Ford Thunderbird developing a new market segment, the personal luxury car. In 1958, the Thunderbird gained a second row of seats. Succeeding generations became larger until the line was downsized in 1977, again in 1980, and once again in 1983. Sales were good until the 1990s, when large 2-door coupes became unpopular. Initial production ceased at the end of 1997. In 2002, production of the Thunderbird started again; a revived 2-seat model was launched which was available through the end of the 2005 model year. From its introduction in 1955 to its final phaseout in 2005, Ford produced over 4.4 million Thunderbirds.
Model car the first-generation Toyota Celica, which has become somewhat of a classic. Nevertheless, Hasegawa also produced 1/25 scale models of 1965-66 American cars, including the 1965 Chevrolet Impala, and 1966 Buick Wildcat, Cadillac Coupe DeVille, and Thunderbird Landau. These were actually Johan and AMT kits that were simplified and modified for the Japanese market. Since the mid-90's several companies including: Tameo, Studio 27, Model Factory Hiro, and Renaissance have issued hundreds of Sports Car and Formula 1 subjects in limited-run, multimedia kit sets. These so-called "multimedia" offerings consist of a combination of resin, white metal, photo-etch, and machined aluminum instead of