The convertible/roadster body style was replaced by two models, a fixed hardtop and convertible. It added a rear seat, in response to Ford's market research that the two-seat layout of the first generation was limiting sales. The 1958 Ford Thunderbird was the first high volume personal luxury car. This market signal set the stage for further development. The Thunderbird's sporty luxury format with more features, proved vastly more popular with American car buyers than the spartan Corvette sports car by selling 16,155 units in 1955, compared with 674 Corvettes, 809 Chrysler 300D, and 2,200 Studebaker Speedsters. The Thunderbird was able to reach a top speed of 200 km/h (124 mph), which similar to many European grand tourers of the era. The first-generation Thunderbird was a two-seat car with a V8 engine, a suspension that was designed for comfort instead of handling, and also available in either convertible (folding soft-top) or roadster (removable hardtop) body styles. The result was the Ford Thunderbird, Studebaker Speedster, and the Chevrolet Corvette. In the early 1950s, both Ford and General Motors were developing competitors to address what they perceived as the growing popularity of the European sports car niche in the North American market. The Ford Thunderbird, released in 1955, was marketed as a personal car and is often credited with playing a key role in the creation of the personal luxury car segment. The only option was air conditioning for $595. It was produced in the two-door hardtop body style with extensive standard equipment for the time that included power steering, power brakes, power windows, power seats, power vent windows, leather interior, and a tachometer. With a price of approximately US$10,000 (equivalent to $107,638 in 2022), the cost was equivalent to a Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud and 3,012 Mark IIs were sold from 1955 until 1957. Īn example is the Continental Mark II that was introduced for the 1956 model year. The styling of 1950s these luxury cars has been described as a "baroque excess". The Eldorado represented 0.5% of Cadillac's total sales in 1953, with 1,690 Buick Skylarks, 458 Oldsmobile 98 Fiestas, and 750 Packard Caribbeans sold. All models had two-door convertible or hardtop body styles, built on a platform shared with far less expensive models. These included the Cadillac Eldorado, Buick Roadmaster Skylark, Oldsmobile 98 Fiesta, Imperial Newport, Chrysler New Yorker, Chrysler 300 and Chrysler Windsor, Packard Hawk, and Packard Caribbean. Described as "quasi-custom" models, marketers at the time promoted them as "sports cars." This connoted "anything with a convertible top, lots of performance, a few unique styling touches, and top-of-the-line price tag. The initial luxury cars of this category during the 1950s in the United States were expensive, niche market, low-volume vehicles. By the 21st century, the personal luxury market had largely disappeared as consumers migrated to other market segments.ġ955 Ford Thunderbird Niche market As a result of the downsizing trend in the American automotive industry during the late 1970s, many personal luxury cars have been produced as mid-size cars with six-cylinder engines and front-wheel drive. īefore the late 1970s, personal luxury cars were usually large, rear-wheel drive vehicles powered by large V8 engines. According to Hemmings Motor News, Cadillac first entered the "personal luxury car" market in 1967, with a smaller high-volume model. The longest-running nameplate of the personal luxury car was the 50-year production of the Cadillac Eldorado, which started in the 1953 model year, originally designating ultra-premium, low-volume versions of lower-priced Cadillac models, including the hand-built four-door 1957 Eldorado Brougham. The Thunderbird was sold for eleven generations up until the 2005 model year. These changes shifted the Thunderbird's emphasis from sporting to comfort and luxury, and sales increased by 50 percent. Īlthough luxury coupes had been produced in North America for several decades previously, the beginning of the "personal luxury car" genre is generally considered to have started in 1958, due to the success of the Ford Thunderbird (second generation) when it was redesigned from a two-seat car to a four-seat car. The North American manufacturers most often combined engineering, design, and marketing to develop upscale, distinctive " platform sharing" models that became highly profitable. Personal luxury car is a North American car classification describing somewhat sporty, sophisticated mass-market coupés that emphasized comfort over performance.
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