by "shop-teacher" (shop-teacher)
Published 12/10/2017 at 15:29
by "shop-teacher" (shop-teacher)
Published 12/10/2017 at 15:29
Tags: At least tape over the broken lights
STARS: 3
I don’t have a lot of love for these, but it was sad seeing one so forlorn. It addition to its obvious visual maladies, it was dog-tracking (the rear end wasn’t quite following the front end).
"Nothing" (nothingatalluseful)
12/10/2017 at 16:06, STARS: 1
At least they got the ‘05 Mustang right when they went retro. I have an aunt that has a red one parked in her garage. I don’t think it has more than 5k on it. It was a Christmas present from her husband when it was new.
I don’t even think there’s a way to mod these to look any good, either.
"ranwhenparked" (ranwhenparked)
12/10/2017 at 18:24, STARS: 1
Unpopular opinion: I kind of like these - except they needed either a much lower MSRP or a much nicer interior.
Also, the more contemporary proposals made by Ford’s Italian and German studios would have been way smarter choices than the American retro pastiche they went with.
"shop-teacher" (shop-teacher)
12/10/2017 at 18:34, STARS: 0
A much better interior would have gone a long way.
"punkgoose17" (punkgoose17)
12/11/2017 at 13:55, STARS: 0
Are there images of these? I cannot find them, and do not remember them.
"punkgoose17" (punkgoose17)
12/11/2017 at 14:04, STARS: 0
The optional many spoke wheel looks much better than the 7 spoke chrome things. As Thunderbirds go I think this one is pretty good looking.
https://www.cars.com/vehicledetail/detail/701776823/overview/
"ranwhenparked" (ranwhenparked)
12/11/2017 at 14:08, STARS: 1
They were in a documentary on the new Thunderbird that aired on cable (pretty sure it was either History Channel or A&E) in the mid 2000s. Basically, Ford’s North American studio had already designed the car as it would reach production but Jacques Nasser insisted that each of Ford’s other global studios have the opportunity to come up with their own proposals. All the models were put in one room at the Dearborn HQ and the Ford North America leadership team unanimously chose the first design that they had wanted all along.
Of course, the documentary made this seem like the smartest choice, since the American proposal was the only one that “looked like a Thunderbird” , eg, totally retro. The other ones were all universally good looking designs that still had a few traditional Thunderbird cues mixed in, but with more modern sensibilities. I remember the Italian one being particularly handsome.
I’ve never been able to find a copy of the program, either physical or on YouTube, and that’s the only place I can recall seeing those alternate concepts. It aired just as the car was being launched onto the market, the subsequent embarrassing failure of it probably has to do with lack of demand for repeat viewings/DVD sales.