2010 -Year of The Mustang
4/5/08, 02:21 PM
#1
Team Mustang Source
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2010 -Year of The Mustang
Like 2005 was Year Of The Car!
2012 - T-bird Comes Back....
Interesting read...
http://www.thunderbirdnest.com/forum...401#post289401
2012 - T-bird Comes Back....
Interesting read...
http://www.thunderbirdnest.com/forum...401#post289401
4/5/08, 06:52 PM
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4/5/08, 09:21 PM
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Yea, lets hope they dont screw up the pricing on this one like they did on the last generations. Or least offer more car for the buck. The T-bird is prob one of my favorite cars, all of the generations....and I'd love to see them bring it back with a bang.
4/5/08, 09:22 PM
#5
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Like 2005 was Year Of The Car!
2012 - T-bird Comes Back....
Interesting read...
http://www.thunderbirdnest.com/forum...401#post289401
2012 - T-bird Comes Back....
Interesting read...
http://www.thunderbirdnest.com/forum...401#post289401
4/6/08, 02:39 AM
#6
GTR Member
Well, that's great news, if it happens. I can understand why Ford might want to make it a 2-seater, to differentiate it from the Mustang, but two seats are no good if you want to take your kids along for the ride. 
Thunderbird is probably the finest name attached to any car though! I'd like to see it as a higher quality in-house rival to the Mustang. Nicer materials inside, V8s only, loaded with kit, lower productions numbers but a higher price. Looks will be everything.
With the global RWD platform mooted to hit the streets around then, it makes sense to Ford to spin as many models off it as possible.
Make it a 2+2 along these lines, please Ford.
Thunderbird is probably the finest name attached to any car though! I'd like to see it as a higher quality in-house rival to the Mustang. Nicer materials inside, V8s only, loaded with kit, lower productions numbers but a higher price. Looks will be everything.
With the global RWD platform mooted to hit the streets around then, it makes sense to Ford to spin as many models off it as possible.
Make it a 2+2 along these lines, please Ford.
4/6/08, 03:55 AM
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Well, that's great news, if it happens. I can understand why Ford might want to make it a 2-seater, to differentiate it from the Mustang, but two seats are no good if you want to take your kids along for the ride.
Thunderbird is probably the finest name attached to any car though! I'd like to see it as a higher quality in-house rival to the Mustang. Nicer materials inside, V8s only, loaded with kit, lower productions numbers but a higher price. Looks will be everything.
Thunderbird is probably the finest name attached to any car though! I'd like to see it as a higher quality in-house rival to the Mustang. Nicer materials inside, V8s only, loaded with kit, lower productions numbers but a higher price. Looks will be everything.
BTW, I wish Ford produced the Fortynine, it was screaming to be built - as a Mercury.
4/6/08, 06:03 AM
#9
GTR Member
Oh, I appreciate a 2-seater would take it back to its roots, I'm just a sucker for 2+2s!
Perhaps a folding hard top would be in order......as long as it doesn't ruin the looks (which is the case 99% of the time).
Either way, I just hope the story is true and it's heading back to production. What we need now is a decent concept car to tide us over
Perhaps a folding hard top would be in order......as long as it doesn't ruin the looks (which is the case 99% of the time).
Either way, I just hope the story is true and it's heading back to production. What we need now is a decent concept car to tide us over
4/6/08, 10:14 AM
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Your missing the point. The point is FORD is calling "2010", The Year of the Mustang. A suptle way of making sure Stang owner's are not looking to the soon to be released Mopar and GM product's. But to keep the face. Mustang is here to stay, and will only get better. As far as the T-Bird goes, and I own two), it will be at least another 2 years after the resurgency of the new Mustang, if not longer, before they try to bring another to market. Any removable top would have to be retractable, if only to co-exist in the marketplace, and it will need a modern theme. Retro has been played out long enough. Besides there is a whole new market out there, and it will be different in 2012 and beyond, than it was when the Thunderbird finally resurfaced in 2002, for the Baby Boomers. A new one would need to be High-tech and with all the gaget's this X-generation has evolved with.
4/6/08, 10:15 AM
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Well, that's great news, if it happens. I can understand why Ford might want to make it a 2-seater, to differentiate it from the Mustang, but two seats are no good if you want to take your kids along for the ride.
Thunderbird is probably the finest name attached to any car though! I'd like to see it as a higher quality in-house rival to the Mustang. Nicer materials inside, V8s only, loaded with kit, lower productions numbers but a higher price. Looks will be everything.
With the global RWD platform mooted to hit the streets around then, it makes sense to Ford to spin as many models off it as possible.
Make it a 2+2 along these lines, please Ford.
Thunderbird is probably the finest name attached to any car though! I'd like to see it as a higher quality in-house rival to the Mustang. Nicer materials inside, V8s only, loaded with kit, lower productions numbers but a higher price. Looks will be everything.
