Thunderbird Takes Center Stage As Ford Motor Company
And EAA Announce Sponsorship

The Air Force Thunderbirds won't be at this year's AirVenture Oshkosh air show and fly-in convention, but a different kind of Thunderbird will be on display - a Ford Thunderbird concept car.

"Since 1903 - when Henry Ford started Ford Motor Company and his friends the Wright brothers took their first flight - automobiles and aviation have been intricately linked as part of the fabric of America and the world's transportation history," said Jim Schroer, Ford Motor Company vice president of Marketing and Sales Operations. "This link continues today and into the future," Schroer said. "The new partnership between Ford Motor Company and the EAA is a natural outgrowth and another example of how Ford Motor Company is reaching out directly to consumers."

Ford also will use AirVenture Oshkosh '99 to introduce several innovative automotive technologies, including a first showing of Ford Motor Company's satellite-based, commercial-free digital CD Radio system. In addition, a new-for-2000 seat-mounted climate control system was announced for the Lincoln Navigator.

"AirVenture is a perfect place to introduce high-tech systems to a technically oriented audience," said Neil W. Ressler, vice president and chief technical officer of Ford Motor Company. "It's a chance for us to look beyond the traditional auto show mindset, to reach a tech-savvy audience that thinks of transportation in a very different way."

Although there will be no U.S. Air Force Thunderbird F-16s at the show, Ford will display the Thunderbird concept, the car that has been an auto show-stopper from Detroit to Geneva. The "scarlet" two-seat roadster takes its key styling cues from the classic Ford Thunderbirds of 1955-57, reflecting the value Ford places on its distinguished heritage.

This modern interpretation of a well-loved American icon will be back in production for the new millennium.