So while the 2005 Ford Thunderbird isn’t a total lemon, it’s not flawless either. But more pressingly, the ignition coils often go bad. For starters, it’s a known issue that the new Thunderbird leaks oil. The 2005 Ford Thunderbird, on the other hand, is a bit of a grab bag when it comes to reliability. Though, the gearboxes were sometimes known to spring leaks, an issue that needs to be addressed right away if you find a T-Bird with that problem. While the largest, 300 horsepower engine in the 1957 Ford Thunderbird was known to spring oil leaks according to Hagerty, the first-generation Thunderbird wasn’t a terribly unreliable car. 2005 Ford Thunderbird (Bottom) | Rick Diamond/Scott Olson via Getty Images 2005 Ford Thunderbird: problems Front ends of the 1955 Ford Thunderbird (Top) vs. In an era where virtually no cars worried about aerodynamics or fuel economy, it slightly outpaces its eventual successor.īut there are plenty of issues with both cars that we ought to take into account before figuring out if either of these cars would suit your lifestyle. Though perhaps that was done on purpose.īut what I find the most ironic is that the 1955 T-Bird’s gas mileage is better than the 2005 model. On top of that, you get the same torque ratings from 1955 as you would in 2005. Sure, the 2005 Ford Thunderbird had modern technology and more power, but at $52,418 by today’s standards for the base model, that’s a lot of money. When looking at the table above, the first thing I realize is that inflation rates are ridiculous. Three-speed manual, three-speed Ford-O-Matic 2005 Ford Thunderbird: comparing by the numbers 1955 Ford Thunderbird (top) and 2005 Ford Thunderbird (bottom) | National Motor Museum via Getty Images Vehicle Model And what’s more ironic is that the 1955 version excelled in certain areas the modern Thunderbird should’ve. The style of the car may have been well-received back then, but today it looks remarkably dated. And while the first generation Thunderbird saw only 53,148 sales from 1955 to 1957, selling over 50k cars was a big deal in 1955. The 2002 to 2005 run of the new T-Bird saw 68,908 sales, with half of those occurring in the first year alone. Amazing how far engine technology has come, isn’t it?īut unlike its predecessor, the 2005 Ford Thunderbird was not a sales success. For any of you math nerds, the 3950 cc engine equates to 241 cubic inches, which is less displacement than the 1955 Ford Thunderbird while extracting way more power. The one thing that remained the same, however, was the 3.9-liter V8 that churned out 280 horsepower. The eleventh generation Ford Thunderbird was released in 2002, but went through a few minor changes up until the final 2005 model year. The modern adaptation of the Ford Thunderbird, however, was built to be a powerhouse The 2005 Ford Thunderbird was powerful, but not popular 2005 Ford Thunderbird | Ford via Getty Images It was a two-seater cruiser, designed for briskly enjoying the open road. With a three-speed manual, the T-Bird only made 193 horsepower.Īnd while there was an extremely limited, 217 car production run of the 1957 model that could hit 300 horsepower, the Thunderbird wasn’t exactly a screamer. At its best, the 1955 T-Bird made 198 horsepower with a 292 cubic inch V8 paired with a Ford-O-Matic three-speed auto. There were plenty of available vehicles sportier than the original Ford Thunderbird. This was in part due to the car’s comfort, rather than flat-out power. But people kept on buying them, with over 16,000 sales in 1955 alone. Ford only planned for a 10,000 unit production run of their car, which paid homage to pre-war roadsters. Marketed as a “personal vehicle” rather than a sports car like the Chevy Corvette, the 1955 Ford Thunderbird was an immediate success. The eleventh generation Ford Thunderbird, inspired by the very first T-Bird built-in 1955, was built to capitalize on nostalgia and celebrate 50 years of the infamous nameplate (with varying degrees of success) 1955 Ford Thunderbird | Underwood Archives/Getty Images The 1955 Ford Thunderbird was an instant sales hit However, there was one attempt made to bring the Ford Thunderbird back into production after a 5-year hiatus. And while the Model-T has been off the market for quite a while, the F-150 name treks on. The only Ford models more well known than the Thunderbird are the F-150 and the Model-T.
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