Ford's Thunderbird Gets Axed

Forbes ^ | April 22, 2003 | Jerry Flint

[Timesink]

Backseat Driver

Ford's Thunderbird Gets Axed

Jerry Flint, 04.22.03, 7:00 AM ET



The news is out and official. Ford will kill the Thunderbird.

I've been down this road before. The original little T-bird, a two-seater, came out in 1954. It wasn't really a sports car, but it was great-looking. Sales were never much--15,000 to 18,000 a year. So the moneymen made it into a four-seater in 1958. Sales went up, all right. Ford built 87,000 in 1960, but the car never looked so good again. Eventually the Thunderbird evolved into a mediocre, bloated car that was put out its misery during the reign of Ford (nyse: F - news - people ) President Jacques Nasser.

A few years back, and with great hoopla, a new, sleek Thunderbird was unveiled on the auto show circuit. The car returned to its roots as a smaller, stylish, two-passenger convertible. The production vehicle came out late in 2001, and it turned heads wherever it went. But Ford expected sales of about 25,000 a year, and the car never met this goal.

For starters, the new Thunderbird came out a full year late. So much time had passed from the unveiling of the show car to the release of production models that the buying public had lost some its enthusiasm.

Quality was also a problem. The plastic top (for winter) scratched the body. And Ford dealers got an early reputation for ripping off customers by overcharging for the car. Although the car's exterior was beautiful, the interior was a bit of a letdown, especially for a car with a $40,000 price tag. And the T-Bird could have used a bit more pep.

Selling a $40,000 car through the Ford channel may have also hurt the Thunderbird, which was far more expensive than its high-volume predecessor. Ford dealers have been successful selling $35,000 to $45,000 trucks but have little experience selling automobiles in the near-luxury price range. If there was a marketing effort by Ford Motor, I wasn't aware of it. Naturally, sales didn't meet expectations.

Ford figured it could sell 25,000 Thunderbirds a year at $40,000 apiece, but last year it moved only 19,000 cars. In first-quarter 2003 only 4,000 were sold. The automotive press went on a deathwatch.

Automotive News, the industry's fine trade publication, just reported that Steve Lyons, head of the Ford Division, said the Thunderbird run would end after four or five years, in 2005 or 2006.

"While it may go away for a short period of time, it may reappear from time to time," Lyons told Automotive News. "When you really stand back and think about the volumes we're trying to sell that vehicle in, it is meant to be a collector's item. And it doesn't have to have a production run every year."

Collectors' item? No, you don't sell 19,000 collector's item cars in a year.

I don't doubt for a moment that someone will suggest adding two backseats to the Bird to improve sales. Heck, someone will probably suggest making it a four-door. That happened once before, too.

Instead of fixing the Bird, making it right, selling it as it should be sold, Ford will kill it.

That's just part of the story at Ford product development. General Motors (nyse: GM - news - people ) has a low-volume car, too. It's called the Corvette. From time to time people have tried to kill the 'Vette. But people at GM seemed to understand that to kill the 'Vette would kill the company's spirit.

Ford is killing the Taurus, too. It will let the present model run until the rent-a-car companies don't want it. The replacement will be a smaller sedan, built off a Japanese Mazda platform, to be called the "Futura."

I think that some high-powered egos are at work here. The present management at Ford didn't create the Thunderbird. And the present management didn't create the Taurus. Rather than fix the problems, they'll start fresh with cars for which today's managers can take credit. That is, if these cars succeed.

These new managers also think that the names of Ford vehicles should start with the letter F. That's why the Windstar minivan is being renamed Freestar. And a new crossover wagon will be called the Freestyle. This strategy is silly and means nothing to anyone who doesn't work on executive row at Ford headquarters.

I remember when they killed the first two-passenger Bird. I thought that the car was beautiful. A Ford executive back then said, "Beauty is a good 10-day sales report." The original Thunderbird reminded people that Ford could build a beautiful car. Ditto for the short-lived new Thunderbird.

The news about its demise is ugly indeed.

[AnAmericanMother]

I wish my dealer WERE selling Studebakers . . . what a great car! Simple, straightforward, easy to work on, durable - what could be better? I used to hold the toolbox for my dad when he worked on his in the driveway.

The two-forward-speed tranny in the Lark is awful, though. Still, once you get it wound up it'll go . . . and then you have to worry about stopping it with the single shoe drum brakes. Plan about a block ahead . . . :-D I understand somebody's making disc brake conversion kits for it, and if I drive it any distance I'll have to see about getting one . . . at present it's just an around-the-neighborhood fun car.

[Charles Martel]

The loss of the T-bird line won't be a complete failure. The new '05 Mustang will be based upon the T-Bird frame and components. The current stang is still utilizing the 1978 Fairlane/Zephyer frame.

Ford's next Mustang will indeed be built on a variant of the current Thunderbird's chassis, which itself is derived from the Lincoln LS and retro-cued Jaguar S-Type "sister cars". It'll be about 200 lbs. heavier, too, but the new chassis will be much stiffer. I hope they maintain the Mach 1 model through the 2005 changeover.

