William C Montgomery, you are welcome to revisit your experience in a Retro anytime with our Phoenix and try to enjoy it for what it is. It’s a vert with 280 hp for the common person. We recently made a trip from the Tx Gulf coast to Hot Springs, Ark. and averaged a surprising 28 mpg and we tried to keep her cruise set at 72 mph where we were allowed. Not bad for a little V-8. Yep, Ford didn’t market the car well, priced it to high, could have done better in a couple of areas but for us, she’s a dream!

Perhaps, but I doubt it’d attract enough to have made the car last any longer than it did. It seems to me this was somebody’s pet project that was destined to only appeal to a small group of buyers, and once those buyers had their fill it really had nowhere to go.

I have recently purchased a 2004 with very low miles for half the cost of a new one at MSRP. I’ve compared the T-bird to other similar convertible cars, and found it to be much more feature rich and comfortable than comparably priced cars. Electronic and mechanical gadgets abound.

First and foremost, this car is a touring car, not a sports car. Once you get beyond this car not being a sports car, you will be surprised at how well it really handles.

The V8 engine is more than just for drinking gas or bragging rights. The T-bird launches from any red light or stop sign with muscle car authority. Gobs of low end torque are on tap, and easily leaves gas sipping commuter cars struggling to catch up. Okay, it’s not (and never will be) a GT500 or Charger, and I can live with that – and so can my cheap insurance payments. Drop in a Borla exhaust and CAI kit, and this car will rock even more.

The Thunderbird is, after all, about the experience of the ride and being seen. Since it is a weekend cruiser, I really can’t fault the car for much, as it fits me to a T, and everyone who sees it, loves it. In my opinion, they have really came into their own now that the price has dropped so radically.

The dealer was desperately trying to clear them off the lot so I got a substantial dealer rebate (over $10K) and an additional discount off the price. First of all, I love the looks. Not everyone’s cup of tea to be sure, but I’m OK with it. Second: I don’t care about four seats. With that out of the way…

Pluses:
- Total cost of ownership is a fraction of what I’ve paid for previous cars (BMW 323 and 535s). The most expensive service call was $225 and my dealership was competent. Of course that dealership just closed last month…
- Incredibly comfortable. I’ve taken a couple of 1000+ miles road trips in it and am ready to take another.
- Engine is surprisingly perky
- Strong back end. I got rear-ended pretty hard once and took no damage at all. (other car was in bad shape)
- Very tight turning radius for such a big car

Minus:
- The transmission
- The creaky hardtop. My fix for this was to remove it permanently and go with the perfectly adequate softtop is adequate – I’m in CA so I don’t need to worry about snow, winter, etc.
- Trunk space. The trunk is very shallow but wide so standard sized luggage doesn’t fit very well. Still I manage to fit two guitars in the back whenever I go to band practice (but the amp has to ride on the passenger seat)

Overall I’m glad I bought it and have been happy with it overall. However, I wouldn’t buy another one.

Now, for my perspectives on T-birds. There were 3 kinds: (1) the 80s/90s that were kinda cool, America fighting back, getting it right (replay “Take this job and shove it”, staring Robert Hays), with a BMW 6-series overtone, (2) the original coupe and derivatives for the next 10-15 years. I understand that for some it was a cult car, but to me it was boring as hell. Not a ‘vette. Not weird like a Beetle. Just some boulevard cruiser for the American Graffiti set. and (3) gawd-aweful crap from the 70s.

So, a priori, what did this latest T-bird mean to me? Absolutely nothing. I applauded it as a styling exercise, but to me it seemed like a old person’s car (see first line). This was the perfect car for a Florida retiree from the American Graffiti generation to drive to the golf course (cue ugly slack from Caddy Shack).

Miata: cool. Mazda5, practical, but cool. 2003 Tbird? Why the hell would I pay that much money for an old man’s car? There was nothing passionate about that car — just some old farts’ nostalgia.

Why was this car so damn expensive when it came out…

Bingo. Ford made 3 fatal errors with this vehicle. In order of severity:

1) Price point. I’ll reiterate what Redbarchetta said. WHY was this car priced SO damn high? There was absolutely no justification for it. When this car was released, I thought it would/should be a high style competitor to the then popular Chrysler Sebring Convertibles. In order to be in that price point and be truly comparable to that model, two other changes needed to be done (see below).

