 In an effort to split the model from the Continental Mark V, the Thunderbird was made the replacement of the slow-selling Ford Elite (becoming a counterpart of the Ford LTD II and Mercury Cougar).Along with eliminating the duplication, the marketing revision produced a smaller and less costly Thunderbird that competed against the quartet of GM A-body personal luxury coupes and the Chrysler Cordoba for the first time.As a response to the 1977 GM downsizing of its full-size vehicles, Ford showcased the size of its full-size model line (now longer than a Cadillac Fleetwood Brougham) to consumers skeptical of smaller exterior footprints.