With the global RWD platform mooted to hit the streets around then, it makes sense to Ford to spin as many models off it as possible.
Make it a 2+2 along these lines, please Ford.
4/6/08, 10:46 AM
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Your missing the point. The point is FORD is calling "2010", The Year of the Mustang. A suptle way of making sure Stang owner's are not looking to the soon to be released Mopar and GM product's. But to keep the face. Mustang is here to stay, and will only get better. As far as the T-Bird goes, and I own two), it will be at least another 2 years after the resurgency of the new Mustang, if not longer, before they try to bring another to market. Any removable top would have to be retractable, if only to co-exist in the marketplace, and it will need a modern theme. Retro has been played out long enough. Besides there is a whole new market out there, and it will be different in 2012 and beyond, than it was when the Thunderbird finally resurfaced in 2002, for the Baby Boomers. A new one would need to be High-tech and with all the gaget's this X-generation has evolved with.
4/6/08, 11:46 AM
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When I went to the NYIAS, I was fortunate enough to talk to an engineer that Ford had hanging out there who actually worked on the powertrain of the Flex. We ended up talking about a whole bunch of things, mustang and T-bird included. One of the things I had asked him was whether or not the Mustang would ever get the V6TT......he said really unlikely because of the connection the Mustang and its enthusiasts have to a V8.
Another thing I asked about was the T-Bird. He kinda chuckled when I said when are we gunna see a new one, and then proceeded to say how Ford is watching the 2-door market/segments VERY closely. I told him about my idea for a Mercury/Lincoln two door "Luxury Man's Sports Car." And how I think if they did do that, then maybe then they could use the V6TT with IRS etc.....He responded with that ford is tossing a few ideas around right now, but their main concern is to not put anything out that could potentiallly steal sales from the mustang aka their cash cow.
As far as the the T-bird goes, I think it would certainly be interesting if they (4-5 years down the road) used an engine like the V6TT.......MPG standards by then are only going to get worse. Im very curious to see how this all plays out. Anyways I just thought I'd share that info with you guys. Nothing too crazy, but it was a pretty good conversation none the less.
Another thing I asked about was the T-Bird. He kinda chuckled when I said when are we gunna see a new one, and then proceeded to say how Ford is watching the 2-door market/segments VERY closely. I told him about my idea for a Mercury/Lincoln two door "Luxury Man's Sports Car." And how I think if they did do that, then maybe then they could use the V6TT with IRS etc.....He responded with that ford is tossing a few ideas around right now, but their main concern is to not put anything out that could potentiallly steal sales from the mustang aka their cash cow.
As far as the the T-bird goes, I think it would certainly be interesting if they (4-5 years down the road) used an engine like the V6TT.......MPG standards by then are only going to get worse. Im very curious to see how this all plays out. Anyways I just thought I'd share that info with you guys. Nothing too crazy, but it was a pretty good conversation none the less.
Last edited by cheech6g; 4/6/08 at 11:47 AM.
4/7/08, 01:54 PM
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I just can't see a resurrected T-Bird in 2012 or beyond. The last one looked like an early 'Vette from the front and little like the gorgeous '55--'57 T-Birds except in general size and roofline. Ford needs to be striving to hit triples and homers instead of sacrifice flies with another non-sports-car two-seater (Remember the Allante, the Reatta, and the two-passenger FWD Capri? I can't either...). Getting the Five Hundred/Taurus/Whatever selling 250,000 units or more per year will do shiitloads more for the company than a half-dozen tepidly-styled two-seaters. In fact, passionately-styled two-seaters won't sell enough to get the company back on its feet so cut the crap and get down to making world-class effectively-marketed big-volume vehicles that get very competitive mileage. Don't divert talent and resources with performance Fusions or performance Escapes or whatever--save that money and concentrate on kick-*** Mustangs. Let others create such cartoonishness as the Monte Carlo SS (smirk!), the SSR, or the Misfire.
If ya gotta spend money on a two-seat sportscar, put the supercharged Terminator 4.6 in the MX-5 and beef up parts where required. That'll scald Solstice/Sky/Stingray *** with only a modest development budget, but I'd rather see a killer multi-valve OHC 5.0 V8 in a Mustang myself.
Greg "Eights" Ates
If ya gotta spend money on a two-seat sportscar, put the supercharged Terminator 4.6 in the MX-5 and beef up parts where required. That'll scald Solstice/Sky/Stingray *** with only a modest development budget, but I'd rather see a killer multi-valve OHC 5.0 V8 in a Mustang myself.
Greg "Eights" Ates
Last edited by Boomer; 4/7/08 at 04:38 PM.
4/7/08, 03:18 PM
#16
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Ah yes, but the GT (as in new GT40) didn't sell many units, but it acted as a great halo car and garnered lots of great press. A new Thunderbird could do similar.
