Another hypothetical question.....

[Welker]

Re: Another hypothetical question.....

There might have been a touch of superstition when GM retained Buick over Oldsmobile and Pontiac. Buick was General Motors first brand name and many people, admittedly years ago, saw the GMC brand as a Buick. I remember as a kid being told the local town firetruck, branded GMC, was a Buick.

[seagull]

Re: Another hypothetical question.....

As a strictly experimental test, I test drove a Cascada, yesterday. Not necessarily to compare it with a Thunderbird, but to see what market would be attracted to this car.
The sales person said he had sold one to a university women's diving coach and the age group seems to be 40-50.
The car itself is not a "personal luxury car" as the Thunderbird is touted to be, more along the line of a Chrysler Sebring. It has a rag top, not hard top convertible. It has more head room than a Thunderbird, but trunk space is good for a couple of sandwiches and a shaving kit, owing to the space the convertible top takes when retracted.
The Cascada is peppy enough with the 1.6L turbo engine (made in Hungary), but no one will be chirping any tires. In fact, it lags a bit too much for comfort when shifting from 1st to 2nd, hard acceleration merge onto highway. The engine compartment is small, not enough room for anything but a trans 4 cylinder and transmission (made in Mexico -- truly a U.N. car).
The Cascada has no heritage as the Thunderbird has, so with no nostalgia-factor involved, it's a good test for the market for future Thunderbird models, in whatever incarnation it will appear. Most guesses is that it won't be a smaller version we so admire and enjoy, but something along a 2-seater version of the current Taurus, but with RWD. Ford won't give up the marque for anything, so patience will most likely pay off in the long run. We should live so long!!!

Sales to end of November are over 6500 units which is in line with projections, actually ahead of it's 2 closest competitors the Audi & BMW, both of which also have rag tops btw. Trunk space is 9.8 compare that to our Thunderbirds 6.9.

So far I have 3 customers in the Cascada and one 60 year old male Dr, a 42 female bank executive, and 44 year old woman that doesn't work outside the home. Those 3 are pretty well in line with the target market.

I am interested in following them into 2017 with the added choice of colors, content and the Sport Touring package.

[Guest]

Re: Another hypothetical question.....

This line of postings might be better suited for a Buick or GM forum.

I don't suspect many members here are much interested in following the sales numbers and life stories of Cascada owners, and I don't see how it possibly relates to the prospects for a 'new' Thunderbird.

[JerriLampon]

Re: Another hypothetical question.....

This line of postings might be better suited for a Buick or GM forum.

I don't suspect many members here are much interested in following the sales numbers and life stories of Cascada owners, and I don't see how it possibly relates to the prospects for a 'new' Thunderbird.

Strictly a marketing exercise to see if and what a "new" Thunderbird would be,
given one example of a current model in the marketplace.

[BigSkyBlue]

Re: Another hypothetical question.....

I was following the conversation and understanding the jest of it - right now the Cascada is the closest American offering that would or could possibly be in the same sales category as a hypothetical Thunderbird offering. Not all of us are diehard Ford fans, our Thunderbird is the only Ford we have ever owned.

[JerriLampon]

Re: Another hypothetical question.....

I was following the conversation and understanding the jest of it - right now the Cascada is the closest American offering that would or could possibly be in the same sales category as a hypothetical Thunderbird offering. Not all of us are diehard Ford fans, our Thunderbird is the only Ford we have ever owned.

[11TH GEN]

Re: Another hypothetical question.....

The resale value doesn't appear to be there. I know resale doesn't mean much to some folks but this would be a hard hit. Car has 1,300 miles on it. MSRP was very close to $40K. Can now be had for $25K.

https://www.cargurus.com/Cars/invent...ting=161513456

[wcoates]

Re: Another hypothetical question.....

http://www.autoblog.com/photos/the-w...#slide-4319740

[JerriLampon]

Re: Another hypothetical question.....

http://www.autoblog.com/photos/the-w...#slide-4319740

I guess the same could be said about the Thunderbird, too.

[seagull]

Re: Another hypothetical question.....

http://www.autoblog.com/photos/the-w...#slide-4319740

Those of us in the industry consider Autoblog the Perez Hilton of the auto-world.

