STYLING
The PT Cruiser and the VW New Beetle have shown that Americans
can get very excited about retro styling when it's done right.
And Ford chief designer J Mays (who also had a hand in the New
Beetle while he was at Volkswagen) has certainly caught the
spirit of those early 1955-1957 two-seater T-Birds. (We'll
mercifully forget about those later years after Ford added a
rear seat and made the Thunderbird about as bloated and boring
as a 2-door car could be). As with the original T-Bird, the
2002 model appears to slope gently from the front to the rear.
Combined with the hood scoop and those long, long fenders
front and back, this car carries the look of a classy roadster
-- albeit still much bigger than the original. From the back
view, two huge, round taillights flanking the silver
Thunderbird emblem make a pretty sight, as well. For an
additional $2,500 you can get a removable hardtop with round
portholes reminiscent of the originals. But I would skip it.
This new T-Bird has a look that's meant to be seen with the
top down.
Inside, the flat black dash borrowed from corporate sibling
Lincoln LS looks a little plain for a car this jazzy. But the
optional two-tone seats and unusual turquoise needles on the
white gauges add some flamboyance.
POWER
For straight-ahead acceleration, the '02 T-Bird still has the
right stuff, just like in the '50s. The 3.9-liter, 252
horsepower aluminum V8 -- also shared with the Lincoln LS --
will whisk you from zero to 60 mph in seven seconds flat. When
you really stomp on it like that, the exhaust note sounds a
satisfying old-fashioned windup through the gears. The
five-speed automatic transmission moves very quickly through the
lower gears and, as a result, seems a little twitchy. The EPA
estimated mileage of 17 mpg in the city and 23 on the highway
isn't bad for this kind of muscle. But the manual recommends
premium fuel, which will boost your costs at the pump.
NEXT: Handling »»
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