10 most over - hyped cars

[TBirdNoob]

Re: 10 most over - hyped cars

So this review says the TBird was crap for quality, and there was a 2nd thread posted recently about a Car & Driver 10 Worst list that noted the TBird as a "car for old ladies who carry small dogs" or some such.
Whether either one of those criticisms is true or not, in my opinion each of them misses the point.
I'd say the reason for the abysmal sales of the retro Thunderbird is that it's a ridiculously impractical car. I know - because I just had to overcome all those objections from my very sensible Mrs. just last month when buying my 2004.
A 2-seater convertible with an ornamental trunk is niche car, no matter how you look at it. Add in the hard top and all the other hardware that you need to make that work - hoist, cart, cover, boot - not to mention needing 2 people (if no hoist) to handle the top, and I think that whittles down your pool of eligible buyers pretty quickly. It just doesn't work for a lot of people. And, the population on this site, I think, proves that .... my unscientific poll in the other thread shows that it runs about 3-to-1 for Toy Car versus Real Car among forum members. (Which is great, by the way....God bless America and God bless capitalism that so many people are lucky enough to be able to have a cool car like this as a weekend fun car. ) So, even that many TBird diehards have other cars that they need to use for practical purposes -like carrying more than 1 passenger or more than 2 bags of groceries.
When you were looking at nearly $40K new for these bad boys...not too many folks would be willing or able to fork out that kinda moolah for a car with some limitations on practicality.
I remember seeing a blue hardtop TBird new on the lot when I bought my 2003 Taurus....fell in love with it on the spot. But the price was sky high....and of course a 2 seater doesn't work as the primary car for a family. I have to believe a lot of potential buyers came to the same decision.
And even if you look at the demographic of folks who could use a 2-seater, let's say the double-income no-kids crowd....if you are looking for:
2 seats
V8
convertible
looks
$40K
then you were probably shopping for a Beamer or a Porsche instead of a Ford. "An American car? - how gauche!" :-)
Just sayin'.

[Tomas]

Re: 10 most over - hyped cars

Please forgive me if I offend anyone, but WHO CARES? These articles, when they show up, have never influenced me in the past and I doubt seriously they will in the future. When I spend money on ANYTHING, the only opinion that matters is mine. It's MY money and MY car. Can we PLEASE move beyond this?

why do you care if it dont matter?

what i hate is a new thread started with 2 words and ... like theres a surprise inside if you open the thread. a teaser... its lame. Stupid even.

thank God theres the mouse over so you dont have to open the offensive thread

thats something better to whine about and be thankful all in one..

youre welcome...

[nvabill]

Re: 10 most over - hyped cars

So this review says the TBird was crap for quality, and there was a 2nd thread posted recently about a Car & Driver 10 Worst list that noted the TBird as a "car for old ladies who carry small dogs" or some such.
Whether either one of those criticisms is true or not, in my opinion each of them misses the point.
I'd say the reason for the abysmal sales of the retro Thunderbird is that it's a ridiculously impractical car. I know - because I just had to overcome all those objections from my very sensible Mrs. just last month when buying my 2004.
A 2-seater convertible with an ornamental trunk is niche car, no matter how you look at it. Add in the hard top and all the other hardware that you need to make that work - hoist, cart, cover, boot - not to mention needing 2 people (if no hoist) to handle the top, and I think that whittles down your pool of eligible buyers pretty quickly. It just doesn't work for a lot of people. And, the population on this site, I think, proves that .... my unscientific poll in the other thread shows that it runs about 3-to-1 for Toy Car versus Real Car among forum members. (Which is great, by the way....God bless America and God bless capitalism that so many people are lucky enough to be able to have a cool car like this as a weekend fun car. ) So, even that many TBird diehards have other cars that they need to use for practical purposes -like carrying more than 1 passenger or more than 2 bags of groceries.
When you were looking at nearly $40K new for these bad boys...not too many folks would be willing or able to fork out that kinda moolah for a car with some limitations on practicality.
I remember seeing a blue hardtop TBird new on the lot when I bought my 2003 Taurus....fell in love with it on the spot. But the price was sky high....and of course a 2 seater doesn't work as the primary car for a family. I have to believe a lot of potential buyers came to the same decision.
And even if you look at the demographic of folks who could use a 2-seater, let's say the double-income no-kids crowd....if you are looking for:
2 seats
V8
convertible
looks
$40K
then you were probably shopping for a Beamer or a Porsche instead of a Ford. "An American car? - how gauche!" :-)
Just sayin'.

I would say you are pretty close to dead on about the T-Bird here!

[5bird7]

Re: 10 most over - hyped cars

I would say you are pretty close to dead on about the T-Bird here!

and then you get to watch the ladies in those other cars look over yours wistfully as you (or they) pass by. happens all the time.