The blog is little more than automotive entertainment.

I will agree with him that the Cascada is due for a redo as it's an older model brought to the US late in it's life cycle, but it's a solid, well thought offering allowing GM to bring out the new & latest when it's released without the stigma of a new model.

Resale is similar and a bit lower than other cars in the class, one thing that without doubt bingscresale a bit is they put them immediately into rental service, this is a double edged sword, it gets the car quickly out into the public but does knock a couple percentage off resale, especially if the car was an original rental vehicle. Another even bigger reason, many of these were put into the GM executive pool, dealers are able to buy these vehicles then at auction at substantial savings, they can then pass along huge discounts and still make excellent profits on them. I have little doubt the above referenced one was in that program.

[Sierra977]

Re: Another hypothetical question.....

I guess the same could be said about the Thunderbird, too.

Especially the part about being the only member of the "non-performance convertible category".

[2DRBRD]

Re: Another hypothetical question.....

This line of postings might be better suited for a Buick or GM forum.

I don't suspect many members here are much interested in following the sales numbers and life stories of Cascada owners, and I don't see how it possibly relates to the prospects for a 'new' Thunderbird.

With aĺl the progress in new models each year, I have been feeling the retro birds leave a lot to be desired. Yes, classics are fun to own and drive occasionally, but upgrades in safety and electronics is important. Many companies offer upgrade alternators, disc brakes, steeering, and radios for those good old cars of the fifties. However, for those of us who want to upgrade our birds, Ford offers no choice, but the Mustang. I never took to the Mustang in 1964. Personally, I would have chosen the Falcon Sprint at that time. To me Ford killed a better, roomier, and more practical design, just for more performance. To me the recent Mustangs are just hot rods and not a car I would want for normal driving. Some on here have complained the birds need more power, why, to me it's overpowered. I've been a Ford lover, owner of many new and used Fords, and was dealer employed for 30 years, and never a GM fan. But, now I've traded for a new Cascada, because I have come to love the convertibles and a 4 cylinder turbo has plenty of power for me. Sorry Ford you lost me this time, but I do have a 2017 Escape that I really love and enjoy. Just wished Ford would make a small FWD pickup out of the Escape, instead of making the coming Ranger another oversize 4dr light truck.

[2DRBRD]

Re: Another hypothetical question.....

This line of postings might be better suited for a Buick or GM forum.
I don't suspect many members here are much interested in following the sales numbers and life stories of Cascada owners, and I don't see how it possibly relates to the prospects for a 'new' Thunderbird.

With aĺl the progress in new models each year, I have been feeling the retro birds leave a lot to be desired. Yes, classics are fun to own and drive occasionally, but upgrades in safety and electronics is important. Many companies offer upgrade alternators, disc brakes, steeering, and radios for those good old cars of the fifties. However, for those of us who want to upgrade our birds, Ford offers no choice, but the Mustang. I never took to the Mustang in 1964. Personally, I would have chosen the Falcon Sprint at that time. To me Ford killed a better, roomier, and more practical design, just for more performance. To me the recent Mustangs are just hot rods and not a car I would want for normal driving. Some on here have complained the birds need more power, why, to me it's overpowered. I've been a Ford lover, owner of many new and used Fords, and was dealer employed for 30 years, and never a GM fan. But, now I've traded for a new Cascada, because I have come to love the convertibles and a 4 cylinder turbo has plenty of power for me. Sorry Ford you lost me this time, but I do have a 2017 Escape that I really love and enjoy. Just wished Ford would make a small FWD pickup out of the Escape, instead of making the coming Ranger another oversize 4dr light truck.

[Peterfurlan]

Re: Another hypothetical question.....

I think someone in this thread referred to the Buick Waterfall as a American product.
Engineered in Germany built in Poland with a engine from Hungry thats American. Given
time this bomb is going to make the retro Birds look really good.

[sbernard]

Re: Another hypothetical question.....

I have a 2015 Mustang, first one since 1973. Hot rod yes but also a good comfortable cruiser. Drove it to Florida last June and ended up putting over 9,000 miles on the vehicle in that trip. Very comfortable and no turbo lag.