Ford Thunderbird returning? New trademark filed for the iconic name

[Graybeard]

https://www.foxnews.com/auto/ford-thunderbird-returning-trademark

By Gary Gastelu | Fox News

The Ford Bronco is back, but can a Thunderbird be circling overhead?


(Ford)

Ford has filed a new trademark application for the "Thunderbird," suggesting a possible return of the storied nameplate.

MuscleCarsAndTrucks.com discovered the submission, which states that it covers "motor vehicles, namely, concept motor vehicles; four-wheeled motor vehicles," rather than parts or merchandise.

Ford hasn't confirmed any plans for such a model, and automakers often protect their unused IP by updating trademarks, but it has shown a penchant for resurrecting its legacy names in recent years.


Along with the Bronco Sport and upcoming Bronco, Ford also reinstituted the use of proper names across the Lincoln lineup, pulling Continental, Aviator and Corsair out of the archives.

Thunderbird, which was last used in 2005, could potentially find its way onto a future electric car, similar to how the Mustang is being used on the Mustang Mach-E SUV and GMC is rebooting HUMMER.


Ford is planning to introduce 20 electric models worldwide by 2025, but only an F-150 and the Mustang Mach-E have been confirmed by name.

Gary Gastelu is FoxNews.com's Automotive Editor covering the car industry and racing. Follow @foxnewsautos

[BUGEYE]

I would love to see another “56” Tbird.

[oldandslow]

That's the one thing Ford has every built that I liked and then they quickly ruined it by turning it into  a grocery getter for mom.

[BUGEYE]

That's the one thing Ford has every built that I liked and then they quickly ruined it by turning it into  a grocery getter for mom.

Yeah, my brother had a 57 and it only vaguely resembled a Tbird.

[Argent 88]

I had a 1963 when I was on shore duty in Virginia,  Its was a great car, but it sure did like that gas.

[Graybeard]

Long, long ago in a land far, far away......oh wait that was a movie.

At any rate my second car was a '56 Ford. My cousin and me were cruising around town one night trying hard to talk a couple of girls into joining us in my car. They left the drive in we had been at and we followed them.

Shortly thereafter they made a left turn and we followed. The light was already turning as we went under it to turn. Suddenly a '57 T-bird that had just entered the intersection a block away as I was about to turn hit me going at least 100 mph.

Luckily I almost got clear of him and he only hit the last couple feet or so of my rear fender. Still the impact knocked my car out of the road and completely into the lot of a gas station on that corner. He was drunk as a skunk.

We all survived, the girls came back and were witnesses for us. I still know the girls, now old women. One went to school with my now wife and the other went to church with her.

The driver of the T-Bird turned out to be a good friend of a fellow who later became my best friend, a lot of years later tho. He was an alcoholic and eventually the alcohol got him tho not in another wreck.

[oldandslow]

My '56 Ford story is I had a friend that had one and it would run. He was the kind of guy that thought he could get away with doing about anything and tried to prove it regularly. Another friend lived quite a few miles out of town with two sharp curves on and neither was banked the least. There were six of us in the car and superguy decide to show how fast his Ford would run and here we went down that road with the curves. I traveled that road regularly and told him he couldn't make the curve as fast as he was going and to slow down. He said could make and kept his foot on the gas. The road went through a low spot on the curve and the roadbed was built up level. We had barely started around the curve when he realised he couldn't make the curve and gave up and went straight out into the pasture. Everything would have been fine as there were no fences and the pasture was flat as a pancake except the county had left a caliche boulder about the size of two washtubs out in the direction we were headed and he hit it with the left front wheel. Cars don't steer at all with one wheel smashed back under the car. There was also a culvert under the road and the road was about 3 1/2 feet above the pasture. Guess where we curved around to and hit. Right square in that culvert. We bounce up and came to rest rich in the middle of the road blocking both lanes with oil and antifreeze running everywhere but the gas tank survived intact. but everything else under the bar was junk plus the engine and transmission. We were extremely lucky. I had sore ribs and a right elbow from hitting the padded dash and the guy riding shotgun in the front seat wore glasses and hit the sun visor which resulted in broken glasses and a cut eyebrow that had to have stitches.

I don't know how accurate the speedometer was but it was showing 123 when we left the road. The deputy sheriff that I road back to town with asked me how fast we were going and I told him about 60. His reply was b---s---, I know better than that. For the youngsters reading this, it was long before seat belts and air bags came along.

[Lloyd Smale]

never appealed to me. It was never really a fast car. More of an upper worldly mobile yuppy cruiser. Then after the early 60s they absolutely ruined it. Think about it. In American Grafitti a girl drove the t bird and the man with his sleaves rolled up drove a 55 chev. Now you want me to swoon over a early ford. Send me a fairlane thunderbolt or a 427 galaxy xl. The way ford went with the mustang they will probably do it all electric 4 door version of the electric mustang semi sport utility pos. Talk about destroying a classic car name in one swoop? biden will chear it though.