New Car Overview of the 2005 Ford Thunderbird Luxury Convertible

Description: Luxury Convertible
Base MSRP Range: $37,605 - $38,650
Invoice Price Range: $34,484 - $35,426
Where built: USA

Another legendary name at Ford -- Thunderbird -- morphs into a sleek two-seat roadster with strong power on tap from a big V8. The design is a contemporary homage to Ford's brilliant two-seat sports car from 1955.

Thunderbird for 2005 shows rolled edges over finely carved fenders and tailored components such as retro-round headlights and chrome-coated grilles in egg-crate scheme, an indented air scoop centered on the hood, chrome air ports on flanks and round red lamps etched into a curvy tail.

Power comes from Ford's 3.9-liter aluminum V8 with electronic throttle control and variable cam timing. It delivers 280-hp with an automatic 5-speed transmission and optional shift-it-yourself SelectShift mode.

A colorful cockpit contains a pair of buckets and designer touches such as new aluminum applique trimming doors and the center dash stack. In the cluster of instruments, white-faced analog gauges for a speedometer and tachometer use needles tinged in Thunderbird Blue.

Safety systems extend to frontal and side-impact air bags for both seats. New body paints come with this year's 'Bird, such as Bronze and Vintage Mint Green.