1980 Ford ThunderBird Commercial

[Doobie1975]

I never liked the styling of this era of the T-bird's/Cougar's and it's not difficult to see why very few of these cars are still on the road today, my favorite era of the T-Bird's is the 1964-66's with the 1967-71 T-Bird's close behind

[tdelamont]

@Doobie1975 They aren't on the road today because they were so cheaply built none of them ran much past 75,000 miles. Seriously, 1979 to 1983 was the absolute rock-bottom of the US auto industry.

[89gasper]

@tdelamont 108,000 miles on my 82 Thunderbird Town Landau.

[CEOkiller]

There's no thunder in that 'Bird.

[jvarela965]

As bad as things are today in Detroit they were once worse. 1980-82 T-Birds were hideous.

[auaiao9]

@jvarela965 That bodystyle T Bird wasn't popular at all that I can remember. It looked too much like a dressed up Fairlane. The best thing about them was the hideaway headlights.

[jvarela965]

@auaiao9 I think also the economy was a mess from 80-82 after the revolution in Iran oil prices spiked which did not help car sales. But these 80-82 T-Birds and Cougars were just butt ugly.

[naynayjerozal]

OMG- I forgot how cheesy the 80's were- thanks for the reminder!

[alanisgirl2010]

Has anybody bought this Ford car before.

[auaiao9]

@alanisgirl2010 Yes, a few did. Do you think they advertised this car and not a one of them sold?

[yorgle11]

The 1980s saw a huge amount of advancement in the auto industry. The 80s IMO is when the size and typical design of modern cars was mostly established.

A typical 1980 car was big, RWD, carbureted, drum brakes, basically 60s technology strangled by emissions and mileage concerns.

A typical 1989 car was the modern compact size, FWD, fuel injected, computer controlled, disc brakes (at least in front), many had air bags, and overall were not very different from much more recent cars.

[Srd1126]

@yorgle11 Pretty much every car had front disc brakes well before 1980. I do agree the 1980s were when North American cars became more harmonized sizewize with other parts of the world. It was not the best time for cars as idea like fuel injection and computer controls were on cars but not perfected yet.

[OlegKostoglatov]

I think it's amusing how they used to sell "The Eighties" in 1979 like it was something new and improved. It's almost like it's 1979 now, what a shit decade it's been, after December 31st it's all over, good riddance! Even though many of the 80s cars were far worse then the average 70s car, Chebby Vega excluded. Thank you U.S Congress for destroying the American automobile industry, thanks you Pierre Trudeau for destroying Canada.

[FixFalcon]

@mbk423 What's wrong with Crown Vics???

[patsaxon]

I also love those electronic read out displays too! I hope to be able to find such a Ford with such feature?

[laron214]

let me tell how much better they were. my mother had one with all the features, including a built in cb. after a year the digital displays started to go out one by one, she had to take the car back for servicing, the flip lights would stick. it had more features than our neighbors cadillac, but it was not a good car.

[timon924]

man those were some pieces of shit.

[JohnMc52]

It's a shame that "scale" went right out the window with this car. Looks like an old lady with waaaaay too much makeup.

[mercmarc]

Welcome to the lame 80s, little horsepower, cheesy styling. They desicrated the Thunderbird name, should have called it Slumberbird.

[san379]

love it.. i had one at 17

[lawsamb946]

@kidwithcoolroom1 ummm they are the civics all have them to name only 1

[TheLizardKing1967]

This was not a better idea. It was small and it SUCKED !!

[lawsamb946]

@TheLizardKing1967 wasnt it based on the granada or was it fox bodied my 88 tc was fox

[laserstun]

Far cry from the Corvette fighter of the 1950s. The T-Bird and the Vette went two very different directions during their evolution.

[beatricemaude]

This is a very under-appreciated automobile. Ford took a bold leap forward in technology with their cars in 1980. Personally I love the late 60's and 70's generations, but a decked out early 80's T-bird is plush and rare. Comely in that formal fashion of the times. A friends mom had a lipstick 82 with digital and white leather.

