![]() ![]() Bob Gregorie’s staff had already developed not one but two new Fords: a big car and a new “Light Car” compact. The biggest priority for Ford at that time was the 1949 Ford line, which would be the first all-new Ford products since before the war. Ford’s existing styling staff, led by Eugene (Bob) Gregorie, remained intact, although many of them subsequently left, but their ranks were soon filled out with GM alumni like Eugene Bordinat, Don DeLaRossa, Bob Maguire, Dave Ash, and John Oswald. Breech soon convinced Henry that Ford should emulate General Motors, so they began hiring executives, designers, and engineers from GM. Breech from Bendix as Ford’s new executive vice president. Henry II realized immediately that he needed help to revitalize the company. It had lost its traditional hold on the low-price market to Chevrolet and it was bleeding money to the tune of $10 million a month. The elder Ford’s cronies were finally swept away, but the Ford Motor Company was in very bad shape. In 1945, Henry Ford II, then 28 years old and newly released from the Navy, took the reins of his grandfather’s ailing company. To understand the origins of the Thunderbird, we must step back to the end of World War II. This week, we try to sort out the origins of the 1955 Ford Thunderbird. In the wake of its success, nearly everyone involved with its conception claimed credit for it, slighting each other and playing up their own contributions. Immediately embraced by everyone but sports car purists and Ford accountants, it remains among the most beloved (and most coveted) of all American cars. The old adage, “Success has many fathers, but failure is an orphan,” could well have been coined for this week’s subject. ![]()
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