Thunderstruck? We Drive a 2003 Ford Thunderbird. Is it a Sports Car or a Cruiser?

[@chrishjorth8465]

Well, my Beautiful Wife and I just purchased our 03 Mountain Shadow Gray T-bird and couldn't be happier. She has 41000 miles and optioned exactly the way I would have purchased her new. I've always had sports cars (Lotus, Porsche, Jensen, Triumph, etc.) and now in our golden years, this T-bird is just perfect. Lots of compliments too. Very happy.

[@GTGarageTalk]

Love that! Enjoy it!!!

[@wayneb2069]

Two words: Personal Luxury. It has always been that way, and in the 70s, 80s, and 90s, Ford salesmen always called it that as it was never a sports car. On the contrary, it was a Personal Luxury car with sporty attributes.

[@GTGarageTalk]

👍🏼

[@onthemoverealestatephotogr9655]

I always loved the design of these cars. One of my dream cars!

[@GTGarageTalk]

Nice. Thanks for watching.

[@jameswalsh9637]

i love mine me and the wife just drive the boulevard ❤

[@MostlyBuicks]

The 53 and 54 Corvette had a I-6 engine. The 1953-55 Corvette did not have side windows that went up and down! You could not get PS, PB, PW or P-Seat in corvette until 1963. My 1957 T-Bird had PS, PB, PW and Power seat. Corvettes are made of plastic. T-Bird was NEVER a sports car, thankfully.

[@thenextheavyweightchamp]

I have an 02 and even with the seat all the way down and put back I still hit my head on the roof, but I still love it NGL

[@GTGarageTalk]

🤘🏼

[@adamstclair9461]

i have a 2002 and i am 6'3" and i fit well once in getting in is a squeeze but livable i love my t bird

[@charlieswearingen500]

After driving Jeeps and pickups all my life, my 02 Thunderbird feels pretty damn "sporty" to me, LOL.

[@GTGarageTalk]

👍🏼

[@MostlyBuicks]

Most people mean boulevard driving when they say cruising. When I say cruising, I mean going 80 mph with plenty of power to spare to pass on the freeway with my cruise control engaged. More like driving from Tucson to Denver in 14 hours or less and the Raton pass does not slow me down in the slightest. THAT is cruising to me. And my former 1957 T-Bird could do this in spades. I have actually owned three 1956 and three 1957 T-Birds. One of each had the manual 3speed with electric overdrive. They got 22 mpg on the highway. The automatics got more like 16.

[@rickchilders4256]

We have an 05 anniversary edition black,with a light oak soft top, cruiser for sure

[@GTGarageTalk]

❤️

[@vehiclenanny]

I'm glad I watched your review before going too far down the path with a Thunderbird! Thanks for the insights.

[@GTGarageTalk]

Happy I could help

[@JamesThomas-dn6ee]

It's an amazing car buy one you won't regret it

[@GTGarageTalk]

@@JamesThomas-dn6ee Strong endorsement.

[@JamesThomas-dn6ee]

@@GTGarageTalk I have a 2002 love it

[@GTGarageTalk]

@@JamesThomas-dn6ee NICE

[@raygary7771]

This car was never meant to be a sports car, as you said many times it was meant as a highway cruiser to "drive down the road"

[@GTGarageTalk]

Yup.

[@ralphjones7531]

thunderbirds were always tight.

[@GTGarageTalk]

👍🏼

[@KarlBean-pb9zf]

Bought one of these wonderful cars in 2016,but things are starting to go South and in need of some crucial parts and unfortunately,Ford has declared them “obsolete”. Good luck finding these crucial parts because junkyards and eBay are your only options. Sad.

[@timhenderson6473]

I have one.its meant to drive top down.top up it's claustrophobic.why does he compare it to the Corvette over and over.different animals designed for different purposes.ts got creeks bc it's 20 yr old.its a cruiser not a sports car

[@GTGarageTalk]

👍🏼

[@Houndsworth]

They copied the type of car the original was. Two seat, low cruiser with V8 and removable hardtop with porthole. They chose to make the front look more like the first vette rather than put angles around the car like the first T bird had. Maybe that was partially about aerodynamics. But looking like a vette doesn't mean they made this to be a sports car. So get over that.

[@GTGarageTalk]

🤔

[@odizpatina]

Cool video.

[@stevelovescars]

I never understood the T-Bird getting written off by the press because it wasn’t a “sports car.” Don’t get me wrong, I like sports cars and have owned MGs, Triumph, Porsches, and Miatas over the years. But there is a place for a more comfortable cruising convertible. The Mercedes SL comes to mind… sure, it was a sports car in the 1950’s when it was the original 300SL but the pagodas were never sporty and the 1972-1989 SLs were heavy cruisers. The SLs of the early 90’s were powerful heavy large cruisers. I don’t remember anyone writing off the SL because it wasn’t a sports car.

[@GTGarageTalk]

Fair. I would say it’s the nostalgic styling that echos back to when it was without the sporty character to go with it.

[@mikesmith604]

And you didn't take the hardtop off, why?

[@GTGarageTalk]

I only had it for an hour. 😔

[@MostlyBuicks]

I do notice a LOT of these have been sold recently. People are getting rid of them lately.

[@GTGarageTalk]

Interesting.

[@Houndsworth]

Prices have gone up since we bought our 03 three years ago. It gets compliments at the gas stations and parking lots, especially from women.

[@johnwhitmore5408]

You keep talking about high speed driving and cornering. Where are you going to legally do that in any car? It's a fun little car, you don't have to like it. Just report the facts and leave your personal opinions out of it.

[@timhenderson6473]

Only made 70 k of these.i could sell my 02 with 12000 miles for 28 k.not bad.40 k brand new

[@GTGarageTalk]

Not bad at all

[@jameswalsh9637]

wow i have a 2003 with 36000 love it

[@hvac42long1]

You make a really good point comparing it to the corvette. It was originally to compete with the corvette and the new retro doesn’t come close. It’s a polished turd with that in mind. I actually kinda liked it until you made that point. I cannot un-hear that.

[@GTGarageTalk]

They clearly chose different paths. But remember, when the Corvette was born in 53 it was a slow 6-cylinder cruiser by todays metrics. A Honda Odyssey minivan today outperforms it in all metrics.

[@timothyhartley9754]

Obviously this clown was biased against the TBird before he reviewed it. Even the positive things he said about it were given very reluctantly like it hurt him to say it. I bought one a few months ago and I love it even though i have two sports cars that I drove all the time before getting this car. Hey dude dont try to compare it to the Corvette. Unlike 1955 it wasnt intended to compete with it and goes for a whole different experience. To get the true feel of what the car is supposed to be you have to take the top off, unless you're afraid it would mess up your hair. Or maybe just stick to reviewing cars you actually know something about.

[@GTGarageTalk]

🫢