That's doesn't mean to say Ford shouldn't concentrate on the more "bread and butter" RWD cars though.
That's doesn't mean to say Ford shouldn't concentrate on the more "bread and butter" RWD cars though.
4/7/08, 10:54 PM
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Just like music, art, architecture, car styling that is retro is still appreciated by the newer generations if for nothing else but the artistic flow and the wonderful ornateness in theme. It brings back a time when moral ethics and personal dedication meant something .It showed up in everything people did back then. That's why we , on one level or another, crave to see it today. We need to see that " labor-of-love " attitude more . Retro styling accomplishes this. Some of today's car styles are a reflection of the cold ,disfunctional selfish world we live in . Let's aim for more retro - it still sells -and for what it stands for, it will always be in vogue .
I would be happy to own a Ford 49 if they actually built it. I would be equally happy to park a 2010 Cadillac CTS Coupe beside it. One retro, one cutting-edge...both beautiful in their own ways.
4/7/08, 11:56 PM
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I just can't see a resurrected T-Bird in 2012 or beyond. The last one looked like an early 'Vette from the front and little like the gorgeous '55--'57 T-Birds except in general size and roofline. Ford needs to be striving to hit triples and homers instead of sacrifice flies with another non-sports-car two-seater (Remember the Allante, the Reatta, and the two-passenger FWD Capri? I can't either...). Getting the Five Hundred/Taurus/Whatever selling 250,000 units or more per year will do shiitloads more for the company than a half-dozen tepidly-styled two-seaters. In fact, passionately-styled two-seaters won't sell enough to get the company back on its feet so cut the crap and get down to making world-class effectively-marketed big-volume vehicles that get very competitive mileage. Don't divert talent and resources with performance Fusions or performance Escapes or whatever--save that money and concentrate on kick-*** Mustangs. Let others create such cartoonishness as the Monte Carlo SS (smirk!), the SSR, or the Misfire.
If ya gotta spend money on a two-seat sportscar, put the supercharged Terminator 4.6 in the MX-5 and beef up parts where required. That'll scald Solstice/Sky/Stingray *** with only a modest development budget, but I'd rather see a killer multi-valve OHC 5.0 V8 in a Mustang myself.
Greg "Eights" Ates
If ya gotta spend money on a two-seat sportscar, put the supercharged Terminator 4.6 in the MX-5 and beef up parts where required. That'll scald Solstice/Sky/Stingray *** with only a modest development budget, but I'd rather see a killer multi-valve OHC 5.0 V8 in a Mustang myself.
Greg "Eights" Ates
I see where you are coming from regarding the "bread and butter" cars in Ford's lineup. Those are the true money makers. IMO, halo cars are needed to give buyers a car to aspire to and hopefully keep them within the brand's fold. However, the Mustang, as kick-*** as it may be, may not be the car for a buyer looking for a more refined, 2-seat, grand touring "personal" coupe. I'd rather see a resurrected T-Bird along with a 2+2 version of a retro Mercury coupe (ala Fortynine) released for sale to break the monotony of seeing so many FWD Monkey Carlo SS or other various generically "styled" import coupes out on the road.
Last edited by Boomer; 4/8/08 at 07:00 AM.
4/8/08, 06:40 AM
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I would not be surprised to see a new 4 seater Thunderbird introduced a year or two after the all new RWD platform is into production.
"If" Ford were to produce a 2 seater Thunderbird again, I believe it would be a 4 cylinder. Unfortunately, it would steal sales from Mazda.
I would have to agree with the poster who stated that Ford needs to start hitting home runs, and get cars like the Taurus selling over 200k units.
If Ford wants another convertible in its line-up, they should make an affordable Focus convertible. A Fusion Convertible could be another option.
We still haven't seen a high performance version of the Fusion, and I am willing to bet that we see a high performance version in the next generation Focus.
"If" Ford were to produce a 2 seater Thunderbird again, I believe it would be a 4 cylinder. Unfortunately, it would steal sales from Mazda.
I would have to agree with the poster who stated that Ford needs to start hitting home runs, and get cars like the Taurus selling over 200k units.
If Ford wants another convertible in its line-up, they should make an affordable Focus convertible. A Fusion Convertible could be another option.
We still haven't seen a high performance version of the Fusion, and I am willing to bet that we see a high performance version in the next generation Focus.
4/8/08, 07:54 PM
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Is there any reason the next tbird could not be designed as a true corvette competitor, (ie low slung, euro styled true super car), or would everyone hate that? I just think ford is letting gm get away with an entire segment of its own there. I know the ford gt could reck the vette but it was too limited and expensive. I'm talking about a more direct competitor. I also don't see the gt500 filling this gap. Maybe Ford's too deep in the hole to worry about it. Just a thought.