December 13: Last two-seat Ford Thunderbird built on this date in 1957

The story goes that the two-seat Ford Thunderbird was first imagined during a wander through Paris' Grand Palais in 1951. Ford's general manager, Lewis D. Crusoe, yearned for a European-style sports car, and asked George Walker, Ford's chief stylist, why they couldn't build one. Walker called Frank Hershey, a veteran designer, who began creating a clay model with colleague William P. Boyer while official approval for the project was sought.