Just another used car ???? (-:

[Rondor]

Right ,,,,,, and TBN is just another web site. When you consider things like how many cars made in the last 15 years look so much alike that going down the road you can't identify them. The fuel issue starting in the 70's forced the wind tunnel design that led to the least wind resistant design used by every car maker.
No 2 seator car is just another car. The retro was never intended to appeal to everyone nor was the first T Bird. There is some merit in all the previous discussions about the retro's popularity and vale. Especially how the car market is changing, But if you look at the # of retro's produced vs. the total number of vehicles in that period they certainly weren't all that popular statistically It stands to reason that a car as popular as a Mustang will always have a market. I don't think most retro buyers then and now were looking for something like what every body else had and theren't many of those being made any more.

[BLACK BEAUTY]

I read somewhere that Ford makes more Mustangs in a month than the four years of the Thunderbird

[Howlandd]

I told a friend who was car shopping to go buy an Jag XKE because you saw vetts on every corner. That was back in the 60s. Would still hold true today if both were still being made. I love my retro because you just don't see many of them and they are darn nice looking even as they approach the 20 year old mark. I never just step in line because everyonhe else is buying vetts and mustangs etc. Let me be a little different. Thank You.

[Sierra977]

The Cachet of Exclusivity is its own reward.

[DaiUyTed]

Kinda like Rogues morphing into F-Paces...

[Sealy]

Putting all the emotional hubris aside, the retro is just a used car. It's a hacked off LS with Jag-ish underpinnings and a Lincoln engine. Ford didn't even bother to change the interior. It was cobbled together to take advantage of a automotive fad and to sell as many as they could in as short a time as they could. When the fad died, so did the T-Bird. That said, I'll give all my emotional hubris to Merlot and love her for what she is to me.

[AZTB]

Putting all the emotional hubris aside, the retro is just a used car. It's a hacked off LS with Jag-ish underpinnings and a Lincoln engine. Ford didn't even bother to change the interior. It was cobbled together to take advantage of a automotive fad and to sell as many as they could in as short a time as they could. When the fad died, so did the T-Bird. That said, I'll give all my emotional hubris to Merlot and love her for what she is to me.

Some of this could have been written in 1955...that Bird, too, was hobbled together from bin parts - but it spoke to a part of the American spirit that no American car had at that time (including the Corvette).

IMO, having said that, I think it may be important to this site that the owners accept that it was both a hit and a miss at the same time. Owners don't necessarily need to justify why they either bought the car or still maintain the pride of ownership in a very unique vehicle. Having said that, I have no doubt that in another 6-9 months, another thread like this will still pop up. Owners: you don't need to justify to anyone why you take pride in a very unique, 21st Century American limited production vehicle.

[11TH GEN]

I read somewhere that Ford makes more Mustangs in a month than the four years of the Thunderbird

I don't know what you are reading Greg. The real number is closer to 3 1/2 months. Last year Ford sold just over 125,000 Mustangs with 65% of them being registered in the states. Appears the rest of the world has caught on as well.

[FUN X 3]

I'll never forget the time I first saw the new Thunderbird in 2002. I was mowing my lawn in May. This 2002 Blue drove down my street right by my house and stopped at the stop sign. I saw the iconic Thunderbird script on the rear quarter. I literally let go of the mower and just stared at it going by, After I finished cleaning up the drool, I finished mowing. I hopped in my Lincoln Town Car and drove down the street looking for it. It was sitting in a neighbor's driveway down a side street. I stopped and looked it over it some more. Then I went home and hopped on the Ford website and was on it for 3 hours. I was totally smitten and had to have it. We refinanced our house, got the cash, and two months later I drove ours home. Nothing will ever take away the fond memories of seeing one for the first time, and then driving one home as a new owner. It will never be just another used car to me. It will always be special.

[jerrym3]

I first saw my car almost buried in the back of a Ford dealer in May 2003. The price drop was in full force mode, and some dealer were starting to sell the retros on the Ford Z plan. I saw a similar model in another dealer sitting in the back of their garage. I discussed a sale with both dealers, left their premises, and then started getting calls at home regarding Z plan pricing availability.

Had the car not been black with saddle, I don't think it would have caught my eye.

At the time, I was thinking about 1) early retirement and 2) driving cross country.

Early retirement came sooner than I expected (downsized), and the cross country trip just never happened.

[AZTB]

... and the cross country trip just never happened.

There's still time!

[hippy_mailman]

Just another used car??----- it's in the eye of the beholder and it does not matter what anyone else thinks

[BirdsAndBugs]

I read somewhere that Ford makes more Mustangs in a month than the four years of the Thunderbird

Not true. For August 2018 Ford sold 7,487 Mustangs and that was an extremely good month. Most of the time it is in the 5,000 range. Now Ford does sell more F series pickup trucks each month than they sold Thunderbirds in 4 years. Last's months total was 81,839.

[Rondor]

There's nothing about a retro that say's Just another used car and Spence knows it as well as anybody. It wasn't made for the masses in 1955 or in 2002.
I don't think most of us would own one if it were.

[MikeB6]

I'm reminded of the months just before I sold my 1998 BMW Z3. Just scream if you're tired of reading my references to this car. Anyway, it was 2009, the car had 76,000 miles on it, and was in perfect condition, with every OEM option, newer tires, removable hardtop, and a brand new window in the convertible top. It had three parking lot dings, I took it to the used car manager at the local BMW dealer. He gave me a card to schedule a "paintless dent repair" person to remove the dings, at the dealer price. Told him that KBB, and Edmunds gave the value of $7,500. He agreed that for a car in such great shape, that seemed low, but told me if it were him, he'd keep it. After all, it will never be worth less, he said. Lack of garage space made me feel compelled to sell it. I believe that our cars, as long as they're kept in tip top condition, will hold their value (even if that value doesn't meet our dreams and expectations). They'll undoubtably drop a bit in value, but I expect that clean, fairly low mileage examples will not drop below a certain point. We'll spend a few thousand keeping them going, that's to be expected. My hope is to keep my TBird long enough for my stepson or the daughters of my best friends to speculate about who gets it when I'm gone. Ha ha. As others on this thread have pointed out, cars are not investments, unless one had the foresight to buy an exceptional super or muscle car in the 1960's or '70's, or a 23 window VW Van.

Through other car clubs that I belong to, I'm well aware that many young people today not only do not want to own cars at all, but would never consider actually collecting them. I do believe that there will be a few who will admire our cars, and who knows, maybe it will even become fashionable to replace the internal combustion engines with electric motors and better battery packs than we have now. Has anyone see the 1997 movie "Gattica", with Ethan Hawke, Alan Arkin, Jude Law and Uma Thurman? The cars were all old classics - well, from the 50's and 60's mostly, ripping along motorways with a wonderful electric hum. Seen pictures of Neil Young's converted 1959 Lincoln Continental? Stranger things have happened. Maybe life will imitate art. At least I expect to keep mine as long as possible, and somehow conjure up more car storage if I expand the collection, rather than selling it at a bargain basement price just so that another car can take its place.