Ford Hopes Lightning Strikes with Thunderbird

The Ford Motor Co. hopes to throw its marketing weight behind the revival of the Thunderbird line and that the aura of the classic brand will spread to its other lines.

The Dearborn, Michigan-based company said it already has dealer and customer orders for about 17,000 of the 25,000 T-Birds it is producing for 2002 and believes advance demand is strong enough to sell out its scheduled output over the first two years. Ford now hopes, as it deploys marketing and promotional efforts, it can extend the enormous national attention the two-seat roadster is garnering to its other brands

“The Thunderbird brings people to dealer showrooms and creates interest in the entire brand,” said Ford vice president Chris Theodore.