DETROIT - With sales falling below targets, Ford Motor Co. is resorting to incentives to clear out a glut of 2002 Ford Thunderbirds.

In mid-March, Ford began offering dealer cash of $2,000 for 2002 Thunderbirds. Ford also made the 2002 Thunderbird available for employee X-plan discounts, available to Ford suppliers plus friends and family of employees, on March 1. Discounts on the 2002 model have have been available to employees and retirees since late last year.

It is the first time Ford has used spiffs to push sales of the current Thunderbird, which the company revived in 2001 to lend glamour to the Ford brand.

Ford sold 19,085 of the retro-styled roadster in 2002, below its projections of 25,000 annually. After 19 months on the market, Ford had a whopping 183-day supply of Thunderbirds on March 1, up from 33 days a year earlier. Out of 8,500 cars in stock, more than 40 percent - about 3,600 - are 2002 models.

"It may have fallen off a little faster than expected, but I don't know if it's been a disappointment," says Jeff Schuster, director of North American forecasting for J.D. Power and Associates.

"It's been a well-received vehicle," he says. "Its span may just be a little more narrow than Ford initially anticipated."

Despite the 183-day supply, Schuster says Ford is not likely to continue with Thunderbird incentives, and the spring and summer selling season should put the car back on track.

Jim O'Connor, Ford group vice president for North America marketing, sales and service, says he isn't worried about the swelling inventories.

He says incentives are limited to clearing out 2002 models. Ford extended 2002 production into November, while it waited for an upgraded engine to become available for the 2003 model.

O'Connor also notes that convertible sales dip in winter, and Ford is expecting sales to pick up this spring. Ford is targeting Thunderbird sales of a little more than 20,000 for 2003, he says.

The 2002 model starts at $35,495, including a $530 destination charge.

With the dealer cash, Jerry Reynolds of Prestige Ford in Garland, Texas, has sold the 2002 Thunderbird for as much as $2,500 below sticker. When the vehicle debuted in August 2001, some dealers were selling the car for as much as $10,000 above sticker. Reynolds says he is not afraid to stock up on the car now that spring is here.

Says Reynolds: "I've seen more action in the last 10 days on the Thunderbird than in the previous four months.

"I will continue to buy every one they offer me."

Originally posted by Red Nj-s
I had a gut feeling no one would want an expensive, slow, average handling two seater made by Ford.

About 1,500 have been sold this year; the future of Wixom plant is in doubt.

By Brett Clanton / The Detroit News


Ford Motor Co. on Thursday announced it would end production of the Thunderbird roadster by this summer and temporarily lay off up to 200 workers. The move raises more questions about the future of a massive assembly plant in Wixom and shelves -- at least for now -- an iconic nameplate.

In a meeting with Wixom's 1,800 workers, Ford said the slow-selling T-Bird would be phased out in July, but promised no new vehicles to replace it.

The announcement is another blow to the Wixom plant, which has seen its work force shrink in recent years as demand for its car models has fallen and Ford has starved it with a lack of new work.

It also comes at a bad time for Michigan, where recent manufacturing job losses have driven the state's unemployment rate to the highest in the nation.

But the announcement had been expected.

"We promised all along that this Thunderbird would have a limited production run, and we're being true to our word," said Ford Division President Steve Lyons in a statement. "Thunderbird was a terrific image builder for the Ford brand showroom at a time when we needed it."

Now, the company has other vehicles, such as the redesigned Ford Mustang sports car, to do the job, he said.

First introduced in 1954, the Ford Thunderbird had been a staple of the Dearborn automaker's lineup until 1997, when it was briefly discontinued for a few years. A retro redesign of the classic two-seater came out in 2001 to wide praise and brisk sales. But interest quickly died.

Sales of the new Thunderbird were 19,000 in 2002 -- its first full year on the market -- but fell to 12,000 last year. About 1,500 have been sold this year.

