Ford Thunderbird be positioned back in the trunk. The V8 became the Thunderbird's standard engine, and now produced . Other, even more powerful versions of the V8 were available including one with two four-barrel Holley carburetors and another with a Paxton supercharger delivering . Though Ford was pleased to see sales of the Thunderbird rise to a record-breaking 21,380 units for 1957, company executives felt the car could do even better, leading to a substantial redesign of the car for 1958. Although the 1955-57 Thunderbird was a success, Ford executives—particularly Robert McNamara – were concerned that the car's position as a two-seater
Thunderbird 2 pod vehicles the Thunderiser/Laser Cutter. No models have been issued of this device. The Electromagnetic grabs, according to the "Thunderbird 2" cross-section, are housed in all six pods of "Thunderbird 2" and are hydraulically lowered from a hatch in the base of the pod. However, in the Haynes "Thunderbirds Manual (Agents' Technical Manual)", the grabs take up the whole of Pod 2. The Grabs are used to grab and lift heavy vehicles out of disaster areas and, as seen in "Brink of Disaster" are strong enough to tear an individual carriage from a monorail out of the whole train. They are also