I was wondering this...they can't keep making the car retro over and over. It would be cool if since it is built on the same platform as the upcoming Mustang if they aimed it back at the Corvette. I amm not a huge Ford fan, but a 400 HP supercharged T-bird would be awesome. They already have the supercharged 4.0 doing it in its S-type sister car. It would be so cool if ford gave thier flagship some serious *****. I saw something when they bought the new T-bird out from a Ford exec that they thought the T-bird name was more important to thier heritage than even the Mustang. Imagine a none retro, modernistic, sleek T-bird with 400 hp The T-bird and Vette used to be direct competition until Ford went the 4 seeter route to make more money. They could say with the 2002 T-bird they revisited the past, with the next one they will define the future. I know this may sound odd on this board, but I have always liked T-birds...they are the only Fords I really consider ever buying.

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Branden-Founder www.GMInsidenews.com
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1995 Firebird A4
White with red leather
1979 Firebird Formula SOLD!!! 8/2001
Visit my homepage!

 

This is a huge reason why retro is just DUMB for an existing car line.

T-Bird has nowhere to go now... at least in a logical flow... I guess they could bounce around from being retro to modern ot whatever. Heck, this nameplate has been on 2-seaters and land yachts.

Retro is OK, for a new line of cars... such as Prowler or PT Cruiser... but using it on T-Bird (or any other established nameplate, *ahem. Camaro*) was a mistake, IMO.

Look where Prowler is now... the others will be in the same place in a short period of time.

 

I'm not so sure retro is a fad that will pass that quickly. Remember the target buyer...I'm sure the T-Bird is an over 50, over $80k/yr audience....not the "hot-rodder". Let's face it, when it came out the Vette was a Blue Flame six cylinder and was considered a "sports car" not a muscle car.

That's what it is today, look at the commercials.....the one in the desert with the supposed street race....the car doesn't need to be a tire burner, just cool looking. Give it just enough power to not feel like a slug, but don't go nuts.

To me that's always been Ford's short comming, no REAL car to compete with a halo car like the Vette. I don't think they really feel like they need one. The new Cobras are a small shot across the bow, but let's be honest, the Mustang will NEVER have the level of sophistication and performance of a Vette...they don't want a Mustang to cost $50k out the door.

Should the T-Bird "try" to compete again w/ the Vette? A short answer is no.....the next question would be "why?" And finally, there would be 40 some odd years of catching up to do.

I think Ford's $$ would be better spent fixing some safety issues and quality control issues.

I will give them credit for some really neat concepts though!

The proposed GT40 will give them the spotlight for a few minutes, but I doubt it will dethrone the Vette...in a lot of ways.

Finally, I agree a full out retro Camaro will be a mistake, but Heritage styling cues are a MUST!... HAS to look like a Camaro.

[This message has been edited by Doug Harden, Pres CICC (edited July 02, 2002).]

Damn, my typing sux....

[This message has been edited by Doug Harden, Pres CICC (edited July 02, 2002).]

 

See I think your wrong. Ove rthe years the T-bird has come in many guises. The guise represented in its current run was actually among the shortest. In the late 80's and early 90's, Ford gave the car a high tech performance image in the Turbo and Super Coupes that many are still fond of today. Thunderbird is the only brand in Ford's arsenal I feel that is worthy of taking on the Corvette. In a year or two there will be issues with the current car being fresh, and something will be done. Why not skin the next gen T-bird in modern Sheetmetal and give it the 400hp 4.0? It would require little investment and further the legenbd of the name. I mean hell since I am the catch line guy here how bout this...

Thunderbird- We have visited the past, let's define the future.


The car is Ford's flagship, and making it a cutting edge, modernistic, refined two seater is where teh car should go.

------------------
Branden-Founder www.GMInsidenews.com
The #1 GM News Site on the Net!
1995 Firebird A4
White with red leather
1979 Firebird Formula SOLD!!! 8/2001
Visit my homepage!

 

I dont think the T bird is a flagship in my lefetime so far. It has been tainted by too many years of 6 cylinder engines and sometimes downright awful styling in the 70s.

