February 13: Ford makes the Thunderbird a four-seater on this date in 1958

While the Thunderbird was originally launched as Ford's answer to the Corvette, it was never meant to be a true sports car, but rather a near-luxury car with two seats. After three years of sales, however, Ford executives began to wonder just how many they could sell if they added a pair of rear seats. On this date in in 1958, Ford unveiled the four-seat Thunderbird, and it quickly doubled sales — as it would again the following year, en route to becoming one of the most popular vehicles Ford ever built, although Ford never actually sold one that could take flight:

Photo: cosmosjon via Flickr/Motoramic