i got this toy car from my dad. it's a white 1962 thunderbird. i used to roll it around a little when i was a kid, but it mostly sat on dad's dresser as i remember.
i discovered it again recently unpacking a box from the garage and brought it inside. i had rememebered on the bottom of the car there was some writing and checking it out again it has all kinds of information about the actual ford thunderbird like "4 new thunderbirds for 62" and "special three phase rust prevention treatment" and "unique swing away steering wheel". apparently this was a dealer's promotional model back in late 61. i know when you go into most dealerships these days they've clearly figured out how to sell you a lot of swag to go along with your purchase, but i was surprised they had been doing it this far back. as best i remember my dad never had a thunderbird although he always was a ford man owning a ranchero, falcon and f100 truck among others. i guess he used to go down to the dealership sometimes and just poke around like i find myself doing sometimes. maybe he picked this one up in hopes it would someday turn into the real thing.
anyway, one day my son and i saw the real thing parked outside of a target. pretty cool. the swing away steering wheel was pushed to the side and the whole thing had the look and feel of the original batmobile. later we saw one (probably a little newer) in our local 4th of july parade.
now this little model sits on my bookcase, although the kids do roll it around some too. it's a high miler that still has a lot of life left in it.
i discovered it again recently unpacking a box from the garage and brought it inside. i had rememebered on the bottom of the car there was some writing and checking it out again it has all kinds of information about the actual ford thunderbird like "4 new thunderbirds for 62" and "special three phase rust prevention treatment" and "unique swing away steering wheel". apparently this was a dealer's promotional model back in late 61. i know when you go into most dealerships these days they've clearly figured out how to sell you a lot of swag to go along with your purchase, but i was surprised they had been doing it this far back. as best i remember my dad never had a thunderbird although he always was a ford man owning a ranchero, falcon and f100 truck among others. i guess he used to go down to the dealership sometimes and just poke around like i find myself doing sometimes. maybe he picked this one up in hopes it would someday turn into the real thing.
anyway, one day my son and i saw the real thing parked outside of a target. pretty cool. the swing away steering wheel was pushed to the side and the whole thing had the look and feel of the original batmobile. later we saw one (probably a little newer) in our local 4th of july parade.
now this little model sits on my bookcase, although the kids do roll it around some too. it's a high miler that still has a lot of life left in it.
No comments:
Post a Comment