Owners Age Poll 2011

[2003Shadow]

Re: Owners Age Poll 2011

Im 27. I feel like a baby here.

[2003Shadow]

Re: Owners Age Poll 2011

I'm not trying to start an argument, but have you ever tried an in - line 6 cylinder? If not you might find they are a great compromise. I actually like them as well as a V8. The problem is that I think BMW is the only Mfg. that is still making a substantial number of them.

I wish Ford had an inline 6 in the states. Bring back the 300 6 for the F150!

[SugarDaddy]

Re: Owners Age Poll 2011

Uh, I think that I just slipped into another age category!

How do I change my entry?

[philsbird]

Re: Owners Age Poll 2011

Uh, I think that I just slipped into another age category!

How do I change my entry?

Did you mean "entry" or "century"?

[SugarDaddy]

Re: Owners Age Poll 2011

Did you mean "entry" or "century"?

HOLD IT!

It's not another century, is it? Did I miss something again?

CRS (Can't Remember **it)is a terrible disease!

[BLACK BEAUTY]

Re: Owners Age Poll 2011

I'm slipping too! Soon I go from #1 to #3.......and I doubt I could afford a new one...

[halaffil01]

Re: Owners Age Poll 2011

I can't help but chuckle at the comments of all you younger dudes 'n gals (I'm in the over 65 category, just celebrated the 31st. anniversary of my 49th Birthday) . In my humble opinion, the Thunderbird label should have remained with the original 2 seater's, extended perhaps only a bit further to the 4 door vehicles which truly had unique styling up through the late Seventies. From then on, from the early eighties to the late nineties, the power and mystique of the T-Bird label was diluted to the degree that you couldn't distinguish a Bird from a Galaxie. And then 2002 brought the resurrection. The retro Birds were entitled to the Thunderbird name and heritage of the original two seaters. Please Ford Motor Co., don't besmirch the name by applying it to a bunch of cookie cutter, look alike, designs.

[islandtime]

Re: Owners Age Poll 2011

In my humble opinion, the Thunderbird label should have remained with the original 2 seater's, extended perhaps only a bit further to the 4 door vehicles which truly had unique styling up through the late Seventies. From then on, from the early eighties to the late nineties, the power and mystique of the T-Bird label was diluted to the degree that you couldn't distinguish a Bird from a Galaxie. And then 2002 brought the resurrection. The retro Birds were entitled to the Thunderbird name and heritage of the original two seaters. Please Ford Motor Co., don't besmirch the name by applying it to a bunch of cookie cutter, look alike, designs.

I couldn't agree more. I've been saying the same thing for decades, and we own an '89 - I won't even ride in it, let alone drive it. It will soon be replaced.

[phil]

Re: Owners Age Poll 2011

63

[11TH GEN]

Re: Owners Age Poll 2011

Just to be accurate, the correct spelling is ‘Pininfarina,’

I’m a writer, what can I say?

With a GT 40 being 40 inches tall, this Pininfarina is either exceptionally short or this gal has some long legs. Maybe a combination.

[Chuck]

Re: Owners Age Poll 2011

Can we reset this poll? It was started in 2011 - I'm a tad bit older - no wiser but for sure older - Or is there a way to close the poll, and start a new one in the same thread? I would be interesting to compare them

[Guest]

Re: Owners Age Poll 2011

That's a good suggestion Chuck. I was thinking the same thing.

Since this poll is now four years old, members who voted are all four years older, and some have 'moved up' into different categories. It would be interesting to see if the average age of members is getting older, younger, or staying about the same.

Also, a new poll might attract some of the newer members to vote. I don't know how much TBN membership has grown in the past four years, but there are a lot more members now than there were four years ago.

With only 293 voters, roughly 3% of current membership, I'm not sure if that's a large enough 'sampling' to draw any conclusions, but at least it's a start.

[jayred1]

Re: Owners Age Poll 2011

293 is way more than necessary to achieve a statistically accurate sample size. What you see in the plot is a very smooth bell curve that is common for a poll like this.

The error in your logic is the continued thinking that we really have nearly 10,000 members. The only valid number when assessing a group like this is "active members". Thinking you should include members who have moved on (death, other vehicles, etc.) would only skew a poll of "Thunderbird Owners on TBN" (which is also a different group than "Thunderbird Owners").

Sorry for being so anal about it, the engineer in me coming out ...

[Guest]

Re: Owners Age Poll 2011

Thanks for your observations Jay.

You're probably correct about 'total members' vs. 'active members' as those numbers relate to an accurate statistical sampling. As for members who have 'moved on,' that's probably a rather small percentage also, certainly not enough to 'skew' any poll.

I've never really understood why, with an 'official' membership of nearly 10,000, only a couple of hundred are 'active.' You would think that anyone who bothered to find TBN and take the time to register and join, would be more 'visible' in terms of posting. I've noticed that some members have been here 5-10 years and have 20 or fewer posts ... some only a couple a year.

I can think of a few reasons why active participation is so low:

1. People join out of mild curiosity but have little or no sustained interest and after joining, rarely if ever visit.
2. People who join are intimidated by either the technical depth of some of the more complex topics, or the fear, real or perceived, of being ridiculed or insulted or challenged by other members.
3. Members who read, but rarely if ever actually post. I think this is a pretty significant number. A lot of people prefer to observe at a distance but not participate.
4. People who have joined but prefer other types of social media interaction, such as Facebook or Twitter. I don't think TBN has a Facebook page, and I don't know if the owners or admin have ever considered creating one. There's probably a good reason for this.

Thunderbird owners may join, but can't really 'un-join,' so even if they have 'moved on' either physically or just from lack of interest, they still are counted as members.

I don't know what threshold of posts qualifies someone as an 'active' member, and there's no absolute number. I would think that some who posts at least once a week would be considered active ... once a year, probably not.

Anyway, all this has little to do with the average age of TBN members. Just some thoughts on membership in general.

[11TH GEN]

Re: Owners Age Poll 2011

Phil.....I'm sure you are accurate on the above reasons. I have talked with two retro owners in the area that quit coming to the sight because they started having anxiety when they got in the car. Constantly checking the temp gauge and dash for codes waiting for something bad to happen. Talked with a guy at our last cruise in that traded an 03 w/47K miles on a 15 Mustang for the same reason. Seems a better idea to me is to buy a good A+ rated warranty and if anything happens it happens. They are available for 02's 03's and 04's. Not ESP, however, I think just as good.