- 28,441
- 17,495 fair
- Spring Valley, CA
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- autoshopper.com
2002 ford thunderbird review this car review is specific to this model, not the actual vehicle for sale. All the style of the old bird with the luxury of a new jaguar. introductionthe world has been waiting patiently for this all-new two-seat thunderbird roadster for at least five years, ever since ford announced it was dumping the old coupe and taking the thunderbird back to its original limited-production roots in the fifties. Traction control and 17-inch wheel and tires are standard on the premium models. walkaroundthe new thunderbird features design aspects of the original 1955 car, the 1962 car, and some other, earlier thunderbirds, but ford doesn't want to talk about this car in terms of 'retro' design because it has so much modern equipment going for it. the exterior design is extremely smooth, to the eye at least, but the wind tunnel says it has a drag coefficient of 0. 38, which is quite high these days when a mercedes sedan cheats the wind with a rating of 0. 28. the trunk is big enough, despite the small numbers, to carry two golf bags, but that's about it. This car is made for what ford calls 'relaxed sportiness,' a term we translate into 'cruising.' it's sporty looking, but it is not a sports car by any stretch of the imagination. interiortwo reasonably comfortable bucket seats are independently adjustable with power switches located on the side of the seat. But the bird is available with a set of red, yellow, or blue color accent packages for the interior, as described above. I liked the red, but did not care for the look of the plastic on the lower dash panel and door trim panels with the yellow or blue packages. But how it goes is just as important, and it does pretty well in this category. the engine is a direct lift from the lincoln ls, with only a few modifications to make it fit in and under the car. It burbles at idle like an old big-block engine, and that's part of the car's charm. The transmission, a ford 5-speed overdrive, seemed a little reluctant to deliver quick, timely downshifts when we wanted them, but was transparent in normal driving. If it weighed 500 pounds less, it would be quicker, but even with its mostly plastic body panels, the new t-bird weighs almost 3800 pounds, and it feels like it. the chassis that the t-bird rides on is a combination of lincoln ls sedan parts and a few new parts, including a steel tubing brace under the engine bay and a second brace under the passenger compartment and a third behind the seats to add stiffness and integrity to what is essentially an ls with no roof. Yes, there is body roll, but not much. Bucket Seats✔ Cruise Control✔ Air Conditioning
17,495 Spring Valley, CASpring Valley, CA at autoshopper.com