Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Strategies & Market Trends : Trader J's Inner Circle -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: BANCHEE who wrote (3089)	1/4/1999 2:55:00 AM
From: BANCHEE	Respond to of 56535

All FORD 50's T BIRD is coming back. SEARCH THE SITE January 2, 1999 Ford Reincarnates 1950s Thunderbird By The Associated Press DETROIT (AP) -- Crank up the Beach Boys. The T-Bird is coming back. Ford Motor Co. is hoping to rekindle the love affair many Americans had with the original 1955-57 Thunderbird when it unveils its concept T-Bird on Sunday at the North American International Auto Show's press preview. Insiders say the concept car will differ little from the production model Ford plans to introduce for the 2001 model year. Ford bills it as a modern interpretation of the classic roadster. Styling cues from the original abound: A removable hardtop with porthole windows. A hood scoop. An oval egg-crate grill. There are even subtle little shoulders on the rear fenders that resemble the original's dainty fins, adorned with the same script nameplates from '55. Just don't call the car retro, says J Mays, Ford's new design chief, who had a big role in the design of the very retro New Beetle when he worked for Volkswagen AG. ''While the Thunderbird concept is loaded with heritage cues, it is a decidedly modern machine.'' Based on the same chassis as the new 2000 Lincoln LS, the T-Bird will be offered only with the LS's 3.9-liter V8 engine and five-speed automatic transmission. The T-bird disappeared from Ford's lineup in September 1997. By then it had long been a big, five-seat coupe, the kind of car that Americans abandoned in the early '90s. But despite its many overweight years, T-Bird lovers still associate the name with the sprightly little roadster of the '50s, and images of sock hops, drive-ins and cruising down Main Street. Maybe that's due to the Beach Boys singing ''she'll have fun, fun, fun 'til her daddy takes the T-Bird away.'' Maybe it was Suzanne Somers in ''American Graffiti,'' her platinum blond bouffant glistening as she mouthed ''I love you'' through the window of a white '56 T-Bird. ''There are only a select few nameplates that have earned their way into the hearts of the motoring public by establishing a true heritage,'' Mays said. ''Thunderbird is certainly one of them.'' Although some fans would have been satisfied with a faithful recreation of the original T-Bird, Ford designed the concept car to have a decidedly more modern look, calling the new T-Bird's styling ''modern heritage.'' It's similar to what Ford did with the last major redesign of the Mustang sports coupe, which borrowed heavily from the styling of the original mid '60s Mustangs. Ford's Jaguar division took the same approach with the XK8 roadster, which evokes the look of the classic E-type Jags of the 1960s. Analyst Chris Cedergren of the market-research firm Nextrend in Thousand Oaks, Calif., said he expects the new T-Bird to sell well if it's priced right. ''The primary buyers are maturing baby boomers approaching their 50s, some in the empty nest stage,'' Cedergren said. ''Others are at their peak earning years and want to have a fun vehicle in the household.'' If Ford prices the T-Bird under $30,000, it could sell as many as 60,000 a year, Cedergren said. But many analysts expect Ford to sacrifice volume for higher per-car profits by pricing it closer to $40,000, where the Mercedes-Benz SLK and Porsche Boxster compete. --------------------------------------- Related Information From Hoover's Inc. Ford Motor ---------------------------------------