Ford calls a “stabul” suspension. The basic machinery is typical of all FoMoCo inter­mediates: coil springs at each corner and four trailing links to position the rear axle. But in addition there is a matched set of front and rear anti-roll bars. Sup­plementing that on the test car was the optional handling suspension, which in­cluded 6.5-inch wide wheels (6.0 is stan­dard), stiffer rear springs, and higher-con­trol rear shock absorbers. As a result, body roll angle is tightly controlled. You can nip through the suburban switch­backs with aplomb in this machine. And even more important, the suspension has a feeling of discipline you don’t find in every Detroit car. It has much to do with shock-absorber calibration. The wheels will take a serious bump in the road without sending the body into a se­ries of rocking-chair memory motions. When you bite smartly into a turn, the nose doesn't dive and then recoil before taking a set. It just braces itself and follows through. Ford has made no attempt to turn the Thunderbird into an oversize Cobra II—relaxed touring is more the idea—but you can now relax at some pretty creditable speeds.

Past owners who chose their Thun­derbirds for the down-soft ride and ca­thedral silence of the interior may be dis­appointed in today’s offering. It’s notice­ably noiser. You can hear exhaust roar and ka-whop of the tires over expansion strips in vivid detail. And those slow, lazy ride motions are gone as well, replaced by, well, a feeling that you're driving on a road rather than soft swells in the North Atlantic. But for our money, that's a pret­ty good trade. It's the difference be­tween a Thunderbird for being chauf­feured around in and one for driving yourself. All of this plus a price cut is a decidedly appealing transformation. Ford obviously has tried to revise the Thun­derbird's flight plan, and we think it couldn't have picked a better direction.

Specifications

Specifications

1977 Ford Thunderbird
Vehicle Type: front-engine, rear-wheel-drive, 6-passenger, 2-door coupe

PRICE
Base/As Tested: $5063/$7946
Options: air conditioning with temperature control, $546.00; AM/FM stereo with tape, $326.00; exterior decor group, $317.00; interior decor group, $299.00; 400 2-bbl, $155.00; power seats, $143.00; power windows, $114.00; convenience group, $96.00; speed control, $93.00; power door locks, $92.00; rear window defogger, $87.00; handling suspension, $79.00; tinted glass, $61.00; HR70-15 WSW tires, $54.00; protection group, $47.00; light group, $46.00; cornering lamps, $43.00; visor vanity mirror, $42.00; electric back-seat release, $32.00; vinyl body side molding, $39.00; day-date clock, $20.00; heavy duty battery, $17.00

ENGINE
pushrod V-8, iron block and heads
Displacement: 400 in3, 6550 cm3
Power (SAE net): 173 hp @ 3800 rpm
Torque (SAE net): 326 lb-ft @ 1600 rpm

TRANSMISSION
3-speed automatic

CHASSIS
Suspension, F/R: control arms/torsion beam
Brakes, F/R: 10.7-in vented disc/11.0-in drum
Tires: Goodyear custom steelguard HR70-15

DIMENSIONS
Wheelbase: 114.0 in
Length: 215.5 in
Width: 78.5 in
Height: 53.0 in
Curb Weight: 4343 lb

C/D TEST RESULTS
60 mph: 11.5 sec
1/4-Mile: 17.9 sec @ 75 mph
80 mph: 20.3 sec
Top Speed (C/D est: 110 mph
Braking, 70–0 mph: 222 ft
Roadholding: 0.74 g

C/D TESTING EXPLAINED