I heard rumors Ford is thinking about bring back Corvettes original competitor the Thunderbird. Lets hope they keep it as what it did its best as. A luxury personal car that seats four. The last mess was a disaster. Based on sales, I think there is only room for one American sports car, as the people at Dodge found out. If Ford does their homework, I think Ford can have a shot if they keep it as a four seating vehicle to compete with Mercedes and Lexus. As long as they do not try and re-badge a Taurus or Fusion.
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Re: New Thunderbird
If it ain't like my wife's beloved Baby Bird '56, Thunderbird Blue with two seats, Continental kit, wire wheels, in a compact, beautiful design and a big V8, not interested.
Big Tanks In the High Mountains of New Mexico -
Re: New Thunderbird
Having restored a 57 T-Bird for my wife, I have a soft spot for them. The previous re-creation was a disaster. Maybe the new one will be better. Remember, it took Chevrolet from 53 to 61 to sell as many Corvettes as Ford sold 55-57 T-Birds.Comment
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Re: New Thunderbird
Michael------
Big V-8? A 292 cid with 202 horsepower or a 312 cid with 215 or 225 horsepower?In Appreciation of John HinckleyComment
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Re: New Thunderbird
Jim------
I didn't think the most recent incarnation of the Thunderbird was a bad car. In fact, I think it was pretty faithful in concept and design to the 1955-57 model which it was designed to emulate. This was always intended by Ford to be a very limited production vehicle and they only intended to produce it for the number of years it was produced. It had a finite life span from the get-go. I think it was intended by Ford to be a "halo" vehicle.In Appreciation of John HinckleyComment
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Re: New Thunderbird
Lets be honest, Ford is in the business like everyone else, to make money. They had hoped the two seating retro bird would of been a hit. 68,000 units in 4 years could be only considered a flop. For some reason two seating American luxury sports cars do not sell as in the 1950's. The Cadillac XLR is proof of that. If Ford is smart, and this new Thunderbird is a real car, they need to go after the German, Japanese market of high performance coupes as the Mercedes C63, Lexus RCF, Cadillac ATS Coupe and BMW models. It MUST seat 4, have at least 500 horsepower and the latest finger tip luxury items available. Its style must be racy and elegant as the 1950's and 1960's models were. Otherwise I hope Ford never lets it off the drawing board.Comment
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Re: New Thunderbird
Well said. But remember the come back bird? It was a big joke. The closest thing Ford has to being a nice car is the Mustang.
Ford should just stay away from any use of the word Thunderbird. It seems they don't have any idea of what it once was in '55,'56, & '57.Comment
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Re: New Thunderbird
Was not the Mustang made of recycled tin cans? Heard that from one of those pony people.
And yes, this is the CORVETTE technical board!
JRComment
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Re: New Thunderbird
270 hp if 312 had the 2X4 bbl carb setup like my '57. Good for the day. But it's the fact that '55-'57 T Birds, like at least some of our Corvettes, especially mid years, are classics, not they they can compete with today's cars in hp and performance that makes them desirable. Most of today's high performance cars will be just used cars in a few years.Comment
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Re: New Thunderbird
We have a lot to thank the early Thunderbird for. If Ford had not overreacted and jumped into the two seat market, the Corvette would have probably withered on the vine after the sales debacle of 54.
i.e. the Corvette was saved by the competition from Ford.Comment
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Re: New Thunderbird
I know that Joe. As I said, mine IS a '57 (realize Michael's is a '56, no 2x4 option that year.)Comment
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