STRICTLY BUSINESS: NEW T-BIRD A LOOK OF THE 1950s

There was something different about this particular 1957 T-Bird.

It had the small hood scoop and the fins on the rear fenders, but there was a second seat in the trunk area and a couple of youngsters were riding in it.

My own little 1955 T-Bird was decidedly different. Just a bit shorter, but with the a V-8 powerhouse under the hood. Both, of course, had the removable hardtop, but I was not aware that a four-passenger rig was available.

It wasn't a Ford issue.

The '57 Bird pulled into a service station up the road.

We did, too, armed with a pen and some questions.

"It's a `Birdnest'" said the owner.

It seems that a company in Burbank, Calif., had perfected and placed on the market a kit that enabled owners of 1975 Thunderbird sports cars to increase passenger capacity.

Patented under the name, "Birdnest," the kit could be used only on the 1957 model, but plans at the time -- late in 1958 -- were to develop the same type unit for the 1955 and 1956 T-Birds.

The kit was a simple do-it-yourself project and could be completed in about two hours. The original trunk lid was removed, the seat and new lid were installed, and the graceful lines of the classic little T-Bird were not altered.

Somebody must have been watching.

The following year, the small sports-car look of the T-Bird was gone, and Ford had introduced a new-look, larger, four-passenger T-Bird coupe.

Many people still recall the era of Ford's two-passenger, sports roadster.

A new-look T-Bird

And, the two-passenger, T-Bird coupe of the mid-to-late 1950s is coming back next century.

The original Ford Thunderbird was introduced to the motoring public as a sports car roadster in October 1954, for the 1955 model year.

The new Ford T-Bird was unveiled recently at a national auto show.

The "new" T-Bird will have some original T-Bird design elements but with a more modern look.

The four-passenger Thunderbird was discontinued in 1997, to be redesigned.

Insiders say the concept car will differ little from the production model Ford plans to introduce for the 2001 model year, as Ford Motor Co. is hoping to rekindle the love affair many Americans had with the original T-Birds of its first three years.

The 1955, 1956 and 1957 models were popular classics that included such styling standards as:

-- A removable hardtop with porthole windows.

-- A hood scoop.

-- An oval egg-crate grill.

-- Dainty fins on the rear fenders.

Movie and television fans may recall the jazzy little sports car.

In "American Graffiti," Suzanne Somers, with her platinum blond hair blowing, mouthed "I love you" through the window of a white 1956 T-Bird.

A private eye's wheels

In a television detective series, "Vegas," featuring Robert Ulrich as sleuth Dan Tanna, the private-eye motored around Las Vegas in a classic T-Bird.

Ford has been mentioned numerous times in the music world, but the Beach Boys brought the Thunderbird to the musical front, singing, "she'll have fun, fun, fun 'til her daddy takes the T-Bird away."

The 1955 to 1957 saga of the T-Bird came to an end in 1958, when Ford switched its Thunderbird design to a big, five-seat coupe for 1959. And, in 1997, the T-Bird disappeared from the Ford lineup.

Despite the car's many "overweight" years, T-Bird lovers still associated the name with the sprightly little roadster of the 1950s and images of sock hops, drive-ins and cruising down Main Street, with its V-8-powered engine.

The new Thunderbird concept is loaded with heritage cues, but will be a decidedly modern machine.

Based on the same chassis as the new 2000 Lincoln LS, the T-Bird will be offered only with the LS's 3.9-liter V-8 engine and five-speed automatic transmission.

Some fans would have been satisfied with a faithful recreation of the original T-Bird, but Ford designed the concept car to have a decidedly more modern look, calling the new T-Bird's styling "modern heritage."

The Ford Thunderbird has been an American cultural icon, said Jack Nasser, Ford president and chief executive officer, from the North American International Auto show at Detroit. "Today the all-new Thunderbird concept draws on that rich heritage and introduces a modern interpretation of an automotive legend."

Search for trite, cliche

"It's not the size of the dog in the fight, it's the size of the fight in the dog."

"Smile, tomorrow could be worse."

"Work smarder, not harder, and be careful of yor speling."

Etc.

Cliches! You've heard them, you've said them, and now you can use them to win a vacation package.

And, before you discard the idea that "if it seem too good to be true, it probably is," read on.

Tompkins Press, which publishes books on solutions for operations in warehousing, manufacturing and other industry, is launching a search for the "most trite, generic, hokey, overused, cliched or unmotivating" motivational slogan, has launched a contest for those tired, worn phrases of inspirational gobbledygook slogans.

We want the worst, say officials of Tompkins Press and Tompkins Associates, who devise solutions of excellence for problems in the business world.

Entries received before the March 1 deadline, will be eligible to win a vacation package including two round-trip tickets of any USAir destination in North America, and $1,000 in cash.

That's the No. 1 prize. Other notable entries will receive Tompkins Press books, as well as the publication in the Tompkins Press Book of "Trite, Generic, Hokey, Overused, Cliched or unmotivating Motivational Slogans," to be released in late 1999.

The contest is open to people 21 or older, with the exception of the sponsoring companies -- Tompkins Press, Tompkins Associates, First Travecorp and U.S. Airways -- employees and their families.

To enter?

It's easy. Participants can e-mail their entry to Tompkins Press at slogan@tompkinsinc.com, or visit the contest page at www.tompkinsinc.com/contest.html.

Or, entries may be faxed to 919-872-9666.

B. Ray Owen is business editor for the Southeast Missourian.