[jerrym3]

Re: 10 most over - hyped cars

So this review says the TBird was crap for quality, and there was a 2nd thread posted recently about a Car & Driver 10 Worst list that noted the TBird as a "car for old ladies who carry small dogs" or some such.
Whether either one of those criticisms is true or not, in my opinion each of them misses the point.
I'd say the reason for the abysmal sales of the retro Thunderbird is that it's a ridiculously impractical car. I know - because I just had to overcome all those objections from my very sensible Mrs. just last month when buying my 2004.
A 2-seater convertible with an ornamental trunk is niche car, no matter how you look at it. Add in the hard top and all the other hardware that you need to make that work - hoist, cart, cover, boot - not to mention needing 2 people (if no hoist) to handle the top, and I think that whittles down your pool of eligible buyers pretty quickly. It just doesn't work for a lot of people. And, the population on this site, I think, proves that .... my unscientific poll in the other thread shows that it runs about 3-to-1 for Toy Car versus Real Car among forum members. (Which is great, by the way....God bless America and God bless capitalism that so many people are lucky enough to be able to have a cool car like this as a weekend fun car. ) So, even that many TBird diehards have other cars that they need to use for practical purposes -like carrying more than 1 passenger or more than 2 bags of groceries.
When you were looking at nearly $40K new for these bad boys...not too many folks would be willing or able to fork out that kinda moolah for a car with some limitations on practicality.
I remember seeing a blue hardtop TBird new on the lot when I bought my 2003 Taurus....fell in love with it on the spot. But the price was sky high....and of course a 2 seater doesn't work as the primary car for a family. I have to believe a lot of potential buyers came to the same decision.
And even if you look at the demographic of folks who could use a 2-seater, let's say the double-income no-kids crowd....if you are looking for:
2 seats
V8
convertible
looks
$40K
then you were probably shopping for a Beamer or a Porsche instead of a Ford. "An American car? - how gauche!" :-)
Just sayin'.

Now you know why the 1958 Squarebird outsold 55/56/57 combined.

Practicality.

But, sometimes, not being practical can be....practical.

I bought mine before retirement thinking that it would be my every day car when I retired. Didn't quite work out that way.

Figured if I could support one toy (my Galaxie), I could support two. (When I supported three, a 58 TBird plus the other two, that was over the top.)

The nicest thing about not using my retro everyday is that there's always a bit of "newness" when I take her out for her once per week ride, weather permitting, of course.

[elphil]

Re: 10 most over - hyped cars

Lack of practicality is the key reason for low sales numbers finishing off the Tbird in 2005. In that year Ford sold 9,548 Tbirds and 240,000 Explorers. Also note that there were almost no updates to the Tbirds after the 2003 model.

The peak of Tbird sales was 1978 with 352,751 units sold. And the Tbirds of that period were just lightly reworked Fairmonts. There's no accounting for car buyers' tastes.

[Gobird]

Re: 10 most over - hyped cars

Except for this post I don't even respond to threads like this any more. It's a waste of time. I know what I bought 10 years ago and I could care less what other people think.

[2K2BIRD]

Re: 10 most over - hyped cars

They are fun cars that have limitations for use because of their size/cargo capacity and should not be faulted for something that is a given on a two-seat roadster. They have their quirks just like all vehicles do (yes, even Hondas), but I wouldn't call them unreliable by any means.

As far as hype goes, I'm more inclined to think they were under-hyped instead of over-hyped. One TV commercial is all that was ever made and it came out when there was a waiting list to get one or dealers were charging above sticker, so its effectiveness was certainly hampered. Dealers' greed, extension of the 02 model year and poor marketing killed the momentum, not the car itself.

Ford is often its own worst enemy when it comes to marketing. They had a hit and let it get away, plain and simple. They could have easily added to the content of the car each year as the parts were all available from the LS. Paint & trim changes are a given in any car, so that wasn't enough - even if some of them were "limited editions".

As far as the car goes, it is what it is and still gets positive comments everytime it's out, because it is unique in so many ways. Besides all of that its existence has resulted in the best 10 years of our lives in terms of friends, traveling and fun.....and that is no hype, just the truth.

[Gobird]

Re: 10 most over - hyped cars

Paul, You already heve this but those that are attending TBN TEN will receive a CD with the song on it that was used in the first T-Bird ad back in 02.

[TBirdNoob]

Re: 10 most over - hyped cars

Except for this post I don't even respond to threads like this any more. It's a waste of time. I know what I bought 10 years ago and I could care less what other people think.

Exactly. I haven't even had mine for 3 weeks but I wanted one for years. To hell with some car review, I love driving this car. the fact that it's impractical makes it even more fun.

