T-bird's #1 | Ford Thunderbird forum club group 1955-2005 models

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T-bird's #1

  • Thread starter Thread starter KYbluebird
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KYbluebird

UPDATE EMAIL ADDRESS
Rip Watson - Bloomberg News

WASHINGTON -- General Motors Corp.'s 2002 Chevrolet Blazer sport-utility vehicle with
two-wheel drive received the U.S. government's worst rollover rating, while Ford Motor Co.'s
Thunderbird convertible got the highest mark.

The Ford Thunderbird is the seventh vehicle to get the five-star rating, NHTSA spokesman Tim
Hurd said. The others are DaimlerChrysler AG's Chrysler Sebring and similar Dodge Stratus
cars, Honda Motor Co.'s Accord sedan and three Ford cars -- the Ford Crown Victoria, Mercury
Grand Marquis and Lincoln LS.

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Originally posted by KYbluebird:
Rip Watson - Bloomberg News
Click to expand...

Here is the crash test information from the horses mouth:
http://www.nhtsa.org/NCAP/Cars/1998.html

Don't forget these are SIDE IMPACT and ROLLOVER tests which they didn't even do a few years ago. The Frontal tests are TBD.


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smile.gif
Good news, but what a waste of a new Bird.
frown.gif
I wonder what color they used?

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02 T-Bird 9293
69 Vette
73 MGB
97 F-150 4x4
2-Seadoo Jet Skies
a dog a cat and a couple hundred fish in my pond
 
Originally posted by Gobird:
smile.gif
Good news, but what a waste of a new Bird.
frown.gif
I wonder what color they used?
Click to expand...

Just think, they will probably get another one to do the Frontal Impact test which are the most important. And Ford is really big proud of their 5 Star Crash test ratings, so you bet one will be tested.

So that means there are 24,998 birds for sale? Or does that mean 25,002? Or does that mean that 2 VINless cars were produced?
 
Originally posted by tbird:

So that means there are 24,998 birds for sale? Or does that mean 25,002? Or does that mean that 2 VINless cars were produced?
Click to expand...

From what we've heard from those at the factory or connected with Ford in some way, all the cars are "vinned" - even the pre-production cars and the vins all fall in the 25,000 count including the ones that are not destined for sale but for eventual destruction. Having some of them crash tested must help take care of the ones that must be destroyed. Think there are at least 200 that fall into that category including the ones used on the Mystery Drives and the Legend tours.
 
we were told early on, that vin #1 would be kept at Greenfield Village (possibly with a suster in the trunk)and #2-25 would be used for testing and eventually destroyed. production models started with #26.
 
Originally posted by rlstonejr:
we were told early on, that vin #1 would be kept at Greenfield Village ...and #2-25 would be used for testing and eventually destroyed. production models started with #26.
Click to expand...

Actually, rjstonejr - vins 1-25 are regular production cars owned originally by Ford Motor Company and in the hands of family or friends of Ford MC and scattered around the states with #1 going to the Henry Ford museum. Vin#s 16 & 20 are here in Texas & I personally know the owners of #15 and #16. They are regularly licensed and could be sold if the owners wanted to - in fact, I noted that #20 was up for auction on ebay last week.

The pre-production vins#'s are scattered amongst the first 1500 vins (we're not sure of top end) - we know of 5 of the pre-production #'s as some of us noted them during the Mystery Drives. RTBRD has those 5 numbers logged in his data and those cars have vehicle emission exemption tags on them making them "pre-production" and not eligible to be normally licensed. Others that you will see that would be considered pre-production and destined for destruction are those that have the "Michigan manufacturer" plates on them. So if anyone has a chance to check Vin#'s on any of those that you spot, please forward the info to RTBRD.



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Dot, blu/wht/full blu #18/26 - VIN# countdown: 18-17-16 = the New T-bird
 
I stand corrected. Greenfield Village is an outdoor "museum" associated with the Henry Ford museum, where you can see cars, houses, etc. , etc. It is well worth spending a day.
 
tbird,
It does indeed mean that there are two fewer regular production, dealer-sold, normally vinned Tbirds available for us to purchase. NHTSA already bought them and crashed them. From the NHTSA web site:

"How does NHTSA choose which vehicles to test or rate?
NHTSA chooses new vehicles which are predicted to have high sales volume, vehicles which have been redesigned with structural changes, or have improved safety equipment for testing. These vehicles are purchased from dealerships, just as a consumer would, and not supplied by the manufacturer."
 
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