GTP Cool Wall: 1987-1988 Ford Thunderbird Turbo Coupe

[Wiegert]

1987-1988 Ford Thunderbird Turbo Coupe nominated by @Cowboy

Body Style: 2-door coupe
Engine: 2.3L Lima I4
Power: 190 hp
Torque: 200 ft-lb
Weight: 1549 kg
Transmission: 5-speed manual
Drivetrain: Front-engine, rear wheel drive
Additional information: For the 1987 model year, the exterior of the Thunderbird was updated to further improve its aerodynamic performance. The headlights were changed from sealed-beam units to flush-mounted composite units and the rear quarter glass was also flush-mounted. Thunderbird Turbo Coupes were distinguished by their own front bodywork, which did away with a traditional front grille, featuring functional hood scoops directed to the intercooler. In sharp contrast to the Thunderbirds of a decade before, chrome trim was used only sparingly; on Turbo Coupes, the only chrome trim on the entire car was the Thunderbird emblems and lettering.​

Spoiler: Additional Pics

 

[Turbo]

Now this, my friends, is what happens when you combine a Mustang with an unremarkable, full size coupe.

Uncool.

 

[FerrariF1GT]

'80's era Fords were okay, unlike the slushies from GM and Chrysler, but they're still uncool.

 

[Mike458]

Now THIS is a proper Thunderbird...

Spoiler

Not the car in the OP.

Seriously Uncool... but not as uncool as the pink Nissan Micra.

 

[Tornado]

Mark VII LSC was far cooler, as was the Super Coupe; but these weren't bad at all. Low cool.

Now this, my friends, is what happens when you combine a Mustang with an unremarkable, full size sedan.

Uncool.

No. That would be this one:

The generation of Thunderbird in the OP, especially after the refresh, was quite a bit more kitted out than any Mustang short of the SVO.

 

[bremics]

I had no idea this thing even existed.

 

[Neddo]

Small non thirsty engine churning out decent power for it's time. Nothing else to say. MEH. Are these reliable?

 

[FT-1]

I like the engine.... That's about it. However, it is a misfit in a car this size, much better in the Mustang SVO.

 

[LM7325]

I have a soft spot for the last of the Thunder Fox years. Cool, I wanted to build one of these into a Silver State Classic top speed car at one time. I still do in a way...

 

[huskeR32]

'80's era Fords were okay, unlike the slushies from GM and Chrysler, but they're still uncool.

Well that's just blatant fanyboyism right there. All American cars were automakers made a lot of crap in the '80s. Ford very much included.

 

[Neddo]

Well that's just blatant fanyboyism right there. All American cars were crap in the '80s. Ford very much included.

 

[huskeR32]

Fair play. My quote has been edited to more accurately reflect my sentiment.

 

[Neddo]

Fair play. My quote has been edited to more accurately reflect my sentiment.

The pouwa of GNX!

 

[Tornado]

Well that's just blatant fanyboyism right there.

No, it's a pretty fair sentiment. Ford's batting average for that decade was usually better than Chrysler's and especially GM's.

 

[huskeR32]

No, it's a pretty accurate sentiment. Ford's batting average for that decade was usually better than Chrysler's and especially GM's.

By what measure? Subjective assessments of which cars are cool?

 

[mustafur]

Im Genuinely surprised this is Rear Wheel Drive, since it's not a FWD I have to go Low cool even though the car is junk, you have to give credit where it's due.

 

[Tornado]

By what measure?

Actually building competent automobiles, some of them even class leading. Ford had some stinkers just like GM and Chrysler did. Most of Ford's lineup still wasn't has hopeless as most of Chrysler's, or as actively underdeveloped/poorly conceived as most of GM's.

Subjective assessments of which cars are cool?

No one said anything about coolness.

 

[Joey D]

Cool. I love everything about these cars and can fully embrace the 80's-ness of it.

 

[huskeR32]

Actually building competent automobiles, some of them even class leading.

That's also fairly subjective.

If you like Fords, cool, like Fords. Just don't act like they were head-and-shoulders above the other American automakers at the time.

Ford had some stinkers just like GM and Chrysler did.

Exactly my point.

 

[Cowboy]

I'm going to say this in my honest opinion.