I too think Ford needs to invent a flagship to compete with the vette, just give it a new name, cuz it will be an all new car in an all new segment for them.

They did do the right thing buy making the new T bird true to the fist gen 55-57's tho, but the new ones look ugly to me. Good idea, lousy execution. Otherwise Ford's Heritage team is doing pretty well. Cant wait to see the new Mustang when they get done with it.

I will take a real 57 T Bird tho any day. The 57's also had one of the sweetest dashboards and interiors ever made. The interior alone is reason enough to own one.

And I dont think retro is going away anytime soon, its only just getting started.

 

I read that the new T-Bird was designed as a "niche," limited edition vehicle with, I think, a 3-yr. production run.

 

Don't you think that the 4th gen Camaro started this whole retro craze?

I mean...who would of thought they could bring out a car in the early nineties with all the chintzy early eighties cues and proportions down pat.

It took the rest of the auto industry 5 years to respond...and then, only focused on styling cues from the 50' and 60's.

Compared to the rest of the industry, the 4th gens retro cues are a full two decades ...er..newer.



[This message has been edited by Z284ever (edited July 03, 2002).]

 

I don't think the T-Bird will ever directly compete with the Vette.

They coulda done that in the late 50's but went another path. The T-Bird name has been used on quite a few crappy cars over the years.

GT40 is their halo car- it will go against the Vette- and stomp it for power.

 

I too agree that the T-Bird's image is a little too tarnished to suddenly become a Vette fighter again. I've always seen the Mustang as Ford's "halo" car. Ford has changed its whole philosophy so much on Thunderbird, you really do have to wonder where it will go next...really degrades the credibility of the car IMO.

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Mark

94 Z28, Red, A4, 3:23
Lone Mods--LPE CAI, !Lapeer Dragway.
(Hey, I'm a college boy I can't afford gobs of bolt-ons!)

Best time: 14.658 @ 95.1
with SES light on and Driver off! (First and only time at track)

The F-body will NEVER die.

 

Gotta disagree with ya on t-bird never being a flagship car in your lifetime. T-bird has been mainly aimed (since 1977 anyways) at the personal coupe market, and has been very successful at competing with other makes from Chevy (Monte Carlo) as well as Buick & Pontiac (Regal & Gran Prix. Thunderbird actually moved slightly upmarket with the supercharged/intercooled SC in 1989.

As a previous owner of one, I can say it was one of the best engineered american cars in recent history. It was one of those rare times when a car maker let it's engineers loose with basically a blank check to make the best chassis and handling possible, & in the end that's what killed the MN12.

It was in fact over weight & expensive to produce, but it was also over engineered (at least till 94 when the plastic radiator & other pieces were dumbed down) had a world class suspension system and quicker than a 5.0 Mustang with nothing more than a slight axle upgrade. None the less, it was a true Ford flagship. If you are talking of a corperate flagship, something Thunderbird was NEVER ment to be, you need to go over to Lincoln & trace the Mark series history. Just because something has more than 2 seats and isn't geared to the sports car crowd doesn't mean it isn't a Flagship. Diferent companies choose different types of cars to make their statement.

As for the current Thunderbird, the next restyle is already done, & has been for some time. It amounts to a grill redesign & refining of some areas, & is also scheduled to have a more powerful engine in addition to a return of a supercharger to the T-Bird lineup.

Being that you still have a bit of a long wait if you go to the dealer & order your own Thunderbird, it seems a little premature to write it (and by association retro) off at the moment. PT Cruizers also are still the best selling car at DaimlerChrysler, and the new Beetle is still a very strong seller (outselling the cheaper Golf which it is based on), so all in all, retro is far far from dead just yet.

I am not a retro fan, & I think I've made it pretty clear in the past. I think retro works for a few cars if done right. Thunderbird is the only retro car that blantantly copies it's past. Beetle is simular in shape only, & PT Cruizer is a "truck" that resembles a 30's design, but has no history itself. Retro may work for a limited edition car or one that has no past, but a new car going backward is just wrong.

...say no to retro.