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Dearborn MI June 24 through 26, 2010
Thunderbird 55th Anniversary Celebration
San Juan Capistrano may have its swallows, but Dearborn has its Thunderbirds! And they returned to the nest at Ford World Headquarters on the 55th Anniversary of the Marque.
Reflecting past Thunderbird milestones, like the 2002 Reveal, or the 2003 Centennial of the Company, or the 50th Anniversary Celebration, Dearborn, Michigan became the epicenter for a gathering of nearly 300 Thunderbirds…298 to be exact. Nearly every model year and nearly every generation of the 47 years of production were represented on the show field. Not just any show field, but the front lot of Ford World Headquarters, nestled happily under the Blue Oval. The ultimate “Return to Dearborn.“
No, no ordinary show and shine, but rather 2 ½ days of celebrations. Thunderbirds (and their owners...as if Thunderbird could arrive on its own) began arriving early in the week. Arriving from 27 states of the union and Provinces of Canada. The host hotel was quickly booked and additional local hostelries came to the forefront providing lodging for the many out of towners.
Indeed this was no ordinary club event! Primarily hosted by the local VTCI chapter, The Water Wonderland Thunderbirds, Chief organizer, Paul Nichols, guided his crew, Charlotte Nichols, Presidenet Mark Koehler, Nelson and Dee Zuchetto and Marie Brucker, and a large cast of other volunteers rallied round to provide organization and direction to over 550 attendees.
No, not like any other club event. Coordinated planning by the Water Wonderland and the American Road Thunderbird Club (the local chapter of the CTCI) and promotion among the major, national organizations, the International Thunderbird Club, the Vintage Thunderbird Club International and the Classic Thunderbird
Club International AND the online forum for retro bird owners, Thunderbird Nest.
Oh and let me tell you about those Retro Birds….they will keep Thunderbird interest alive for generations to come. By far and away, the largest generation group in attendance, marked by the coolness of style and the comforts of contemporary driving…the Retro Bird contingent really drew the numbers.
Sadly missing were the early 80’s Thunderbirds and a dearth of the 90’s Birds. Perhaps lost among car clubs as not classic enough, or still used as daily drivers and not in the loop of club involvement. By the way, more and more, I see daily drivers showing up at cruise nights and car shows…un touched originals, with makeshift repairs and signs of use and wear, are making heads turn at open outings!
But I digress.
Imagine local drivers, being stopped by the Dearborn Police while a caravan of nearly 150 Thunderbirds of all bright shine, polished chrome, and sleek good looks, passes you by, enroute to the Henry Ford Mansion. Yes it’s true. As part of the celebration, attendees enjoyed a breakfast at the Mansion…the public restaurant at the mansion lies over Mr. Ford’s filled in swimming pool! Broken off into groups, we toured the Estate of Mr. and Mrs. Henry Ford. Docents explained his innovative turbine hydroelectric power generation, and the family history. The Mansion was wonderfully cool on a hot muggy Michigan summer day. It’s thick stone construction and placement for breezes from the Rouge River are still effective today. The Mansion will be off radar for a while. Originally willed to the University of Michigan at Dearborn, though with no trust funding to support, and preserve the Estate it has fallen into and out of repair. Now joined in a family trust with the Edsel and Eleanor Ford Estate, restoration and improvement is on the horizon for your future visit.
But WAIT! There’s More…
More???
Yes, Much More.
We passed a leisurely lunch hour, before lining the cars again. Two groups were arranged to attend a unique and rare experience. Driving the Thunderbirds on the Ford Test Track. No longer called the Test Track, now, rather the Center for Advanced Engineering, the Test Track, as it will continue to be known by locals that have always wondered what was running on the other side of the serpentine wall, sits on land, once the Ford Airport, across from the Dearborn Inn. One of the support hangars is still in use, though not for aircraft. In prior events, attendees could take a controlled speed “spin” around the track. But this opportunity was far more exciting. Driving directly onto what is now the high speed area of the Advanced Engineering Center, we ran long straight aways and sharp curves. Taking a break from early afternoon sun, we cooled off inside the auditorium and watched the video about the history of the Test Track and how it is put to use, among Ford’s many test facilities. We could not just leave the facility…no…we left in high style, and high speed! Our lead car, a tire squealing GT 40 no less, lead us back to the high speed section of the track and the noteworthy high speed, high bank turns. You might recall some early Thunderbird advertising where the Thunderbird is pictured high on the bank in the outside lane. Some chose the NASCAR low and flat inside lane, and I ventured my 57 up on the high bank, working my bias ply tires at 65 MPH! The evening was capped off by dinner and door prizes, as attendees swapped stories from home, and shared digital photos of their day.
