Through the Seventies, Thunderbird gradually drifted away from the personal-luxury-car segment it established single-handedly with the 1958 4-seater version. But the 1980 25th-anniversary model was supposed to recapture lost ground. Ford again downsized the Thunderbird for 1980 buy making it essentially a plush, rather over-styled two-door Fairmont.
Smaller and lighter, with a body design 18% more aerodynamic than the 1979 model, the T-bird handled completely differently, too. A new suspension system, new variable-ratio power rack-and-pinion steering, and the TR-type tire, wheel and suspension option all pointed to handling capabilities not possessed by any previous Thunderbird.
Sales promptly fell some 18,000 units to 156,803. Though smaller, the 1980 T-bird wore trademark touches like wall-to-wall tail lights and a big square Grille. The new silver anniversary edition which headed the three model slate, started at a price of $11,679.
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