The One Millionth T-Bird Ever Made Has a Cedar Rapids Connection

The one-millionth Ford Thunderbird ever made was built in 1972, and back in January its owner, Cedar Rapids collector Bob Peterson said it was "going home".

After years of refurbishing and showing off the sweet ride, which he owns, Bob Peterson donated the landmark vehicle to the Petersen Auto Museum (no relation) in Los Angeles, California. To make it an even smaller world, the museum is just a few miles from where the car was made, according to the Cedar Rapids Gazette.

Instead of getting into a big "brand debate" as I know car lovers are fiercely loyal to their preference, let's marvel at the features this came off the assembly line with. When the millionth edition of this car was made, it was a one-hit-wonder painted in gold (gold was never used as a Thunderbird color again). It featured an all-leather interior and a custom bronze medallion that simply read, “Millionth Thunderbird 1955-1972.”

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Oh, and since purchasing it for $500 in 1985 and putting an extra 5,000 miles on it (it came with 50k, after use by a few previous owners before Peterson, including the Classic Thunderbird Club International,) he has done some restoration. One thing he has not done, as tends to be the case with a good number of collectors of rare items (or superstitious people), Peterson says to this day, the car has never been fully washed, to avoid water in the door panels and wheel walls --just giving it the occasional damp "sponge bath".

It will now be showcased among the Petersen Auto Museum's over 100,000 square feet of cars and car-related memorabilia. The car was built in Pico Rivera, California. Peterson is a classic car guy, not just owning the rare Thunderbird, but also a 1934 Austin 7, a 1949 Crosley, and a 1965 Kellison J2.

It's cool to know someone from our neck of the woods has such an awesome claim to fame.

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