Detroit's 1987 models: New electronic inroads: Suspensions are the latest conquest in the trend toward total electronic control of all major automotive subsystems

Few, if any, major mechanical parts of a car cannot be controlled electronically today. Electronically controlled ignitions, engines, displays, on-board diagnostics - to name just a few subsystems - have all become commonplace. But who would have envisioned, just a few years ago, a production automobile with a control system that adjusts the car's ride automatically from soft to firm depending upon driving and road conditions at any instant? The 1987 turbo-powered Ford Thunderbird has it.