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From the eggcrate grille to the hood scoop and round taillights, Ford's engineers and designers did a great job capturing the essence of the 1955 T-Bird in this 2002 version.
(Photo by Scott Jacobs)
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The interior is obviously modern, and mostly lifted from the Lincoln LS, although pleated seats and door panels hark back to the old 'Birds.
(Photo by Scott Jacobs)
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It looks just as good going away as it does coming at you.
(Photo by Scott Jacobs)
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Road Test: Full Test
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Full Test: 2002 Ford Thunderbird
A Full Circle Flight
By
John DiPietro
Date posted: 01-22-2002
Back in 1955, the days of sock hops, malt shops and Elvis Presley, Ford brought out its Thunderbird as an answer to Chevrolet's Corvette. Like the Corvette, the T-Bird was a compact and sporty two-seat convertible. But unlike the 'Vette, the Thunderbird had real side windows, standard V8 power and a choice of luxury features, such as power windows and air conditioning. By contrast, the Corvette had vinyl side curtains, a standard six-cylinder engine (V8 was optional) and a tighter and less luxurious cockpit. In short, the Corvette was more of a sports car, whereas the T-Bird was more a two-seat cruiser. The Ford's performance options, however, later included a rare supercharged V8 that made for a Thunderbird able to shame most pure sporting machinery when sprinting away from a traffic light or blasting down the highway.
Through the years, the Thunderbird underwent more changes than Michael Jackson's nose. In 1958, it became a bigger, heavier car, a four-seater available as a coupe or convertible with a blocky body that gave rise to the nickname "Square Bird." A much cleaner fighter jet-inspired body design debuted in the early 1960s and the sleek, missile-like profile earned these cars the moniker "Bullet Bird."
The mid-'60s saw sharper-edged lines for the body, though the basic platform remained mostly unchanged. A neat feature of the 1966 model was the sequential rear turn signals that blink-blink-blinked in the direction the car was about to turn.
Things really started to get weird in the later '60s, '70s and early '80s. Within this span of time, the Thunderbird convertible was dropped, a four-door version with suicide doors and landau irons was offered briefly, the car grew to the size and shape of a Lincoln Mark IV and was then downsized twice, first in 1977 and again to a Fairmont-based platform in 1980. Yep, the Thunderbird "celebrated" its 25th anniversary in fine style, riding atop an economy car's chassis and sporting less than 130 horsepower from its V8 engine. But it did have a heavily padded landau top complete with opera lights as well as a digital dashboard, so things weren't that bad, right?
It could only get better from that abysmal point, and interesting things happened during the mid- and late 1980s, when style and performance returned in the form of the Thunderbird Turbo Coupe, and in 1989, the Super Coupe that had a supercharged V6 underhood. The Thunderbird stayed with this format (standard coupe with V6 or V8 power and the hyper Super Coupe) through the late 1990s, at which point the Thunderbird died a quiet death due to general disinterest in the personal luxury coupe market and slow sales.
OK, we're done with the history lesson, and you can all dry your eyes, because the T-Bird is back, in more ways than one.
In a bold move, perhaps inspired by America's strong interest in all things retro, Ford has brought back the Thunderbird as an evolved version of the original 1955-1957 two-seater, complete with a convertible roof. The designers did such a great job that the 2002 Thunderbird manages to preserve the styling cues of the original without looking like a four-wheel caricature while still meeting the dizzying number of current safety standards. We could go on about the details, such as the front "bumperettes" which now house fog lamps, or the angle of the side window's trailing edge that accurately recalls the cant of the original, but we'll provide the pictures and let you see for yourselves. In the steel, it's even more stunning.
In the cabin, criticism has been leveled at Ford for using components from the Lincoln LS, on which the new T-Bird is based. Yes, the center stack has no retro value whatsoever and is the same as the Lincoln's. But considering that a dashboard, with its many intricate pieces, is one of the most costly items to manufacture and that most folks who ogled the 'Bird overestimated its price tag, this may be forgiven. That said, we still feel that this car deserves a unique dash and console treatment, and that the market would have accepted a higher sticker price in exchange. The pleated seats and door panels, however, do their part to echo the days when auto upholstery resembled the seating in a diner's booth.
The 2002 Thunderbird measures in with a 107.2-inch wheelbase and tips the scales at a rather portly 3,775 pounds, 40 pounds more than the Lincoln LS, which seats five to the T-Bird's two. As stated before, the new T-Bird shares its basic chassis with the Lincoln LS and has that car's 252-horsepower 3.9-liter V8 and five-speed automatic gearbox. A four-wheel independent suspension boasts 17-inch alloy wheels wearing 235/50 rubber, front and rear stabilizer bars and disc brakes all 'round with ABS.
