Home»All Photographs»Automobiles As Art 1950s (free downloads)»1955-56 Ford Thunderbirds At Blackhawk

"The Ford Thunderbird was an automobile that was manufactured by Ford in the United States over 11 model generations from 1955 through 2005," according to Wikipedia. "The Thunderbird created a market niche that eventually became known as the personal luxury car.

"The first generation of the Ford Thunderbird is a two-seat convertible that was produced by Ford for the 1955 to 1957 model years. The Thunderbird was the first 2-seat Ford since 1938. It was developed in response to the 1953 Motorama display at the New York Auto Show, which showed the Chevrolet Corvette. The Corvette in turn was developed in response to the popularity of European sports cars among Americans.

"Ford created a completely new market segment around the Thunderbird, the personal car, forerunner to the personal luxury car. While a light weight car with a large V8 engine, the Thunderbird focused more on driver comfort than speed. The Thunderbird was not a direct rival to the European sports cars imported into the United States.

"Until the 11th-generation Ford Thunderbird was unveiled in 2002, this was the only version of the Thunderbird to be produced as a two-seat convertible."

The cars in this gallery were photographed at Danville-based Blackhawk Automotive Museum in California.