The following article is reproduced word for word from the article which appeared in the March,1997 issue of Motor Trend Magazine. It was originally written by Daniel Charles Ross.
It's interesting to see the differences between how car magazines see cars and howthey're seen by the folks who buy them. A lot of us in the car journalism business would truly like tobelieve we touch the beating pulse of the driving populace - and that's often true. But if by readingmagazines you got the idea that the only Ford Thunderbird built was the Turbocoupe, you're wrong,bucko.
Our owner survey of the Ford Thunderbird shows a surprising 81% of all T-Bird buyers opted for 6-or -8 cylinder powerplants, with only 19% choosing the more highly visible 4- cylinder turbo engine.Of the total number of respondents, 85.7% also decided either the 3- or 4- speed automatictransmission better suited their driving style than the 5 speed gearbox. As successful a performancecar as the Turbocoupe is, evidently, the overwhelming majority of buyers find the car's success liesin more than the fastest time between 0 and 60 mph.
Among TurboCoupe fans, there was an indication that the domestic car art as practised by Ford ismaking some inroads in the foreign sports and sporty car ranks. A respondent from Palm Springs,California, reported he traded in a 78 Celica GT, and found his TurboCoupe offered "a bigimprovement in sports like' luxury and size." He also liked the car's "aggressive looking" styling,and said it was "made for the upper - middle class - young, 25 - 40."
One gripe the same respondent had struck a sympathetic chord with us. "Goodyear Gatorbacksperfect - but at $219 each? Ford could have discount packages for new ones." Interesting concept,that Turbocoupe drivers likely shave as many tires in normal operation as the swiftest showroomstock racer. A captive source of discounted replacement tires would be very popular.
Our survey fleet has racked up an impressive total driving time. In 4,489,553 miles, the averagemiles - per - respondent breaks down to 21,689. That was enough experience for 56% of respondentsto specify their Thunderbird in the "excellent" performance category. Another 39.1% quoted theirassessment as "good". A lonely 1% thought their Thunderbirds rated a "poor" performance rating. Achemical operator from Wheelersburg, Ohio, wrote that his 6- cylinder 3- speed auto T-Bird waspurchased because "it was solid and sturdy feeling when we drove it. It also handled like a sportscar, and we liked the looks."
Many people reported the Thunderbird styling was important to them, with 47.7% indicating thatattribute as their primary like. A combined 95.1% of respondents indicated "excellent" or "good"when asked for their performance ratings, with 93.1% indicating fun-to-drive capabilities in thosesame top categories. In conjunction with that, "excellent" or "good" was indicated by a combined86.6% for braking, and by 90.9% in the handling category.
Some of the gripes readers had dealt with the relatively scant rear seat room. Leg room and headroom were foremost among the complaints regarding rear seat comfort, but several respondentscomplained about the nominal 5 seater's ability to seat three abreast in back. When asked whatchanges he would have Ford make to the Thunderbird, one owner replied "find a way to enlarge theback seat, and eliminate the hump in the middle of the back seat." Respondents also noted the lackof leg room for larger adult riders.
One woman from Tempe, Arizona, thought her 6- cylinder, 4- speed automatic Thunderbird "reallyisn't a fun car to drive." Her handling category was filled with merely a "fair" rating. "Just seems tohandle wishy washy", she responded, "and doesn't come close to handling like the BMW I used toown." This illustrates the premise we referred to in paragraph one of this story: When asked whatinfluenced her to buy her Thunderbird, she indicated "car magazine."
The phenomena of poor electrical reliability, a common factor surfacing regularly in these surveys,was again evident in the Thunderbird responses. In three categories under the mechanical problemsumbrella, 31.5% of respondents indicated they had experienced some form of electrical malady.Power window switches appear prone to failure in this sampling. Some respondents had seen shortedout fog lights, and the T-Bird of one unfortunate chap from Phoenix (an electronics tech, of alloccupations) suffered what was termed as an "assembly error in routing of the wire harness" to therear lights and fuel pump. He reported it caused a short and electrical fire between the chassis andseat frame. Ouch.
Even when their cars suffered problems, some respondents were effusive in their praise for theirvehicle. A 54- year old woman from Sacramento, California, reported "cheap trim" in herTurbocoupe with 5-speed manual, but finished with "This is the most rewarding car I've ever had. I'dlike to see the cheapy' things corrected, [but] the car is a superior vehicle."
And then there's Mr. Sailor A. Mahler.
Mr. Mahler is a physicist employed as a navy electronics warfare analyst in Columbia, Maryland.He owns a Turbocoupe with the 5- speed manual. We're getting used to respondents using additionalsheet of paper to amplify comments made on our survey form, but Mahler sent six handwritten pagesof comments and suggestions, ranging from adding a turbo intercooler to replacing the GoodyearGatorbacks with GT+4's. He wants balance shafts, two-stage turbos, double overhead camshafts,and 4 valves per cylinder. "What I'd really like to see," Mahler wrote, "would be Buick's 3.8-literturbo in the T-Bird (and no computer limit on speed). The chassis and aerodynamics are there, sowhy not shove some honest-to-God thunder under the Bird's bonnet? I understand that some of theseofferings are in the works for the 87 TurboCoupe."
And so they are, as readers of our story last month on the 1987 Car of the Year already know. Theintercooler was an easy request.
The Buick engine, however, might take a while longer.
Owner's Survey Statistics
The numbers say it all