[moulons]

Ford took a bad down fall in the 80's. I have yet to see one on the road where I live! The thin frames, fiberglass timeing belts, electronic entry malfunction. My 78 thunderbird had a top speed of 85 MPH! Even the Mustang Cobra! You can see that cobra on the 70's TV show Charlies Angels: Cheryl Ladd (Chris Monroe) trying to chase down Farrah Fawcett (Jill Monroe) with a bad date racing in a Porche sports car!

Even the exploding Ford Crown Victoria!

MY 87 F150: replaced head gaskets 3 times!

[moulons]

THe Ford dealers were ripping people off! I took my 87 ford F150 to have the leaking shocks looked at. An older couple in their 60's brought their 87 Ford Taurus in for defected fuel pump. I over heard the cashier tell them that there was no charge for the pump but their total was: $347.88! She told them they had to replace some hoses! I turn to see this older gentleman pull out his VISA CARD! I told the lady "THAT IS BUNCH OF CRAP! I told the couple to call the manager! A new (CONTINUED)

[moulons]

CONTINUED FROM FORD DEALERS RIPPING PEOPLE OFF: Vehicle liek that should not require repairs like that! He and his wife just bought that car! It only had 7,568 miles on it! I NEVER FORGOT THAT ONE! After that incident they were rude to me as well. Never bought another Ford product again! As for my 87 f150? It ended up in a junk yard at 40,000 miles! The dealership who ripped off it's customers was BOARD FORD in the city of Whittier. Last I heard they went out of bisiness.

[KingofComputing]

sorry to hear of your troubles. never had anything like that happen to me and my family at Tasca Ford. We had a 95 Windstar, and our now 03 Exlorer. never had a problem. if there was a recall they were timely and prompt. they are always nice. We almost bought a toyota highlander until we hapened to just stop at tasca and try out the explorer. our decision was made.

[CamaroAmx]

@moulons 85mph wasn't its top speed. the speedo stopped at 85mph. It was a goverment deal. The national speed limit was lowed from 65mph to 55mph in the late 70's, so the goverment didn't see the need for any car to have a speedo that went above 85mph. by the end of the 80's, legit speedos were back. My 86 bronco II had an 85mph speedo and I got it there and broke the little stop-peg and spun it around back to 55mph. So 85mph was not the vehicle's terminal speed.

[MrRackensack]

this Thunderbird was designed by English Ford. The horn was on the turn signal. This car didn't go over well

[78ColonyPark]

An '80 Thunderbird Landau in two tone- light and dark blue was the first car I remember my parents having (Dad traded his '74 Camaro for a 'Family Car')... I remember loving that car as a kid and being heartbroken when they sold it and bought an '86 Pontiac 6000 since they had my little brother and needed something bigger.

I read that 1980-1982 T-Birds were not too popular... but it's still my favorite (over the '83-'88 design, but that's my opinion).

[Rlotpir1972]

You're right. A lot of people criticize about the Civic's instrumentation. As far as Fords are concerned, the Taurus and all Lincolns should have them back for the next year. I wanted a 1987 Taurus LX with the digital instrumentation! Couldn't afford it since it was $20,000+ then.

[Rlotpir1972]

The Honda Civics have it still.

[kdemonde]

My cousin had an 80 T-Bird "Landau" fully loaded with with the digital dash and the pushbutton keyless entry. In 1981 i thought his car was from outer space or something, it was so innovative to say the least. I admired Ford for their creativity in technology, and his car ran good, no problems as far as i knew, people dog the redesigned T-Bird but i liked the design and the car in itself and i learned to respect Ford, my wife has a Taurus with no problems, And Ford is doing very well now.

[ringbolt9]

haha awesome

[Silvertrine]

Fact is Japan had and still has a homegrown monopoly. They used that monopoly to sell cars in this country at cost or at a loss to steal market share.

[smczack1]

@Silvertrine There good at stealing things !!!!!

[Srd1126]

@Silvertrine You must be a UAW Member--Japan stole market share because Detroit built overpiced junk and cried about "unfair competition" instead of trying to make a better car.

