A Brief History of Cars Named for Birds

This audio story is brought to you by BirdNote, a partner of the National Audubon Society. BirdNote episodes air daily on public radio stations nationwide. 

Transcript:

Birds can be sleek, aerodynamic, and powerful—all in one package. Automakers picked up on this early: A cool bird name will sell cars. So far, more than twenty models of cars have been named for birds—some real, some mythical—and they go way back.

In 1928, you could buy a Stutz Blackhawk. The following year, a Kissel White Eagle.

All through the 1960s, Ford Falcons glided over the roadways, dodging Thunderbirds, Buick Skylarks, Plymouth Roadrunners, and AMC Eagles.

Did you know the Toyota Tercel [tur-SELL] shares the name of a male falcon, a tercel [TUR-suhl]?

Bird-named cars peaked in the ‘60s and ‘70s, with Pontiac Firebirds and Jeep Golden Eagles.

Today, instead of soaring bird names, we’re more likely to drive cars with names that seem a little less inspired. The Thunderbirds have been replaced by AMG S63s. I guess we’ve traded our falcons for Priuses.

For BirdNote, I’m Michael Stein.

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Credits:

BirdNote’s theme music was composed and played by Nancy Rumbel and John Kessler.

Music: Spending Spree. Album: The Golden Age of Light Music. Artist: Andy Thurlow and Dolf Van Der Linden & His Orchestra. Publishing: Guild Light 2012

Producer: John Kessler

Managing Producer: Jason Saul

Associate Producer: Ellen Blackstone

Narrator: Michael Stein

Written by Bob Sundstrom

© 2019 Tune In to Nature.org   January 2019