Ford said the Thunderbird was never meant to be a high-selling model. But the car is still widely considered a disappointment.

"If Ford was able to sustain 30,000 to 40,000 units a year, chances are they wouldn't be pulling the plug," said Joseph Barker, industry analyst with CSM Worldwide in Farmington Hills.

One explanation for the weak sales -- Ford priced the Thunderbird out of reach of many customers, said Dennis Virag, president of the Automotive Consulting Group in Ann Arbor.

"Basically, when you have a two-seat specialty vehicle, sales are pretty limited, especially when you get over $30,000 to $35,000."

While the current Thunderbird is going away, Ford is not ruling out the possibility of using the Thunderbird name on another car down the road. "For now, the Thunderbird nameplate will be placed on our shelf," Lyons said. "But we'll keep it polished for future use."

Ford's Wixom plant also builds the Lincoln LS sedan and Lincoln Town Car and does final assembly of the Ford GT super car. But sales of the LS are down 10.5 percent this year, and Town Car sales are down 9.8 percent. And the pricey GT sports car is not expected to attract more than a few hundred buyers a year.

Built in 1957, Wixom is one of North America's largest automotive plants. But it is now considered to be vastly underutilized.

Declining sales have led Ford to trim production in Wixom and reduce the work force to one shift in recent years and have raised the specter of a plant closing.

The fate of Wixom is likely to be addressed when the United Auto Workers union negotiates a new national contract with Ford in 2007. As recently as July of last year, the plant employed 2,300 people. Today, it has 1,800 on payroll.

Up to 200 workers will be laid off when Thunderbird production ends. The company will try to transfer workers, but hasn't guaranteed there will be positions at other plants.

Officials with UAW Local 36, which represents workers at Ford's Wixom plant, could not be reached for comment.

Ford has not publicly committed to bringing new vehicles to Wixom. Nor has it said whether the Lincoln LS and Town Car will be replaced.

The LS is likely to go away after the midsize Lincoln Zephyr arrives in dealerships later this year, and the Town Car is expected to be replaced with another all-new model, Barker said. Another Lincoln sedan slotted between the Zephyr and Town Car is also rumored. But Ford is expected to shift production of new Lincoln models to a plant in Atlanta.

You can reach Brett Clanton at (313) 222-2612 or bclanton@detnews.com.

Do you feel like there’s enough room in the automotive world for another high-end sports car? Why of course you do, because that would be another breath of fresh air in the crossover-infested industry. And you wouldn’t be the only one, because Ford appears to be planning such a model.

Supposedly launching with the Thunderbird moniker, it’s been rumored by Ford Authority, quoting undisclosed sources familiar with the matter. That may sound like a ‘trust us, bro’ kind of topic, but let’s not forget that the Blue Oval was actually spotted having a go around Dearborn in a Chevrolet Corvette C8 last year.

Not only that, but they also filed a trademark with the USPTO (United States Patent and Trademark Office) roughly one and a half years ago to secure the Thunderbird nameplate. Thus, if the rumor holds air, then Ford might actually be planning a sports car.

Mind you, unlike the new-gen ‘Vette, which has been around since 2020, it wouldn’t feature a mid-engine construction, as the lump will be positioned in front of the passenger compartment. As a result, it wouldn’t really pose a threat to the bowtie brand’s blue-collar supercar for the masses as far as the layout goes, but it should offer similar performance. And Ford does have several aces up its sleeve in this department, including one that’s called the Mustang Shelby GT500.

Now, it would be a long stretch to assume that the upcoming Thunderbird might indeed share some oily bits with the Mustang, but in theory, it is doable. It all depends on what platform the alleged upcoming model will be built around, though for now, we will take everything with the proverbial pinch of salt. At the same time, we have to remind ourselves about some of the company’s monikers that have been resurrected these past few years, including the Puma, Bronco, and Maverick. So, anything’s possible, isn’t it?