Ford to shut down Thunderbird?
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From: St. Pete, Florida
Ford to shut down Thunderbird?
Well, the Plymouth Prowler is gone (as well as Plymouth itself), now another "Retro" vehicle is in trouble.
Both cars inspired loyal Detroit-customer types to pay thousands over MSRP to snap up the initial production samples:
Ford to end Thunderbird production as early as mid '05, says it may resume
By AMY WILSON | Automotive News
Arpil 22, 2003
NEW YORK -- Ford Motor Co. will stop producing the Ford Thunderbird after the 2005 or 2006 model year.
Ford Division President Steve Lyons says the current Thunderbird, which Ford introduced as a low-volume glamour car in 2001, won't be renewed after an initial product run of four or maybe five years. He wouldn't give an exact ending date, but the plan would have Ford shutting down production in mid-2005 or 2006.
"We're going to take a pause, but we don't know what the long-term plan is," Lyons says.
The decision isn't related to sales, he says. But Ford planned to sell about 25,000 Thunderbirds annually. In 2002, it sold 19,085 units in the United States and 1,136 in Canada. This year's U.S. sales are off 22.1 percent.
Stocks of the car piled up through the winter to as high as a 183-day supply on March 1. Lyons attributed the large inventory to an oversupply of 2002 models, which Ford produced into November. Ford resorted to incentives such as $2,000 dealer cash and discounts for employees, suppliers and others.
On April 1, the company had a 129-day supply of the $37,320 two-seater.
Moving a car in and out of production would be unusual.
"While it may go away for a short period of time, it may reappear from time to time," Lyons says.
"When you really stand back and think about the volumes we're trying to sell that vehicle in, it is meant to be a collectors' item. And it doesn't have to have a production run every year."
Both cars inspired loyal Detroit-customer types to pay thousands over MSRP to snap up the initial production samples:
Ford to end Thunderbird production as early as mid '05, says it may resume
By AMY WILSON | Automotive News
Arpil 22, 2003
NEW YORK -- Ford Motor Co. will stop producing the Ford Thunderbird after the 2005 or 2006 model year.
Ford Division President Steve Lyons says the current Thunderbird, which Ford introduced as a low-volume glamour car in 2001, won't be renewed after an initial product run of four or maybe five years. He wouldn't give an exact ending date, but the plan would have Ford shutting down production in mid-2005 or 2006.
"We're going to take a pause, but we don't know what the long-term plan is," Lyons says.
The decision isn't related to sales, he says. But Ford planned to sell about 25,000 Thunderbirds annually. In 2002, it sold 19,085 units in the United States and 1,136 in Canada. This year's U.S. sales are off 22.1 percent.
Stocks of the car piled up through the winter to as high as a 183-day supply on March 1. Lyons attributed the large inventory to an oversupply of 2002 models, which Ford produced into November. Ford resorted to incentives such as $2,000 dealer cash and discounts for employees, suppliers and others.
On April 1, the company had a 129-day supply of the $37,320 two-seater.
Moving a car in and out of production would be unusual.
"While it may go away for a short period of time, it may reappear from time to time," Lyons says.
"When you really stand back and think about the volumes we're trying to sell that vehicle in, it is meant to be a collectors' item. And it doesn't have to have a production run every year."
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From: Plano
Two seats may also be an issue. The sales of the 58 T-Bird were much better than the 57 even though I don't think it looks as good. The extra two seats made a big difference. If I'm going to give up the flexibility of a 4 seater, I'm going to want more performance than the T-Bird offers. It's a very nice cruiser and the performance isn't bad, high 14s/low 15s. I just think Ford misjudged the market a little.
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From: Farmington Hills
It doesn?t help that the car is also made in the same plan as the Lincoln cars and Ford has not publicly acknowledged the fate of that factory. Currently, that plant (Wixom) is one of the most underutilized plants that Ford has. It probably is the most underutilized auto manufacturing plant is the US. Chances are, they will close the plant and move production elsewhere for the new Lincoln models.
I personally find that car FUGLY. Maybe Ford has learned something, don?t make collector cars, it doesn?t pay the bills. Then again, all three US automakers seem to continually loose market share. The first year was the only year they were in demand, after that, they had a hard time selling them. Compare that with our beloved S2000, Honda doesn?t seem to have a problem selling their 2-seater.
Lance
I personally find that car FUGLY. Maybe Ford has learned something, don?t make collector cars, it doesn?t pay the bills. Then again, all three US automakers seem to continually loose market share. The first year was the only year they were in demand, after that, they had a hard time selling them. Compare that with our beloved S2000, Honda doesn?t seem to have a problem selling their 2-seater.
Lance