[El Gato]

Found On Road Dead

Fix Or Repair Daily

[Charles Martel]

then you have to worry about stopping it with the single shoe drum brakes. Plan about a block ahead . . . :-D I understand somebody's making disc brake conversion kits for it, and if I drive it any distance I'll have to see about getting one

Hmmm... Maserati fuel injection - and puny drum brakes. Yep, it might be a good idea to upgrade that Stude. Check with TurnerBrake.com, they have reasonable prices and the kits use commonly found brake components from GM and/or Ford. You'll have to put different wheels on it, though - the old wheels won't clear the brake calipers.

While the brake lines are disconnected, go ahead and put a dual-reservoir master brake cylinder on the car, too - those old "fruit jar" master cylinders are scary. One little leak in any brake line and *all* of the hydraulic pressure goes away.

I like to see a restored classic car, but I think that I enjoy "restomods" even more. You can hide an amazing amount of modern hardware in that Lark, such as a Borg-Warner T-5 transmission. An overdrive cruising gear would sure be nice, and if you nose around the Studebaker tech articles on the web, you'll find one that describes the swap in great detail.

[Richard Kimball]

You really ought to try one of the new Beetles. If you can spend 23K, the convertibles are great. I would have loved one, but didn't want to spend the $ for it. The new bugs have all the cool stuff from the old bugs, and they got rid of most of the problems (for example, you no longer get carbon monoxide poisoning when you turn on the heater)

[Orbiting_Rosie's_Head]

BTW didn't they already make a futura. It was a boxy monstrosity.

The Lincoln Futura was the car used to create the batmobile.

The ford futura was, I believe, a variant sub-model of the Falcon, the Falcon Futura.

[Poohbah]

I wish they'd quit teasing us with "concept cars" that look too cool to be believed and never get built.

[Hildy]

Found On Road Dead

[j_tull]

BTW didn't they already make a futura. It was a boxy monstrosity.

If memory serves, Futura was a trim level name on the early '60's Falcon.

[watermen]

Too late, Saab's are now chevys, have been for awhile and look like them also.
You guys should be driving trucks and suv's anyway.

[Eric in the Ozarks]

It was a sad day in South Bend when Studebaker closed. Someone said the Avanti is still being built somewhere, probably with a Chevy engine.
A neighbor had a 62 or 63 Golden Hawk when I was a youngster. I thought this was the coolest car I'd ever seen. The seats were low and the windshield kind of a narrow rectangle. The roofline dropped well down in the back so that it was a bit claustrophobic inside. But boy, was it snazzy !

[oldcomputerguy]

The wars been over for 28 years, it is time to get on with your life.

[j_tull]

It would have been easier to use a '59 (Batwing) Chevy!

[cmsgop]

You are correct, The new VW line is outstanding. All of that Audi tech and trim for about 10k less.

[kellynla]

For the GI's who were never accounted for and their families, the war has never ended. Maybe you should stick to computers or whatever you do instead of trying to give others advice.

[dalereed]

"The problem quickly became trying to keep the T-bird Y-block V8 engine together."

The biggest problem with the 312 was breaking the crank in the center main. I worked on Johnnie Parsons 56 Stock car for the Ford Factory, we won the NASCAR national championship but it wasn't easy.

In 1954 I was running a 32 "D" roadster with a flathead and held the record but at Bonneville Voight and Colb showed up with a De Soto, straight out of a car in their 32, made 2 runs for an average of 176 and blew our 157 record all to pieces. Quit and sold the roadster!

[Eric in the Ozarks]

They are kind of rare. There was a 63 1/2 (slant roof) Falcon Futura Sprint sold with a 260 V-8 and 4 speed transmission. Basically it was a Mustang with a Falcon body.

[oldcomputerguy]

Maybe you should stick to computers or whatever you do instead of trying to give others advice.

Hey its a free country remember?

There were a lot more people who had no resolution in WWII and other wars. Sometimes that is the best that can be done. Living in the past is not healthy for anyone. Acceptance is part of life, not forgetting, but moving on.

[AnAmericanMother]

Wow! Thanks for the advice! (if you need help on any topic under the sun, just check on FR).

I think dad may have already put a new master in, I'll have to go under the hood and look. I checked the website, and Turner recommends replacing the master at the same time you do the disc brake conversion. Relying on that emergency brake cable to grind to a halt is a slim reed!

It's definitely not concours and I'm not into that (my late father in law was, but he was a pre-1939 man and that is WAY out of my league!) and dad has made all sorts of odd modifications to the car along the way. Some - the aerobatic harness and the caution placard on the glove box "CAUTION - Do Not Open Windows At Speeds in Excess of 120 MPH" - I kinda like, others (the black plastic replacement rear view mirrors) I definitely do NOT. I think I'm going to try to take it back to original cosmetically (except for the placard!), but with the running gear, as far as I'm concerned, anything goes. (I'm not doing a thing to the engine, though, I've never heard one purr like this one. My only complaint is that the radiator is too small, and there's NO ROOM - you couldn't fit a dime in the engine compartment.)

What was the T-5 tranny originally built for? I had OD on my TR-6 and (other than the fact that nothing that Lucas had a hand in really works right) it was nice.