Originally Posted by
johnaec
As someone who bought my Thunderbird new in 1996, I'll tell you why the new one didn't succeed. '97 was the last of the original long run, until the "new" T-Bird came out in 2002. It cost over twice as much as my '96, and was downgraded to a tight little 2-seater from the comfortable 4-seat coupes that preceded it, with lots of cheap plastic. It would be as if JBL had taken the 4344, turned it into a 12" 3-way, charged twice as much, and still called it a 4344, just to carry on the name. It would likely be a complete flop, the way the new T-Bird was...
John