There was no rest for the weary or the worrisome. Dark skies and weather forecast of unpredictable weather with likely spontaneous thunderstorms greeted the early risers for Saturday’s show and shine. Locals helping with set up, shared worried looks as the ominous clouds rolled across the sky. But Wait!! There is something magical about Thunderbird! Just as the first arrivals at check in drove up the main entrance to Ford World Headquarters, the clouds gave way and out came the sun! One hot unforgiving sun, coupled with Michigan humidity to welcome the uninitiated. Oh, those from the mid Atlantic laughed off my apology for the weather, “this ain’t nothin’” I was told. Well, then, I don’t look forward to seeing…’nothin’ in the way of hot muggy summer weather! Ford photographers captured over 500 images over the day. Guests compared notes and road stories. I have a few stories about, troubles to fix, club members helping, guardian angels sent to rescue me at a break down…we shared them. We listened to the DJ, we got goodie bags and gifts, we took pictures, we got sunburned, we ate hot dogs. How cool is that?
Oh wait, I’m not done yet. We had to line up again. The final muster of the show. Almost half the show attendees, the stalwarts, the “do it till the end gang“, and those from out of town who signed up and paid their money and did not have anyplace else to go, lined up again. Another Police escort, along famous Michigan Avenue, and around the bend, through the back way to Greenfield Village. Henry Ford was an active collector of Americana. Greenfield Village, his showpiece. Workshops, houses, artifacts, a living history museum.
We drove Thunderbirds through it. Only horse drawn carriages and company owned Model T’s drive the narrow lanes through the Village. But that night, Thunderbirds, at 5 MPH, added a new angle of nostalgia to the historic homes and buildings in the Village. We enjoyed a picnic style dinner, hugged our goodbyes and wished safe travels as the sun set over the Pavilion.
Thunderbird, “Unique in All the World” brought together 4 major international club affiliates, 298 automobiles from 27 States and Canadian Provinces. We stopped traffic, we shined, we shared.
Thunderbird 55th Anniversary Celebration, Dearborn Michigan, June 2010.
Respectfully submitted
Steve Legel
Lincoln Park, MI
Thunderbird 55th Anniversary Celebration
San Juan Capistrano may have its swallows, but Dearborn has its Thunderbirds! And they returned to the nest at Ford World Headquarters on the 55th Anniversary of the Marque.
Reflecting past Thunderbird milestones, like the 2002 Reveal, or the 2003 Centennial of the Company, or the 50th Anniversary Celebration, Dearborn, Michigan became the epicenter for a gathering of nearly 300 Thunderbirds…298 to be exact. Nearly every model year and nearly every generation of the 47 years of production were represented on the show field. Not just any show field, but the front lot of Ford World Headquarters, nestled happily under the Blue Oval. The ultimate “Return to Dearborn.“
No, no ordinary show and shine, but rather 2 ½ days of celebrations. Thunderbirds (and their owners...as if Thunderbird could arrive on its own) began arriving early in the week. Arriving from 27 states of the union and Provinces of Canada. The host hotel was quickly booked and additional local hostelries came to the forefront providing lodging for the many out of towners.
Indeed this was no ordinary club event! Primarily hosted by the local VTCI chapter, The Water Wonderland Thunderbirds, Chief organizer, Paul Nichols, guided his crew, Charlotte Nichols, Presidenet Mark Koehler, Nelson and Dee Zuchetto and Marie Brucker, and a large cast of other volunteers rallied round to provide organization and direction to over 550 attendees.
No, not like any other club event. Coordinated planning by the Water Wonderland and the American Road Thunderbird Club (the local chapter of the CTCI) and promotion among the major, national organizations, the International Thunderbird Club, the Vintage Thunderbird Club International and the Classic Thunderbird
Club International AND the online forum for retro bird owners, Thunderbird Nest.
Oh and let me tell you about those Retro Birds….they will keep Thunderbird interest alive for generations to come. By far and away, the largest generation group in attendance, marked by the coolness of style and the comforts of contemporary driving…the Retro Bird contingent really drew the numbers.
Sadly missing were the early 80’s Thunderbirds and a dearth of the 90’s Birds. Perhaps lost among car clubs as not classic enough, or still used as daily drivers and not in the loop of club involvement. By the way, more and more, I see daily drivers showing up at cruise nights and car shows…un touched originals, with makeshift repairs and signs of use and wear, are making heads turn at open outings!
