Ford spent about $20 million developing the power-retractable hard top for 1957, around $155 million in today’s dollars. Predating transistors, the electrical mechanism used 610 feet of wire, three drive motors, four lock motors, eight circuit breakers, ten limit switches, and ten power relays. The roof could be actuated in 40 seconds, but when lowered trunk space was severely limited. Though the flagship vehicle cost twice as much as a baseline sedan, nearly 49,000 were sold between 1957-1959.