Ford Thunderbird The Thunderbird was redesigned for 1961 with sleeker styling that gave the car a distinctively bullet-like appearance. A new engine, the "FE" V8, was the standard and only engine initially offered in the Thunderbird. The V8 produced and was mated to a 3-speed automatic transmission. The new Thunderbird was immediately well received with 73,051 sold for 1961. The car was 1961's Indianapolis 500 pace car and was featured prominently in US President John F. Kennedy's inaugural parade, who appointed Ford executive Robert McNamara as Secretary of Defense. It also benefitted from product placement, notably on the popular television series 77
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