Thunderbird: The American Dream Car Returns; Cross-Country Tour Rekindles The Excitement
22 May 2000
Thunderbird: The American Dream Car Returns; Cross-Country Tour Rekindles The ExcitementDEARBORN, Mich., May 22 The legendary Ford Thunderbird returns, as Ford confirms it will begin building the 2002-model production car beginning next year. Meanwhile, this summer, Americans in major cities across the country have a chance to win one of three 1950s-era classic Thunderbirds as part of a special tour designed to build on the excitement of the car that has become a national icon. Beginning Memorial Day weekend on May 27, three mid-1950s-era white, two- seat roadsters will begin a tour driving through the streets of 144 cities and towns as part of Ford's "American Dream Car Tour." The tour kicks off in Southern California, South Florida and the greater New York Area. It continues through Aug. 20. People spotting one of the classic white cars sporting the American Dream Car Tour logo can enter a sweepstakes and could win one of three vintage cars. Launched in 1955, few of these classic Thunderbird cars remain, and some are valued as high as $60,000 by classic car buffs. To register, observers can log on to the web at http://www.fordvehicles.com or write to: Dream Car, Box 1955, Young America, Minnesota, 55594, providing information on the day, city and approximate location they saw the car. The sweepstakes winners will be announced in October. Dealers are not yet taking orders for the new 2002 Thunderbird. However, the American Dream Car Tour is the first step in Ford's marketing efforts for the new car. Other efforts will follow, including the debut of a special limited-edition model at this year's Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance in August. The new 2002 Thunderbird will closely resemble the concept introduced last year at auto shows across the country. The car is designed as a modern interpretation of the 1955 original, featuring many design cues from the past, including the signature "porthole" windows and removable hardtop. Following you will find the American Dream Car Tour schedule including dates and cities. No purchase is necessary to enter the sweepstakes, which is open only to legal U.S. residents 18 years of age and older. The contest is void where prohibited by law. For official rules and registration, log on to http://www.fordvehicles.com. MAY 27-29 JUNE 7 JUNE 20 New York, NY Tallahassee, FL Fort Wayne, IN Long Island, NY JUNE 8 Savannah, GA Newark, NJ Madison, WI Hilton Head, SC Miami, FL JUNE 8-9 JUNE 21 Fort Lauderdale, FL Mobile, AL Charleston, SC West Palm Beach, FL JUNE 9-11 Durango, CO MAY 27-31 Chicago, IL JUNE 22 Los Angeles JUNE 10 Myrtle Beach, SC MAY 31 Albuquerque, NM Telluride, CO Naples, FL JUNE 10-11 JUNE 23 Fort Meyers, FL New Orleans, LA Toledo, OH JUNE 1 JUNE 11 Montrose, CO Sarasota, FL Santa Fe, NM JUNE 24 Palm Spring, CA JUNE 13 Cleveland, OH JUNE 2 Grand Rapids, MI Columbia, SC Milwaukee, WI Shreveport, LA Grand Junction, CO Tampa, FL Flagstaff, AZ JUNE 25 St. Petersburg, FL JUNE 14 Buffalo, NY Route 5, California Flint, MI Greenville, SC JUNE 3 Lansing, MI JUNE 26 Green Bay, WI Sedona, AZ Rochester, NY JUNE 3-4 JUNE 15 JUNE 26-27 Orlando, FL Ann Arbor, MI Charlotte, NC San Diego, CA Montgomery, AL JUNE 27 JUNE 4 JUNE 16 Syracuse, NY Rochester, MN Birmingham, AL Aspen, CO JUNE 5 JUNE 16-18 JUNE 28 Daytona, FL Detroit, MI Greensboro, NC JUNE 5-6 JUNE 17-18 Beaver Creek, CO Minneapolis, MN Atlanta, GA Vail, CO St. Paul, MN JUNE 17-19 JUNE 29 JUNE 6 Phoenix, AZ Albany, NY Jacksonville, FL JUNE 19 Raleigh, NC JUNE 6-7 Macon, GA Boulder, CO Tucson, AZ JUNE 30 JULY 12 JULY 24 Springfield, MA Hartford, CT Reno, NV Fort Collins, CO Boise, ID JULY 25-27 JULY 1 JULY 14 Dallas, TX Worchester, MA Knoxville, TN Fort Worth, TX Richmond, VA JULY 14-15 JULY 26 JULY 1-4 Seattle, WA Indianapolis, IN Denver, CO Tacoma, WA JULY 26-27 JULY 3-4 JULY 15 Las Vegas, NV Boston, MA Chattanooga, TN JULY 27 Washington, DC Philadelphia, PA Peoria, IL Arlington, VA JULY 16 JULY 28 JULY 5 Nashville, TN Waco, TX Ocean City, MD Scranton, PA JULY 29 JULY 6 Wilkes-Barre, PA Austin, TX Annapolis, MD JULY 17-18 Bakersfield, CA Colorado Springs, CO Portland, OR JULY 29-30 JULY 7 JULY 18 Oshkosh, WI Manchester, NH Memphis, TN JULY 30 Baltimore, MD Pittsburgh, PA San Antonio, TX Pueblo, CO JULY 19 Fresno, CA JULY 8 Columbus, OH JULY 31 Portland, ME Salem, OR Santa Barbara, CA JULY 8-9 Eugene, OR AUGUST 1 Virginia Beach, VA JULY 20 Corpus Christi, TX Norfolk, VA Little Rock, AR Bloomington, IN JULY 9 Cincinnati, OH AUGUST 2 Cape Cod, MA JULY 21 Springfield, IL JULY 10 Bend, OR AUGUST 2-4 Outer Banks, VA JULY 22 Houston, TX Salt Lake City, UT Tulsa, OK AUGUST 3 JULY 11 Lexington, KY St. Louis, MO Roanoke, VA JULY 23 AUGUST 4 Providence, RI Oklahoma City, OK Sacramento, CA AUGUST 5-8 San Francisco, CA San Jose, CA Oakland, CA Berkeley, CA AUGUST 6 El Paso, TX AUGUST 7 Kansas City, KS AUGUST 8 Des Moines, IA AUGUST 9 Omaha, NB AUGUST 10 Stockton, CA AUGUST 11 Sioux Falls, SD Modesto, CA AUGUST 17 Pebble Beach, CA