With all-new sheet metal and a bevy of clever new convenience gimmicks for 1964, the Ford Thunderbird continued to dominate the personal-luxury field.
Personally, when we recall the Thunderbirds of the sixties, we think of all the wonderful little gadgets and gimmicks that distinguished them from the rest of the personal luxury class—a segment the Thunderbird largely created. On the ’64 T-Bird showcased here, the stand-apart features included the cocktail-lounge rear seating, Silent-Flo Ventilation system, automatic parking brake release, and the Safety Convenience Panel with its warning lamps for low fuel, door ajar, and hazard flasher.
Many of these gimmicks wouldn’t grab much attention among car shoppers today, but in 1964 they were considered spiffy enough to be included in this original Ford dealer film. Previously introduced T-Bird features carried forward as well, such as the Swing-Away steering wheel and the disappearing convertible top that stowed under the deck lid.To underline the novel features, Ford continued the Thunderbird slogan, “unique in all the world,” and added a new one: “an American original.”
With all-new exterior sheet metal for ’64 presenting a more formal look, the Thunderbird only increased its impressive sales numbers with more than 92,000 cars produced, a 46 percent increase over ’63. These were numbers rival Buick could only dream of with its personal-luxury entry, the Riviera, at around 40,000 per year. With prices starting at $4,446, nearly $1,000 more than a Galaxie hardtop, the Thunderbird was a solid earner for the Ford car and truck division. Video below.
Probably my favorite era of Thunderbird. It’s a beautiful car.
I had the opportunity to pick from many round and square birds back in the early 70’s. I lived in Tampa and across the bay was St Petersburg where all the recent retirees lived. Most had bought their last car because of advancing years and many sat forlornly in open air carports. I would drive around on Sundays just waiting to catch one coming back from church. I ended up with mostly 61-63’s , no convertibles but all low miles and in great condition.