[Silvertrine]

Wrong. They do unfair things all the time. For instance they disallowed American cars in their version of Cash for Clunkers program. Only Japanese cars were allowed. Yet in America we allowed Japanese cars in our Cash for Clunkers program. Get it?

[Srd1126]

@Silvertrine I never even saw Japan having a cash-for-clunkers program. In Japan it is very difficult to keep a car older than 10 years in the first place. What I get is no Detroit company ever tried to even establish a serious dealer netowrork there. How many GM Execs speak Japanese vs Toyota Execs who know english? Detroit never wanted to sell in Japan, they just wanted the USA market closed so they could keep selling their junk.

[darknessahead520]

@Srd1126 the majority of other contries then the us their people speak many languages, especially engish so it isnt uncommon

[esau93631]

@Silvertrine No, they just build better cars.

[stang661]

People all over America were kicking themselves for not getting the last of the 1979 Thunderbirds or Cougars. Monte Carlo/Cutlass sales soared as T-bird tanked. 80-82 was an attempt to get better mileage for CAFE standards. Lincoln Mark V was up close to $3k one year just to cover the gov't fines of something like 50 bucks for every 1/10 mpg short.

1977 318,140

1978 352,751

1979 284,141

Total 955,032

Year Production

1980 156,803

1981 86,693

1982 45,142

Total 288,638

[RoadCone411]

Ford made the unfortunate decision to base almost all of its model lineup off of one or two platforms in the late 70s, the Fox platform being the most widely used. This T-Bird was a downsize from the previous model and, well, it was ugly. The Mustang, T-Bird, Fairmont, Futura and Granada all shared this same basic platform and they were all square (albeit acceptably modern for the period). This T-Bird was only meant to be a stop-gap until the 1983 aero version came out.

[desertrat5522]

The 1980-82 T-Birds looked liked Chunky Candy bars. The 70s Birds were "Thunder barges"

[landyachtfan79]

GREAT to see a commercial for the Thundermont!

[pdennis93]

haha thundermont. its funny cause its true. let's take a 2 door ford fairmont and put a better grille/interior in it and call it a tbird. it was almost as bad as the lincoln versilles aka the lincoln granada.

[kingair81r]

WOW!!!!!!!! unbelievable that we drove cars that looked like that

[Germany1111]

Very few actually drove this version of the Thunderbird. Sales went in the toilet when it came out., and didn't come back until the new aerodynamic T-Bird in 83.

[Lumotaku]

The mercury cougar xr 7 came off alot better with this look. my dad had one. orange and white two tone. Mounting the horn on the turn signal stock whoever had that brilliant idea should have been sacked.

[Dawnofwicca]

worst car ideas in the 80000000000's lol thats when all cars went down the shiter lol

[Lumotaku]

I disagree most handedly 82 was the first year for the mustang Gt and it hps started to creep back up.

[paintedbird]

I didn't know they had keyless entry back in 1980.

[alstojm]

yep, my mom's 1980 Town Car had it.

[Dkels219]

Indeed My Friend. My Grandmother Bought a 1980 Lincoln Mark 6 4-Door with "All The Toys". Beautiful Car Indeed.

[palebeachbum]

The 80's were all about ditigal displays weren't they? I don't know why, but I think that Thunderbird is a good looking car.

[daMoleKing]

The 80's were also famous for the rise of the Japanese car and their unsighty hairsyles.

[palebeachbum]

What, chicks with mullets aren't hot? LMAO

[daMoleKing]

Well, chicks and mullets are an exeption, pus cars were becoming sexy, too!

[DamnStraightM35A2]

@ :24 ford still uses the same key less unlock pad thing 30 years later..............

[brendabaloyan]

When American cars were No. 1 in the World! This used to be a hell of a good country! By this time (late 70's) the Japanese already had a lot of small realiable cars on the road! And American companies understimated them! You know the rest fof the story!

[ForzaJersey]

No, the UAW and DC held Detroit's arms back so the Japanese could sucker punch Detroit into submission. Things aren't always as they seem.