[DrG]

Re: 10 most over - hyped cars

I, too, just got mine...one week ago. I read some bad reviews beforehand, heard my wife's objections regarding practicality and still decided that this car is for me. I'm old enough to remember seeing the early two-seaters and wanted to fulfill a lifetime dream. My '05 Bronze fills the bill.

[Gobird]

Re: 10 most over - hyped cars

Hell, I also have a 73 MGB. How impractical can you get.

[lasuvidaboy]

Re: 10 most over - hyped cars

Talking about TBird production, it is amazing the incredible low-production numbers of many convertibles in the 1960s-yet the car companies still built them to lure people into the showrooms. As an example, the classic 4-door Lincoln Continental convertible never exceded 3400 units a year. Chrysler's elegant 1960s Imperial convertible production ranged from 300 to a high (one year only) of 900 units built w/most years seeing 400-500 built. It was fairly common for some models not topping 1000 units for the year. Cadillac's flagship Eldorado Brougham never saw more than 400 units sold w/one year only 99 units left the factory. No US car company would do that today but in the past they seemed to have no problem w/building limited production models.

[jerrym3]

Re: 10 most over - hyped cars

They are fun cars that have limitations for use because of their size/cargo capacity and should not be faulted for something that is a given on a two-seat roadster. They have their quirks just like all vehicles do (yes, even Hondas), but I wouldn't call them unreliable by any means.

As far as hype goes, I'm more inclined to think they were under-hyped instead of over-hyped. One TV commercial is all that was ever made and it came out when there was a waiting list to get one or dealers were charging above sticker, so its effectiveness was certainly hampered. Dealers' greed, extension of the 02 model year and poor marketing killed the momentum, not the car itself.

Ford is often its own worst enemy when it comes to marketing. They had a hit and let it get away, plain and simple. They could have easily added to the content of the car each year as the parts were all available from the LS. Paint & trim changes are a given in any car, so that wasn't enough - even if some of them were "limited editions".

As far as the car goes, it is what it is and still gets positive comments everytime it's out, because it is unique in so many ways. Besides all of that its existence has resulted in the best 10 years of our lives in terms of friends, traveling and fun.....and that is no hype, just the truth.

I don't disagree, but how much marketing should Ford have done for a limited production vehicle?

How many Corvette commercials were on TV during the same time period? But, the Corvette maches on and IMPROVES with every new generation.

You couldn't walk into a Ford dealer in 2002 without tripping over a new TBird on the showroom floor. Every car magazine had TBird (and Lincoln LS) road tests.

No, Ford's error was not marketing, it was not improving the car and dealer greed.

But, they didn't need to improve the Bird. They were making enough money on the Explorer.

Who needs a limited production 2 seater when the world went SUV happy?

[2K2BIRD]

Re: 10 most over - hyped cars

I don't disagree, but how much marketing should Ford have done for a limited production vehicle?

How many Corvette commercials were on TV during the same time period? But, the Corvette maches on and IMPROVES with every new generation.

You couldn't walk into a Ford dealer in 2002 without tripping over a new TBird on the showroom floor. Every car magazine had TBird (and Lincoln LS) road tests.

No, Ford's error was not marketing, it was not improving the car and dealer greed.

But, they didn't need to improve the Bird. They were making enough money on the Explorer.

Who needs a limited production 2 seater when the world went SUV happy?

How much marketing? Whether it was meant to be limited production or not, I'd say more than - NONE. If I was Ford, it really wouldn't matter how many SUVs I was selling (totally different market, totally different assembly plants), at the end of 2003 when my total production of the 02 & 03 models had not reached the projected 50K combined production goals, I would have added all the available LS goodies for as low a price increase as possible and readvertised the car in a serious marketing campaign designed to let people know they were still out there and better than before.

During that time frame most people that had been turned off by dealer greed in 02 did not know that you could now buy one for a decent discount. In fact, I've met plenty of people and I bet everyone has, that didn't even know that Ford had made them at all - so again marketing was a problem.

It wasn't hard to see one on the show room floor in 02 because plenty of dealers had jacked up the price and they weren't selling. The car mags were favorable toward the car at the time, even though they revised their tune later on, but in general car mag articles only reach gearheads - they don't reach all of the folks with disposable income who want a fun extra car, want something to make their daily lives less drab or rich wives that want the flavor of the day.

Camparing the kind of advertising needed for a Corvette, which had essentially the same formula (two seat sports car) for almost 50 years at the time the retrobirds came out, to a totally changed vehicle from the last model in the line like the new bird was/is not even relevent from what I can tell. About the only similarity in the two cars is the # of seats, despite people constantly trying to compare them. It's like all those comparisons we have seen between the Mustang and the Corvette over the years when Chevy discontinued the Camaro - apples to oranges.

At least we agreed on two out of three of the reasons -