![]() Just by looking at it, it was considered a good competitor for the BMW 6-series. All of a sudden, the T-Bird was the black sheep of the family who didn't get the much-needed lunch-money (advertising), and it didn't get the sales it deserved. The car exceeded its target price and its weight. full description and technical specificationsĭesigned to compete against the finest luxury German coupes on the market, the 1989 Ford Thunderbird was an underrated vehicle.Īfter the car was born, there were huge controversies in the Ford Motor Company, which led to the retirement of Anthony Kuchta, the man behind the project. Later on, in 2003, T-Bird received an updated version, which provided 284 hp. It was paired to a standard 5-speed automatic transmission. Since the T-Bird was built as a personal luxury coupe, it featured two seats at the front and a bench in the back, all leather-wrapped.įord chose to fit one engine under the Thunderbird's hood: a 3.9-liter V8 taken from Jaguar. But those didn't look too good next to the green LCD lettering placed on the bottom. A good thing was the new look for the instrument cluster, which featured four semi-circular dials, with red needles on white faces. ![]() In the end, it put just the same thing as in most of its other vehicles. The hardtop featured an oval window on the C-pillar, resembling older Thunderbirds.įor the interior, Ford tried for several years to find the materials which would suit best for the car. With a sloped silhouette, which started taller on the front fenders and descended toward the rear, the convertible inspired the old-style design theme, but in a modern interpretation. The retro-design style could have been seen on the front fascia, with its big and round headlights and the flat, chromed grille with square-grid mesh. The design was inspired by the first-generation of the T-Bird. When it unveiled it, the whole market was enthusiastic, but that enthusiasm didn't last long, and the T-Bird sunk with slow sales. It was based on the same platform as the Jaguar XF or the Lincoln LS. View its retro-design look and modern features, the 2001 Thunderbird should have been a blast from the past and revive the brand name, but it was a flop.įord launched the eleventh generation of the Thunderbird in 1999 as a 2001 model-year.As a result, the 55-57 Thunderbirds are worth a large amount of money, and it’s pretty easy to see why. Ford knocked one right out of the park in ’57 and then, despite making a more profitable model in 1958, ruined the potential of having a true Corvette competitor. ![]() As the sky cleared up, the metallic paint finish became a blinding source of simple beauty. In fact, the Kelsey-Hayes wire wheels with tri-star knockoff caps on the centers looked excellent in the cloudy July sky. I was pleasantly surprised to see one in this gorgeous dusk rose color, despite the lack of a hardtop and the lack of the standard wheel covers. Why Ford ever changed it is beyond me, and my favorite example, the 1957 model, was right here for the taking at the 2014 River Edge Car Show. ![]() The first three years of the Thunderbird were a small two-seat convertible that was aimed right at the Corvette. The early Ford Thunderbird was a completely different animal to the four-seat tanks that followed it which launched the personal luxury coupe industry in 1958. ![]()
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