[brendabaloyan]

Thanks for your Feedback!

[palebeachbum]

American cars were terrible quality in the 70's around the time the Japanese came into the scene. Plus you had the oil crisis then and the Japanese were making fuel sipping cars while the Americans were still building boats on wheels.

[gizthegizzygizmo]

i thought that truck was a jeep at first with that grille

[Dreambro1]

I love Land Yatchs ;-)

[Lumotaku]

the 1980 thunderbird is a small car

[bulgman]

maybe for americans ^^

[chuckycheese22]

...lets count how many times the word "electronic" was stamped on these cars. lol

[Opqosite]

betterrrr ideaaaaas fooor the 80's!

[visor109]

Sorry, but I'll take my '66 T-Bird over that "Box"!

[Del655]

My grandmother bought a new gray 1980 T-Bird with matching gray vinyl int. and a 302 V-8. I drove it some as a teenager and always loved it. Great driving car.

[retrojoet]

The only "better idea" Ford had back then that is still with us is the keyless entry system. Those 80-82 t-birds and cougars were probably the best-engineered and best-built domestic cars at the time, but that "styling" - YUCK! Too darn boxy and angular!

[duncan36]

Pair one of these Thunderbirds with the 3.3l 'Thriftpower' V6 with its roaring 105hp and my friend you had a party.

[Luzern76]

Yeah, my friend had that engine in his '80 Mustang!

[suchfunstuff]

That's an I6, and yes, a weak puppy.

[loaferguy73]

This thing was so much smaller and so not the same as the land yatch 71-79's in length and width!

[dbbanner]

I had an '82 Heritage model from '92 until '97. It was fully loaded - had all options, and was probably the best car I ever owned. I loved the way it drove, rode, and handled. I let it go when someone rear-ended me and then pushed me into the guy in front of me. I knew the guy that ended up buying the salvage and he fixed it up and drove it another 5 years or so. He said it never gave him an ounce of trouble or ever failed to start. These really were good cars. I miss it a lot!

[JoeyJr702]

I was so disappointed in these T-Birds & Cougars....I liked the 77-79 models better.

[yamajammer76]

Well these models were in response to the high fuel prices at the time.  My parents had a 1980 Cougar which they bought new and was probably the worse car they ever owned. It was fairy reliable, but light and poorly built. My parents now own a 2007 Fusion and my dad laughs at how much better cars are now compared to the Cougar.

[JoeyJr702]

Yeah, I was hip to the down-sizing reason...but still ugly styling & less power, made those 80's T-Birds & Cougars Duds..as for the latest Cougars, no comment, the new T-Birds...too small & plasticy. I have to say the best car I've ever owned was a 1989 Jagaur Vanden Plas with the straight 6.

[Maxxdogg99]

We had a 1982. Actually the 80-82 were a better car. They rode on the Fox chassis, which means it had the same handling characteristics of a stock Mustang. Also you can build them to be real sleepers since you can swap most Mustang/Capri parts to them & make them haul ass. Loved our '82, had well over 200,000 miles when my brother wrecked it in a snowstorm in the early 90's. Fairmont/Cougar/Zepher/LTD/Mus­tang/Capri all rode on the "Fox" chassis.

[laron214]

my mother had a blue one. we thoght that digital dash and all was the bomb, until one by one the lights started to go out on the dash. then she had a wreck and totaled it. that new fiberglass couldn't handle it.

[Taranau]

At ;23,the truck in the lead looks like a much younger Jeep Cherokee.

[suchfunstuff]

I was thinking the same thing. What did they do? That grill must have been a thrown out design concept for the production trucks.

[ChomuSclavus]

At 00:29, was THAT a Yugo??

[CptTuttle]

No, a Fiesta.

[Taranau]

It was Ford's answer to the VW Rabbit.

[600SELV12]

In '81 I used to lust over that digital dash & the keyless entry. My art teacher had one in silver with leather/ moon and alum wheels.

[dsotmrke]

Makes me want a T-bird from that year. Would love to see the digital dash!