I've always had a soft spot for these. They had decent power for the time period, and they (at least) didn't have hardly any chrome like a bunch of other cars of the 80's. And if you don't care about weight, this would be an ok car to have.

Low cool.

 

[Tornado]

Just don't act like they were head-and-shoulders above the other American automakers at the time.

How many Tauruses did GM put out in that decade? Where was GM's Continental Mark VII, or Town Car, or FWD Continental, or ninth generation Thunderbird, or (indeed) eigth generation Thunderbird?

Now how many Citations did Ford dump on an unsuspecting public? How many HT4100 cars was Lincoln selling? How many Cimarrons did Lincoln throw together? How many Chevettes or Le Mans did Ford sell? Aside from the seventh generation Thunderbird and its brethren I posted above, where are all of Ford's terrible attempts at downsizing that were unmitigated sales disasters? Where are all of Ford's diesel engines? Some of Ford's laziest (Escort, Tempo, EXP) easily matched some of GM's laziest; but I can't think of anything immediately that approached GM's worsts.
And where were GM's high points? The GMT 400 pickups? The W Body Grand Prix coupe? Chrysler, for all of their foibles during the decade, had the Caravan and (after buying it from Renault) the Cherokee; plus they at least had mastered the art of squeezing every penny they could out of their entire lineup and tied up with Mitsubishi for what they couldn't do.









Maybe let me ask you a bit differently: GM entered the decade after three wildly successful corporate downsizing attempts of an unprecedented scale and a fourth one imminent with absolutely massive anticipation.
Ford and Chrysler entered the decade teetering near bankruptcy, with the latter only surviving by the skin of its teeth. AMC entered the decade as a shill to sell crappy French cars.

Ford and Chrysler exited the decade with so much money that they had already started wasting it on vanity purchases. Most of Ford's model lineup was either brand new, imminent to be replaced or so much better than the domestic competition anyway that they didn't have to worry about it. Chrysler basically got their entire 1990s lineup paid for them by Renault, if not developed; and once Lido was thrown out they started debuting. AMC didn't last the decade, but everything they were working on went towards Chrysler's 90s success.
GM exited the decade so disastrously that they had entire platforms of cars shared among multiple brands, totaling literally more than a dozen models, that dated to the early/mid 1980s but couldn't be substantially updated until at least the middle of the 1990s.


Why do you think that is, if none of the domestic brands were notably better than the others?

Exactly my point.

Actually, no. Your point seemed to be that someone saying something as benign as "'80's era Fords were okay, unlike the slushies from GM and Chrysler", something a period publication would probably agree with as the decade went on, was "blatant fanboyism". You stomped in with such a laughable overreaction to a mild statement of preference that even ignoring how much stupider your original counterpoint of "All American cars were crap in the '80s" was, I have to legitimately wonder what knowledge you thought you were imparting at all.

 

[LM7325]

I understand why people would not like it. I Just see a slightly heavier Fox Mustang that doesn't have nowhere near the image problem. It's pretty much just a K-member swap away from a million possibilities.

But just like an S14, that stuff is actually uncool. But I like it anyway.

 

[LivingWithGames]

This doesn't look half bad...the interior lacks though.

I'm going for meh to balance it all out.

 

[Roger the Horse]

Old car with hyperbolic name.

 

[Liquid]

Good looker, especially in black.

Low Cool.

 

[LM7325]

I like the brake/rear running lights too for some reason. I always hated every most iteration(s) of Fox Body mirror though, way too small to see properly. From Fairmont to Mark VII, they all have the issue.
Edit: Mark VII seems to have been blessed with proper mirrors actually, now to see if they will fit my '93

 

[Adamgp]

Always liked this gen T-Birds, not as much as the 1st gen. Even though it was less power, I'd take the 5.0 over the 2.3T though.

Still a solid cool.

 

[Zenith]

Some people make theirs look sweet. I have a soft spot for them like the Capri style Mustangs.

Still uncool though.

 

[Turtle]

Looks good from the front, but everything else just doesn't do it for me. It just seems a little awkwardly proportioned.

I kinda like it, but it's uncool.

 

[Casey]

I kinda like it only gets a low cool from me though.