1988 Ford Thunderbird Turbo Coupe review from North America

Well I just got the car and after driving it for a couple of days it started leaking coolant and it turns out it needs a new water pump and the thermostat needs to be resealed.

Well, I was in need of some money so I had to trade in my beautiful 1994 Cadillac Sedan Deville for some cash and another car. I picked the Thunderbird mostly because of it's looks and I had no idea of how well it performed. When I test drove it I went easy on the gas, but noticed the turbo kick in in second gear and it seemed to pick up quite fast for the small amount of gas I was giving it, but I didn't investigate the car's speed any further. After I bought it and drove it a little I could tell that the turbo could really make the car take off, but I didn't do much in the way of acceleration because I wanted to treat the car gentle for a while to see if I could see what kind of condition it was in.

Well, one night when I went to see someone and I was following the directions to their house I found out just how powerful this car was! I had not seen a certain landmark and I had driven for a while looking for it so I decided to turn around to see if I had passed it. Well it was late at night and I saw noone in sight so I just made a U-turn in the rather large road that I was driving on. As I was about 75 percent done with the U-turn I decided to give it some extra gas and drop the clutch out faster than usual to see how much it would peel out. Well, the next thing I knew I was sitting sideways in the middle of the road because the car had flipped itself around when I spun the tires! Now keep in mind, not only did it whip itself around in about a half circle, it did this without even giving it nearly as much gas as I could have or dropping the clutch out as fast as I could have! As soon as I had gotten my bearings and realized what had happened my respect for the car increased tremendously. I could not get the spin-out out of my mind for a day or so and I could not stop my exstatic wonderment that I owned this car. Don't get me wrong, I have had some nice cars and some fast ones, but never anything like this. And power is not the only thing this car has going for it!

It handles like it is glued to the road. It stays flat going around corners or curves. And now that I have told how much of a sports car it is, there is even more.

The ride is comfortable most of the time and the suspension can even take some fairly big bumps without feeling much of it in the inside of the car. I have heard that most sports cars have a harsh or somewhat uncomfortable ride, so that is a big plus for the T-Bird right there.

Also, even thought it has sports car handling, it is still a fairly large car, so if you prefer something with bigger car looks than the average sports car, here it is.

And while we are talking about looks, this car is gorgeous. Even intimidating. Especially in black, which I think is the only color I would ever choose for it.

Although it is very impressive on the outside, the interior is quite 80s looking, but not ugly. When I get the money I will probably restore this car or buy one in better shape and customize it, especially the interior.

So although I have been mostly a luxury car fan for my driving years and have never cared much for sports cars, this T-Bird that I came across just because I had to sell my other car and it was the best looking one I could find has opened up my eyes to a whole new world--the sports car world. And although there are lots of them out there, I would still probably choose this one because of it's combination of performance, comfort, looks, and gas mileage (about 30 mpg).

This car is so fun to drive that once late at night I was reading reviews on it and they got me so excited that I just had to take it for a spin even though it was so late.

So if you are looking for high performance, a nice ride, striking looks, and good fuel economy at a low price, this car would definitely be worth looking at.