2) Make it a 4 seater.

3) Give it V-6 power instead of V-8.

On a somewhat different note, has anybody here driven/owned the Lincoln LS? Despite my preference of stick shift whips, I have a strange obsession with the LS V8.

A family member has one and I’ve been in it a few times. I’ll try to answer

How does the car ride/handle?

It rides and handles very, very well. Think E39 5-Series.

Is the transmission relatively responsive?

No, the transmission programming is awful. It’s easily the worst aspect of the car. It makes it really hard to take advantage of said chassis.

I can’t speak to the V8, but the V6 is gutless. Apparently, if you can find one, the manual transmission was actually very good.

Reliability/repair costs?

Bad, but typical for a late-nineties domestic.

Fuel economy (I know, it’s a thristy V8 in a performance vehicle, but I’m looking for real world info here)?

The V6 wasn’t great, but it wasn’t awful either. It’s not a very heavy car for it’s size and age (there’s a lot of aluminum in it’s construction). Ford’s powerplants don’t tend to be fuel misers, despite being comparatively weak.

I would seriously consider a used 2006 LS in 2011 (when I get back from my job overseas) if I decide to live in an area with much traffic.

If the car is solid, it might not be a bad choice. You’re getting something that’s a good 90% of a BMW E39 540i but with lower maintenance costs; they made some real interior improvements towards the end, but unfortunately dropped the manual.

My real issue (other than the transmission) is that it’s pretty cramped inside.

I recall all of the hype surrounding this car’s debut, but when it came out … :-( The styling was the only selling point on the car, and that was botched. It was, IMHO, too boring. I am a fan of relatively simple styling, but this was lacking in details that make or break a modern retro design.

On a somewhat different note, has anybody here driven/owned the Lincoln LS? Despite my preference of stick shift whips, I have a strange obsession with the LS V8. How does the car ride/handle? Is the transmission relatively responsive? Reliability/repair costs? Fuel economy (I know, it’s a thristy V8 in a performance vehicle, but I’m looking for real world info here)? I would seriously consider a used 2006 LS in 2011 (when I get back from my job overseas) if I decide to live in an area with much traffic.

Say Flashpoint what do you drive? I have a “silly little-mitsubishi” coupe that wants to meet you at track day.

Ironically, the T-Bird’s wheelbase was long enough for Ford to have pulled back the roofline and offered a four seater harkening back to the classic 1958-66 era designs. That may have had a bit less sex appeal, but it also might have significantly broadened the car’s market. Here history is instructive. Ford had a pretty darn good reason for abandoning the original two-seater T-Bird: It didn’t sell very well. (Alas.)

Just for kicks, I decided to check out the 2002 to 2005 Thunderbirds listed on eBay. I immediately thought, “Some of these owners must be in la-la land,” as I saw dozens listed over $20k. C’mon, even a three- to five-year-old Benz or BMW is hard pressed to fetch over 50% of original MSRP!

So to test my hunch, I next checked out the completed auctions on eBay for 2002 to 2005 Thunderbirds. Guess what? Of the 99 ‘birds with auctions that ended in the last 30 days, only 11 actually sold.

I have no idea how this compares to other makes and models, but it seems as though people are hanging onto the hope that these cars are already collectible. Yeah, right. First, the car has to be somewhat desirable, and secondly, somewhat rare. I’m not sure the ‘Bird passes either test.

She seemed like the perfect customer for the car – mid-50’s successful female with an eye for a pretty convertible and the money to indulge herself.

However, when the car actually appeared, the pictures came down. The love affair ended with a trip to the dealership. Too expensive and too plain and ugly in person. She ended up in a Lexus.

Personally, I’ve always thought the best analogy for the old T-Bird and the new was the old Elvis compared to the new Elvis aafter he’d gained 100 pounds.

That’s my thoughts too — just nothing really great about the car in any way. The premium the Ford dealers were charging for the first Thunderbirds didn’t last long.