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2021 Ford Thunderbird Trademark Raises More Questions Than Answers

It predates the Mustang, it’s more luxurious, but the Ford Thunderbird can’t hold a candle to the most successful pony car of them all. The 10th generation, which ended production in 1997, had to be discontinued over dwindling demand for personal luxury cars.
1999 Ford Thunderbird prototype 24 photos
Photo: Barrett-Jackson/Ford
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The Blue Oval revived the T-Bird once more for the 2002 model year, a comeback that can be considered an even bigger failure. Put simply, the 11th generation was riddled with problems, and was too expensive for a parts-bin special that felt pretty cheap in comparison to the Lincoln LS.

We also have to remember that retro remakes are bound to fail because the people who used to own Thunderbirds in their youth are now driving SUVs. This rule of thumb stands true for other makes and models, including the Chevrolet SSR and Plymouth Prowler. Heck, even the Volkswagen Beetle was put to pasture in 2019 in favor of a crossover by the name of Taos.

Given this information, a question has to be posed. Why did Ford file a trademark for Thunderbird with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office on January 13th? I wish I knew the answer, but the filing does offer a clue. Class 12 trademarks refer to “motor vehicles, concept motor vehicles, and four-wheeled motor vehicles,” but I still am not convinced the T-Bird will come back with seating for two people and similar components to the Taurus.

As a matter of fact, all of the Dearborn-based automaker’s passenger cars for the U.S. market are out of production. The only exception to this rule is the Mustang, which was treated to an electric crossover spinoff for the 2021 model year. Truth be told, this is the Ford way in North America where pickup trucks reign supreme and sport utility vehicles are hotter than ever before.

If you ask me, there are three possible outcomes for the Thunderbird trademark. The most obvious is the protection of intellectual property, but we also have to consider a design study. If the concept is received well by the media and potential customers, then the third outcome would be an electric utility vehicle with the Thunderbird badge affixed to the power liftgate.
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About the author: Mircea Panait
Mircea Panait profile photo

After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well.
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