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n e w h a v e n b i z . c o m M a r c h / A p r i l 2 0 1 9 | n e w h a v e n B I Z 13 '57 reasons why this Bird is the word M Y S W E E T R I D E What Can We Do For You? 860.871.1111 www.nemsi.com 166 Tunnel Road, Vernon, CT 06066 Choose an Award-Winning Partner For Over 50 Years, Clients Have Counted On NEMSI For: • HVAC, Plumbing and Process Piping • Design-Build Construction • Energy Management Systems • LEED Certification Programs • Electrical Services • Comprehensive Preventive Maintenance Programs • 24/7/365 Emergency Response Recent Awards Include: » ABC Platinum Safety Award » ABC Accredited Quality Contractor (ABC-AQC) » ABC Excellence in Construction Award » ABC Specialty Contractor of the Year » Contracting Business First Place Design/Build Award License #s: E1-104939 • S1- 302974 P1- 203519 • F1- 10498 • SM1-192 • MC-1134 Offices in: New London | Trumbull | Pawtucket, RI | Palmer, MA | Manchester, NH | Albany, NY Offi ces in: New London | Trumbull | Pawtucket, RI Palmer, MA | Manchester, NH | Albany, NY Choose an Award-Winning Partner For Over 50 Years, Clients Have Counted On NEMSI For: • HVAC, Plumbing and Process Piping • Design-Build Construction • Energy Management Systems • LEED Certifi cation Programs • Electrical Services • Comprehensive Preventive Maintenance Programs • 24/7/365 Emergency Response License #s: E1-104939 • S1- 302974 P1- 203519 • F1- 10498 • SM1-192 • MC-1134 What Can We Do For You? 860.871.1111 www.nemsi.com 166 Tunnel Road, Vernon, CT 06066 Recent Awards Include: » ABC Platinum Safety Award » ABC Accredited Quality Contractor (ABC-AQC) » ABC Excellence in Construction Award » ABC Specialty Contractor of the Year » Contracting Business First Place Design/Build Award S ome products and events are inextricably tied to their place in time, a single snapshot in his- tory when the sun shone most brilliantly on them. A 1982 Château Lafite. e 1927 Yankees. e Hurricane of 1938 (okay -- that one's kind of a bummer). e 1957 Ford underbird. e stuff that dreams are made of. e first generation of un- derbirds were über-sexy two-seat convertibles produced by Ford for the model years 1955 to 1957, the first two-seat Fords manufac- tured since 1938. (Ford continued production through 2005 over 11 model generations.) e '57 model was the last two-seater produced by Ford until 1982. e T Bird was developed in response to the 1953 Motorama display at the New York Auto Show, which introduced the Chevrolet Corvette to the world. e Corvette was in turn developed in response to the growing popularity of Euro- pean sports cars (can you say Jag?) in America. Lucille Jenkins of Guilford always wanted a T Bird. An avid designer and sometime fashion model over her long career (she "retired" a few years ago — sort of ), Jenkins found her '57 hardtop in 2008. Or maybe it found her. "e moment I saw that car, it was love at first sight," she says. "I took it for a drive, and we made the deal right then and there." Jenkins calls her baby Trixie (hence the pronoun), and together the pair of them provide quite a spectacle. But unlike her owner, Trixie is not exactly ladylike — her unmistakable throaty roar comes from a 312-cubic-inch (5.1-liter) Y-block V8, which screams muscle, not mascara. And the thing goes — no need to be delicate here — like a bat out of hell. Jenkins, who drives her Bird regularly (it's quite a pace- change from her other Ford — a Focus) avers that she doesn't drive too fast, usually. But neither will anyone mistake her for the little old lady from Pasadena. Jenkins paid a little over $30,000 for her Bird a decade ago (1957 MSRP: $3,408). Today, if you can find one, a nice '57 might set you back north of $100,000. Lucille Jenkins' T Bird? n Jenkins' Bird left the factory in black livery but later acquired this custom burgundy finish. 'Black has no pizzazz,' its owner says. T R E N D I N G

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