I have had the pleasure of driving a number of American cars made in the 60s and early 70’s including Cadillacs from ‘60 and ‘65, a couple of Mustangs and even a Pontiac Parisienne from the early 70s (bought in Vancouver for an American holiday in ‘79). That one had also been neglected during the years in Sweden but it was so much nicer to drive than the T-Bird and it was fixed up with assistance of my handy wife an her brothers. I bought my first 1963 Riviera the year after. Lots of problems with it during the 6 months that I had it, it was an expensive crash course for someone that loves mathematics and IT whilst being rather unpractical. It was horrible to drive on anything less than freeways which wasn’t that common in Sweden. The car was sold new in Sweden and I guess there were less than 10 of them sold in the country. I had absolutely no knowledge about the practical function of a car and I had grown up in a metric world without even knowing that there were something called inch. The instruments, the design in general and the rear end with all the lights sucked me in. It was 1975 in Sweden and I was 18 years young and a fan of SF which probably was what got me so interested on this car a few years earlier when I saw it the first time. Anyway, just some random thoughts on a subject on a cold Friday morning while I'm getting up the gumption to actually get to working. I've seen several 64-66 Thunderbirds over the years that I really thought were sharp, and should bring more money, but they just don't. Maybe I'm just biased because I love the 63-65 Rivieras, but I don't think so. Now, years later,1st Gen Rivieras, especially the Gran Sports, seem much more valuable than equivalent 64-66 Thunderbirds, and seem to have a greater following.

What the Riviera DIDN'T do was outsell the Thunderbird, and I never understood why. I know the two cars were competitive with each other, but the Riviera by most accounts was a little faster, little less expensive, handled somewhat better, and was arguably better looking, at least less glitzy. She thought the Buick was much 'prettier', in her words. He ultimately went with the Riviera, due in no small part to influence from my Mother. When my Dad bought his '65 Riv, he was also pricing out '65 Thunderbirds.

T bird 64