Rolling out the Thunderbird was a big deal for Ford. So big that Henry Ford II showed up
to meet and greet the press at an event at the Ford Motor Company.
Henry Ford II steps out of new T-Bird at the Ford Rotunda and the press
gathers around to look at the car. Technicians install the wheel skirts and
hard top. It's also taken for spin on the test track.
Ford exectuvies, Ernie Breech (Ford Motor Company number two man) and L. D. Crusoe (EVP Cars & Trucks) take the Italian Ambassador, Manlio Brosio and the Premier, Mario Scelba, for a drive in a new Thunderbird.
To show of the performance of its new Thunderbird, Ford hired race car driver Wilbur Shaw to take journalists for a spin around the Indianapolis Speedway where the famous Indy 500 is held every year.
Ford executives and the press look at the new Thunderbird and take it for a spin at the Ford track in Dearborn
In 1954, Ford launched a PR blitz to drum up interest in its new
Thunderbird. This media tour took them to parades in Wilmington, Deleware, to
the famous basement at Filene's Department store in Boston and meet reporters
in Atlanta, St. Paul and elsewhere. They showed off its top down styling and
sparkling V8 with the Thunderbird logo on the valve covers
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