The 11th and final-generation Thunderbird sported a retro-inspired design. Depending on who you talk to, the design was either a fun callback to a classic Ford design or a garish monstrosity. The front grille sported a chrome grimace that looked like the Thunderbirds of the ’50s if you were standing really far away.
This is the same era in car design that birthed the PT Cruiser. There was clearly something malevolent going around the car industry at the time.
Mechanically, this era was where the Thunderbird really got strange. It shared a platform with the Jaguar S-Type sedan, and Ford had a few good engines to put in the Thunderbird: The 5.0L from the Mustang, which is a legendary engine, and the 4.6L Modular, which is reliable and competent. But instead, Ford shoved a Jaguar V8 under the hood. The engine wasn’t a slouch, producing 280 horsepower, per Edmunds. It wasn’t a terrible car, but a sad interior combined with divisive styling meant that the Thunderbird’s best days were behind it.
According to Hagerty, sales dropped off in 2003, with under 15,000 Thunderbirds leaving the dealership lot. Its last model year was 2005.
It could be argued that the 11th generation outright killed the Thunderbird. But history tells us that the car’s death happened slowly over decades and several generations.
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