Manufacturing Industry

SMC is enabling Ford to return the Thunder.

Plastics News, January, 2001 by Miel, Rhoda

DETROIT -- Ford Motor Co.'s new dream machine comes in plastic. As the carmaker geared up for production of its new Thunderbird, designers and engineers realized the best way to make the sleek lines and eye-catching curves of the vehicle was to turn to composites. So as the 2002 Thunderbird hits showrooms later this year, it will be with a sheet molded compound hood, fenders, rear deck and optional 82-pound SMC hard top.

"Part of why we chose the materials we did is that we wanted the reaction we did to the [1999] concept car," Nancy Gioia, chief program engineer for Thunderbird, said during its Jan. 8 unveiling at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit. Ford had halted production of the Thunderbird with the 1997 model year, but premiered...

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