power, very roomy, beautiful interior, user friendly instruments, good handling in rain

needs lots of repair, handles like a lead rocket on ice or snow very dangerous, hard to move big car around in small parking lots, its longer than many suv's at 200 in.

16 thousand at 1 year old. i would not recommend this vehicle due to its need for repairs and dangerous handling in snow. things break and leak constantly. even after being treated well this car still would break down. i have about 135k on it now but much of the stuff under the hood is stuff i had to replace (water pumps, shocks, radiator,brakes etc.) i had the brakes go out on me when driving. the paint started getting dull after 7 years even though it was kept mostly in garage. if this car was reliable and weighed a few hundred lbs. less it would be great, but no such luck. my brothers nissan altima is just as nice on the inside and more reliable and easier to drive around in tight spots. my next ride will be an import, most likely a toyota 4runner, goodbye ford and your cheap bird.

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grand am, nissan altima, ford crown vic

drives good,plenty of power

transmission replaced,rear end replaced,blown head gasket

this car is the reason they wrote LEMMON laws,transmission went out after 50k miles,then the rear end bit the dust,followed by blowned head gasket,if you love misseary,buy you one

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chevy truck much better,no comparison

Driver controls are great, everything faces you, comfort of ride, low road noise, pick-up is good for such a large car

Transmission is the worst. 28,000 miles had a very bad rubble from transmission. Told it was a torque converter and had replaced (under warrenty). At 48,000 miles exact same problem came back, told this time that was not torque converter and Ford issued a maintenace guide line. With in 6 months problem came back. Happens around 2000 RPM when in low gear and tring to accelerate (especially up a grade). Let off accelrator and punch again and will go away.
The brakes also go rather fast. May be driving style, but for this size car and weight, very undersized.

Paid 16,600 new for the car in May 95. Looking for a new car now and Ford is not on the list. Would have given up other standard items for a working Transmission. If it goes bad every 20,000 miles, need to add a $700 bill every year to the cost. If Ford overlooked such a bad design then I can't trust them w/ other items.

It still drives like the day I bought it back in 1991, like a slug. However after 145,000 thats not too bad. It was an inexpensive car that is inexpensive to repair and easy to work on. Parts are very easy to get and found everywhere. The car is on the large size, which I prefer over the sardine cans that the Japanese and European auto manuafactures dump in the US. Only small problems here and there on the car, but only after about 60K did they start to appear. Nothing out of the ordinary.

Some positives: Large gas tank give the car plenty of range.
Air conditioning not bad. Good power steering. Suprisingly, it doesn't rattle too much. Good for long distance driving. (although I wish it had lumbar support)

I prefer to drive this car over my BMW (1987 325), it is much more comfortable to drive when not doing highway acrobatics.

3.8 V6 is NOT powerful enought to compensate for the weight of the car.

Drives similar to riding a 3 legged cow. No, I have never ridden a three legged cow, but I can surely imagine what it would be like after driveing the base model thunderbird.

Brakes? Front disc, rear drum. Constantly warping the rotors. I also don't have antilocks. GET THEM ON THIS CAR. No traction at all when breaking. This takes a bit of getting used to.

Rear wheel drive offers no traction in snow or rain. Car is virtually useless in the snow.

Failures: Struts,AC (twice),rotors (3 times),Gas pump,headlight switch (twice)(p.o.s),radio LCD (also a p.o.s), driver power window, some other misc engine parts (just typical wear on those), cylinder head gasket leaking (135K).

Recalls: One for a faulty A/C part, and another for a ignition switch that could ignite the car into a ball of flames ( I believe ).

I paid something like 11K in 1991 for a model slightly used. I would not recommend the base model of this car unless they are tying to learn how to drive a bathtub.

However, based on the reliability that I have had, and the ease of repairs (every joe mechanic can handle these), I would recommend a Fully loaded and V8 t-bird. The later model super coupes and V8's with antilock breaks and a beefier suspension should fix most of the problems I have seen.

If you are a big dude or dudette, and looking for a big car that is fun to drive, I would recommend the T-Bird. Hey, I still drive mine, and hope to for another few years!

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Similar driving experience to late 80's American cars of all types.

it runs great. i've got the best of two worlds with it, it's runs like a mustang and rides like a thunderbird

it does eat gas

if you want a fun family car get one.it's a joy to drive

Has been very reliable. Never let me down or stranded me. With regular maintainence these will not die.

The 3.8 V6 is a little short on power but bgets decent gas milage. Get a V8 if you want a very powerful car. 3.8 V6 is notorious for blowing head gaskets between 70k and 80k miles.

I have about 72000 miles on this car and it runs like new. the trans is starting to slip a little but it is nothing major. This is a great car for people who want a luxury car and a sporty car rolled into one. The V6 gives decent performance. If you want more power then go with a V8, but it will be a little higher in insurance costs and the V6 gets a little better gas milage. The good thing about these cars is that there is alot of aftermarket support for them and clubs to help with things. I would recomend the 89-97 Thunderbirds because the are built on the MN12 frame. The older ones were built on the fox body Mustang frame. The MN12s are far superior to others in that the suspension was redesigned for a better ride, the engines are more reliable, and much more. If your in the market for a sporty luxury car that will not break the bank then look at the 89-97 Thunderbirds and you will not be disappointed.

great take off, for an auto. handles like a sport car, feels like a luxury. roomy for 4, esp. for a two door. all out fun to drive,

105 mph cutout :(
only one problem, was a recalled part,
Some one might run a downed intersection light at %0mph and destroy it, i servived the car didn't thanks to a very well designed front right body,

i would definetly recommend it, loved it while i had it.
very good prive

It starts....

The transmission suck in these and Ford knows and is still putting out a known defective product. I would not buy this car again!!

I am extremely upset at Ford. The tramission has been known to be defective and is even listed on the National Transportation Safety board website as being a defective product for several years. I think that is is obsence to pay $15,000 or more for a car that doesn't work and needs to be retrofitted with a proper transmission. They should come from the factory working! They will not honor the warranty contract and then try to weasel another $1500 to fix their transmission. There was a time a transmission would last a few years. This one was ill at 40,000 highway miles. I'll say it again...it is obsence. I will never buy a Ford again!! Do not buy this car!!!

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88 Turbo Thunderbird

The v8 has a lot of power & is very smooth & comfortable.
It has very good suspension & turning radius. Roomy interior & looks nice.

It really does guzzle a lot of gas.

I really enjoy the car. It hasn't given us any major engine trouble & has been really reliable. The trunk is roomy enough to fit what we need for the baby plus the necessities for a tailgate party.
Great family car.

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Taurus

in the v8 it has tremendous power and is a sweet machine.
it will just fly and has plenty of space for 4. The car is built around the driver not the passenger

it eats gas like a semi. It is terrible on gas

great car