Things to Watch For in 2001

Redesigned T-Bird Already Running Hot

Last year, DaimlerChrysler’s PT Cruiser was the automotive product to watch--and wish for. For 2001, the ball moves into Ford Motor Co.’s court with the long-awaited resurrection of the Thunderbird.

Redesigned in Ford’s Dearborn, Mich., studios as a two-seat roadster with V-8 power and an automatic transmission, the new model is long, low and sleekly modern while still paying homage to the 1955-57 models that are almost everyone’s idea of what a T-Bird should be.

It is what the industry calls a “halo vehicle.” Ford won’t make all that many of them--preferring to keep supplies low and waiting lists long--but the auto maker expects that the glow from the new model will wash over other Fords, making them look better to consumers who might lust after a T-Bird but really need a sedan.

Ford sold the first 200 of them in special silver-and-black trim via this year’s Neiman Marcus holiday catalog; the $42,000 versions sold out within hours of the opening of telephone order lines Sept. 25.

Ford can make about 25,000 Thunderbirds a year and, with retail sales expected to begin as early as next month, dealers already have started taking orders.

How many? Well, word is that just about every T-Bird that Ford can build for the next two years is spoken for. Pricing hasn’t been made official, but you can bet on an ad campaign that calls the Thunderbird a new luxury roadster for less than $40,000. Which is car-speak for $39,995 or so.

As with many cars that hit the streets burning-hot, one question remains: Are the folks at Ford selling the first 50,000--or the only 50,000? Only time, as editorial writers like to say, will tell.