1970
Ford made some completely new styling changes for 1970; no longer put to use are the disappearing headlights or conservative grill. The extremely low profile accented by the horizontal line treatment of the taillights made it easy to spot. The delicate and protruding styling of the nose was not popular with the insurance companies, given the innumerable parking lot punches and bumper taps it would have to sustain. The total production for this year was 50,365 and was priced out at the following: 4-door Landau at $5,182, 2-door Landau at $4,104 and the hardtop at $4,961.
1971
As the sales of the Thunderbird rapidly approached the million mark, Ford turned its focus for 1971 on a clean, functional appearance that suggested quality and elegance. The Thunderbird was so popular that in 1971 the famous Texas department store, Neiman Marcus, offered a His & Hers model in its Christmas catalog, priced at only $25,000 for the pair, which included tape recorder, telephone and other special equipment. Neiman Marcus aside, Ford produced 36,055 Thunderbirds in 1971.
1972
Thunderbird sales soared over the million mark, breaking all records and making it the most successful small personal car in automobile history. With the all new Thunderbird, began a new generation of Birds. The Thunderbird retained the style and tradition of the original model in the single 2-door offering and on June 22, 1972, the one-millionth Thunderbird came off the line with total production for this year at 57,814.