Instagram Jump Start: It’s two for T as a Ford Thunderbird flies again

12 December 2016

This is getting ridiculous. For the second week in a row, our Instagram community has selected a photo of a Ford Thunderbird as the most popular post on HagertyClassicCars. Last week, you loved a gold ’66, this week it’s a metallic turquoise ’62. What’s next? As always, that’s completely up to you.

Before you look ahead, however, jump start your work week by taking a quick look back. There’s plenty to like in our top five:

1962 Ford Thunderbird (1,422 likes) – The 1962 Ford Thunderbird equipped with a 300 hp, 390-cid V-8 engine carried a hefty $5,429 price tag. Adjusting for inflation, that’s the equivalent of about $42,803 in today’s economy. Ford still sold 78,011 T-Birds that year.
1949 Cadillac sedan (1,197) – The sheet metal remained much the same on the 1949 Cadillac, but the luxury car sported a longer hood. The restyled grille, now with just one horizontal bar, was given bolder lines and parking light housings wrapped around the fenders.
1971 Oldsmobile 4-4-2 (1,109) – Emissions and fuel restrictions led to a slight but notable drop in performance in the 1971 Oldsmobile 4-4-2. The muscle car’s 455-cid V-8 produced 340 hp, a 25-hp drop from the previous model year.
1958 Chevrolet Corvette (1,087) – Legendary stylist Harley Earl redesigned the 1958 Chevrolet Corvette, and among the highlights were the addition of chrome trunk spears – found no other year – and flush tail lamps instead of the small round lenses (nestled in chrome teardrop housings) that were seen on previous models.
1970 Ford Bronco (1,081) – There were minimal changes to functionality or cosmetics during the Ford Bronco’s 12-year run. This 1970 model is powered by a 205-hp, 302-cid Windsor V-8 engine.

You Like It, We Loved It – Every week there’s a photo on HagertyClassicCars that we think deserved a lot more “likes” than it received. This one – a close-up of the Motor Fuelizer spark plug in a 1925 Packard – is one of those.

Best of the Rest – Photographed 50 years ago during a break in the filming of MGM’s Grand Prix, this is so much more than a shot of James Garner and French actress Francoise Hardy sharing a laugh. Look closer. It’s obvious everyone is having a good time, including Ferrari team manager Franco Lini (in the jacket and tie), who portrayed a photo-journalist in the film. No one, however, is having more fun than Garner. What warm-blooded male wouldn’t want to be him? Posted by @therevsinstitute, it’s our favorite automotive Instagram post of the week.