Plenty of plush plumage is standard, as well, with leather seating; power seats, windows, mirrors and door locks; power tilting/telescopic steering wheel; cruise control; a 180-watt audio system with six-disc in-dash CD changer; dual-zone climate control; and a power roof with glass rear window. All of this is included in the Thunderbird's $35,495 base price. We had the pleasure of piloting the Premium edition, which adds traction control and chrome-finished alloy wheels. Springing for a removable hardtop will cost you an additional $2,500. Other options are few, consisting of traction control (for non-Premium cars) and a trio of interior color accent packages that jazz up the cabin with contrasting color schemes. Two features conspicuous by their absence (either as standard or optional) are stability control (a feature available on the LS) and a wind blocker.
Safety features include the expected (and government-mandated) dual front airbags, a LATCH system on the passenger side for securing a child seat and the aforementioned antilock brakes and traction control. Side airbags are not available as of yet.
Though we thought the seats were comfortable, with the power lumbar support earning brownie points with a few editors, there were some demerits for the cabin. Specifically, the displays for the stereo and climate controls are mostly unreadable in direct sunlight and a center visor (similar to what Volkswagen uses) would help keep the bright rays from pelting one in the Wayfarers. And while we're picking nits, the climate and stereo controls could benefit from larger and simpler control layouts and there should be more than 6.9 cubic feet of trunk space in such a large two-seater.
Dropping the top is a breeze that involves but one release handle located above the rear-view mirror and a pushbutton on the console. Pull the handle, hit the switch and the top is down in less than 10 seconds. There is also a tonneau to cover the top when it's stowed, and putting that in place takes a bit more time and patience.
Take flight and the heavy weight of the Thunderbird becomes apparent in both positive and negative ways. Immediate step-off from a light won't pin you to the seat, as the engine copes with the task of moving nearly 3,800 pounds from rest. But once you're rolling along, a poke to the throttle thrusts the 'Bird forward with a solid midrange rush that's a great ally when merging into freeway traffic, where opportunities are usually few and far between. The hard numbers are respectable, with a 0-to-60-mph time of 7 seconds flat and a quarter-mile performance of 15.2 ticks at 92.6 mph.
And although we had our reservations about the five-speed automatic transmission, based on its schizoid performance (and ultimate replacement) in our long-term Lincoln LS V8, the unit in the T-Bird performed well, delivering smooth gear-changes. The tranny could've been quicker when a downshift was called for, and one editor detected a few slurred upshifts under full throttle, where it seemed as if there were some slippage. But overall, there were no big complaints to speak of.
That same heft that blunts off-the-line acceleration may be to thank for this convertible's impressively solid structure. Bounding over potholed and tar-stripped roads in greater Los Angeles elicited barely any cowl shake from the T-Bird. We did notice some occasional squeaking coming from the front seats and the dash, a quality that doesn't belong in a near-$40,000 automobile. In its defense, this was an early production car that had been subjected to a long tour of duty as a press car, and we all know that means this poor car hasn't been treated with kid gloves.
Running through the snaking canyon roads off Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu, Calif., the Thunderbird showed us that it can take care of itself when the road gets twisty. Minimal body roll, those chubby tires and accurate steering allow the Thunderbird to make time like a smaller, lighter car. We felt (literally) that the shocks could use recalibration, as the damping action was sometimes harsh when sharp bumps were encountered. But in spite of its capability, the Thunderbird doesn't have that connection between car and driver that, say, a BMW 3 Series has. For example, although there's decent heft in the steering wheel, road feedback is muted. Braking performance was superb for the most part, with the T-Bird posting a 119-foot stopping distance from 60 mph. One driver did notice some fade, however, during his stint in the canyons.
But then again, the T-Bird doesn't make any claim at being a sports car; its mission in life is that of a comfortable cruiser. And taken at that, it succeeds. At freeway speeds (75 mph) with the top up, the interior is nearly as hushed as a coupe's, thanks to the insulated top that seals tightly to the windshield and side windows. In fact, so well sealed is the top that the side windows automatically open a smidge when a door is opened, and move back up once the door is shut, so as not to require a slam to overcome the trapped air when closing said door. Top down, don't expect your hairstyle to remain intact, as there is no windblocker device to quell the swirling air. But isn't that part of the fun?
Nope, this car is not about driving hard. Rather, it's about de-stressing by putting the top down, throwing in a Beatles or Beach Boys CD, taking a long, scenic ride and going back to a time when pleasures were much simpler than they are today.
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