Ford Thunderbird (seventh generation)

Since Lincoln reintroduced the Continental Mark series in 1969, it had shared common engineering and underpinnings with the Thunderbird. During the 1970s, this led to the latter car becoming heavy and expensive in comparison to competition from Chrysler and General Motors. For the 1977 model year, as both cars were redesigned, the Thunderbird was split from the Continental Mark V. As the Ford LTD II replaced the Torino, the Thunderbird replaced the Elite. Alongside the Mercury Cougar XR7, the Thunderbird now competed in the best selling reasonably priced intermediate personal luxury car market against the Chrysler Cordoba/300, Dodge Charger/Magnum/XE and the General Motors quartet of the Buick Regal, Chevrolet Monte Carlo, Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme and Pontiac Grand Prix.

1979 Ford Thunderbird

Although not as deliberate a downsizing as what was to come to future Ford cars, the 1977 Thunderbird was smaller than its predecessor, shedding nearly 10 inches (254 mm) of length and 900 lb (408 kg) of weight; height and width remained essentially unchanged. The 1977 Thunderbird was created on the existing intermediate car platform by recycling a select mix of body, interior and trim parts from the previous year's Ford Elite, Mercury Montego and Mercury Cougar combined with all new styling from the doors back to create a dramatic new Thunderbird look. The Thunderbird was distinguished from the LTD II and Cougar 2-door models by its unique wrap-over "basket handle" roofline with opera windows and large rear side quarter windows separated from the rear window by thin C-pillars. Headlamps hidden with retractable covers and full-width dropped center taillamps made a comeback from the late 1960s. As such being based on the intermediate Ford platform, a wider range of powertrains were now available. The base engine was the 302 cu in (4.9 L) Windsor V8, while the larger 351 cu in (5.8 L) 351M and 400 cu in (6.6 L) 335 along with T-tops were available as options along with the 351W. In California, the 351 was the only engine available. Although the smaller engines had lower output than the 460 V8, the lighter weight did compensate towards overall performance; the 400 was dropped in 1979 with the introduction of CAFE requirements.