Ford Taunus TC as the Opel Rekord, the Taunus TC2/TC3 (like the TC before it) achieved market place success through a combination of good looks and aggressive pricing. The mechanically conservative car was widely regarded as dependable, despite never entirely ridding itself of irritating defects and weaknesses which a more rigorous development process should have prevented. When, in 1979, the Taunus TC3 (also known as the Taunus series "GBFS") replaced the Taunus TC2 the major components remained basically the same. In the UK Ford presented the facelifted car as the "Cortina Model 80", although it quickly became known, if only informally, as the
Triumph Thunderbird into the US market. The 'Thunderbird' name and retro styling recalls the original Triumph company's golden years of the 1960s. It was the first "classic" Triumph to be produced by the resurgent company. The engine, redesigned to give a period look and de-tuned for more torque at lower rpm, was a variant of the 885 cc triple engine. Peak power was down to from . Several variants of the Thunderbird were produced, Triumph T309TT Legend, Triumph T309RC Adventurer, and the Triumph T309RD Thunderbird Sport, which produced a claimed 82 bhp. The Thunderbird was produced until 2003 and the Thunderbird Sport