But I digress.
Imagine local drivers, being stopped by the Dearborn Police while a caravan of nearly 150 Thunderbirds of all bright shine, polished chrome, and sleek good looks, passes you by, enroute to the Henry Ford Mansion. Yes it’s true. As part of the celebration, attendees enjoyed a breakfast at the Mansion…the public restaurant at the mansion lies over Mr. Ford’s filled in swimming pool! Broken off into groups, we toured the Estate of Mr. and Mrs. Henry Ford. Docents explained his innovative turbine hydroelectric power generation, and the family history. The Mansion was wonderfully cool on a hot muggy Michigan summer day. It’s thick stone construction and placement for breezes from the Rouge River are still effective today. The Mansion will be off radar for a while. Originally willed to the University of Michigan at Dearborn, though with no trust funding to support, and preserve the Estate it has fallen into and out of repair. Now joined in a family trust with the Edsel and Eleanor Ford Estate, restoration and improvement is on the horizon for your future visit.
But WAIT! There’s More…
More???
Yes, Much More.
We passed a leisurely lunch hour, before lining the cars again. Two groups were arranged to attend a unique and rare experience. Driving the Thunderbirds on the Ford Test Track. No longer called the Test Track, now, rather the Center for Advanced Engineering, the Test Track, as it will continue to be known by locals that have always wondered what was running on the other side of the serpentine wall, sits on land, once the Ford Airport, across from the Dearborn Inn. One of the support hangars is still in use, though not for aircraft. In prior events, attendees could take a controlled speed “spin” around the track. But this opportunity was far more exciting. Driving directly onto what is now the high speed area of the Advanced Engineering Center, we ran long straight aways and sharp curves. Taking a break from early afternoon sun, we cooled off inside the auditorium and watched the video about the history of the Test Track and how it is put to use, among Ford’s many test facilities. We could not just leave the facility…no…we left in high style, and high speed! Our lead car, a tire squealing GT 40 no less, lead us back to the high speed section of the track and the noteworthy high speed, high bank turns. You might recall some early Thunderbird advertising where the Thunderbird is pictured high on the bank in the outside lane. Some chose the NASCAR low and flat inside lane, and I ventured my 57 up on the high bank, working my bias ply tires at 65 MPH! The evening was capped off by dinner and door prizes, as attendees swapped stories from home, and shared digital photos of their day.
There was no rest for the weary or the worrisome. Dark skies and weather forecast of unpredictable weather with likely spontaneous thunderstorms greeted the early risers for Saturday’s show and shine. Locals helping with set up, shared worried looks as the ominous clouds rolled across the sky. But Wait!! There is something magical about Thunderbird! Just as the first arrivals at check in drove up the main entrance to Ford World Headquarters, the clouds gave way and out came the sun! One hot unforgiving sun, coupled with Michigan humidity to welcome the uninitiated. Oh, those from the mid Atlantic laughed off my apology for the weather, “this ain’t nothin’” I was told. Well, then, I don’t look forward to seeing…’nothin’ in the way of hot muggy summer weather! Ford photographers captured over 500 images over the day. Guests compared notes and road stories. I have a few stories about, troubles to fix, club members helping, guardian angels sent to rescue me at a break down…we shared them. We listened to the DJ, we got goodie bags and gifts, we took pictures, we got sunburned, we ate hot dogs. How cool is that?
Oh wait, I’m not done yet. We had to line up again. The final muster of the show. Almost half the show attendees, the stalwarts, the “do it till the end gang“, and those from out of town who signed up and paid their money and did not have anyplace else to go, lined up again. Another Police escort, along famous Michigan Avenue, and around the bend, through the back way to Greenfield Village. Henry Ford was an active collector of Americana. Greenfield Village, his showpiece. Workshops, houses, artifacts, a living history museum.
We drove Thunderbirds through it. Only horse drawn carriages and company owned Model T’s drive the narrow lanes through the Village. But that night, Thunderbirds, at 5 MPH, added a new angle of nostalgia to the historic homes and buildings in the Village. We enjoyed a picnic style dinner, hugged our goodbyes and wished safe travels as the sun set over the Pavilion.
Thunderbird, “Unique in All the World” brought together 4 major international club affiliates, 298 automobiles from 27 States and Canadian Provinces. We stopped traffic, we shined, we shared.
Thunderbird 55th Anniversary Celebration, Dearborn Michigan, June 2010.
Respectfully submitted
Steve Legel
Lincoln Park, MI
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