With its retro-design look and modern features, the 2001 Thunderbird should have been a blast from the past and revive the brand name, but it was a flop.

Designed to compete against the finest luxury German coupes on the market, the 1989 Ford Thunderbird was an underrated vehicle.

Ford built the ninth generation of the Thunderbird on the same Fox-body platform used for the Mercury Cougar, Ford LTD or Lincoln Continental.

Ford introduced the eighth generation of the Thunderbird for the 1980 model year, and while it was still a personal luxury coupe, it was far from the glorious model of the '60s.

With the oil crisis over, car sales started to rise again, and Ford offered the Thunderbird as a personal luxury vehicle. And it was the most successful generation at that moment.

The seventh and largest Ford Thunderbird shook the American car industry in 1972 with its huge size and massive engines. But the 1973 oil crisis deeply cut into its sales.

It was the last year of manufacture for the fourth generation of the Thunderbird, but it was important for the novelties the car brought.

Fighting with its nimble brother Mustang proved to be more challenging for the Thunderbird, and Ford tried to improve the lineup to keep its customers.

The fourth generation of the T-Bird evolved into a personal luxury coupe, and it stepped away from its previous sporty image. That credit went to the newly launched Mustang.

The third generation of the Thunderbird was a big revolution in the model's history since it came with a completely new design approach.

The second generation of the Thunderbird was born in the jet-age era, where the new fighter-jets heavily influenced car design.

Ford tried to keep the T-Bird momentum and, even though it made some changes for the 1958 model year, it introduced new ones in 1959.

There was a time when cars were just cars. But by the end of the 50’s, things seemed to change.

The first generation of the Thunderbird was not that successful as Ford expected, and the design team was called into action for a final refresh.

Designed and named by Ford as a "personal car," the two-seat Thunderbird was upgraded in 1956 and fixed some of the 1955 models. By today's standards, it might be called a mild facelift.

Ford’s response to the Chevrolet Corvette, the Ford Thunderbird was unveiled to the public toward the end of 1954 at the Detroit Auto Show.