I enjoy seeing these retro reviews! Great to look back at what we thought was “state of the art” or pinnacle of engineering back then. I’ve been watching MotorWeek for at least 30 years if not more and appreciate the reviews and testing that was done back then!
Im from the year 1993 and these cars are definitely state-of-the-art. I can see these V8 cars and supercharged V6 cars being able to make close 300hp by at least 1995.
@@ragingbull94mtx when I was a kid we had both generations in the family. Grandpa originally had a brown 1984 with the Essex V6, dad got it as a hand-me-down sometime in the 90s when grandpa got a grey one of the next gen. Eventually my dad sold the brown one to his brother. I think it was scrapped when he died last year.
Remember looking at a 1995 SC in silver over grey with a 5 speed at a dealer. $25,000 seemed like a rich mans price. Would love to go back in time and buy 2.
Average new car price in 1995 = $18,000. Average new car price as of May 2022 = $47,000. So a $25,000 car in 1995, is about $65,000 today. Your initial impressions about it being "a rich person's price" were not far off.
Leased my first brand new car in 1995 when I was 17 on a $6/hour Burger King paycheck, something a teenage kid can't do anymore nowadays. I turned in that Ford Probe GT in '97 and leased a brand new Honda Prelude SH when I was just 19 and in college - My oldest son is 19 now, in college, makes $14 an hour part-time (25-30 hours/week), and can barely afford ketchup on his cheeseburger. Times are crazy now.
I distinctly remember seeing this very episode of Motorweek in my friend's family room. By the next Summer, a 1994 Emerald Green Thunderbird LX V8 with the Mocha Leather interior would be my next new car. As others have mentioned here, the build quality and fit & finish were exceptional. Smooth, powerful, nimble for its size, so comfortable. Great memories.
It always amazes me to see how fast some of these cars were from the 90’s that you almost didn’t expect but it also amazing how slow some of them were with big engines and low hp.
@@klasseact6663 These T-Bird SC's were always interesting to me because they made impressive torque and pretty good HP numbers but were always slower than the GM 3800 supercharged V6 cars - Never understood that.
@@GS-zc4sk Could be that. I think the GM W-body coupes probably had a little weight advantage although they were still FWD and not that easy to launch from what I remember - The SC's times were always just so far off that I felt like it had to be a combination of things somehow. I know that these could be modded to be pretty fast though.
I had a 94 Thunderbird LX 4.6. I went through so may sets of tires with that thing! Did a PI motor swap, exhaust and a small stall converter. Really woke it up. I actually still have some random burnout clips on my channel from 10 years ago lol
I used to see these cars lots in the 90s and early to mid 2000s. I remember the luxury perfomance coupe era, with the Thunderbird, Cougar, Lincoln Mark, Buick Rivera, Chevy Monte Carlo
back in 2004/2005 there was a young dude down the streer who had a white thunderbird and it was CLEAN, he loved that car, he used to always be wiping it down
@@ramoncarter6585 I'm not sure I was in a foster home for a year at the time, So I haven't seen that guy since but judging from what his car sounded like, I'm assuming he had the SC V-6
Several years ago I bought 94 Cougar in that same maroon color with the 4.6. It was a great car for the year I had it. The wrap around dash was ahead of its time for a car of that price point.
My first new car purchase was a 97 Cougar Anniversary Edition. That car was great, handling was exceptional, power from the v8 was great and fuel economy was respectable. If I could buy it new today I’d do it in a heartbeat.
My dad actually liked the style of the late Thunderbird SCs. He had a bright red 83 Turbo Coupe when I was little. I liked the Turbo light when it came on when he got on it a few times. The 5 speed was nice.
From the days when V8 Rear Wheel Drive personal luxury coupes were still being made. Kind of interesting to see some "modern" features like dual airbags and built-in cell phone controls in 1994. I kind of like the V6 SuperCoupe with a manual transmission.
My mom had a cougar XR7. That was a very fun car to drive and the amount of pink slips I could've collected from quick street races was something to be said.
Owned three of these Supercoupes. Torque was off the chart but due to it's portlyness it was really just a comfy highway cruiser. Faultly ABS motors were costly to fix but was fairly reliable.
I have a 94 tbird with the rare romeo 4.6 with 130,xxx miles on her. Recently registered her as a antique and been getting quite a few looks at car shows. I grew up In these birds and have always loved them
Agreed. I've driven both and I prefer the 89-93 variety. The only thing I like better on the 94 is you can select all four speeds on the EAOD transmission; with the AOD you can't "lock-out" 2nd.
LOL, I've owned three late 80s-mid-90s Ford automatics. 1 '88 T-Bird Turbo (A4LD) and 2 '97 Mark VIIIs (4R70W). All 3 had some time of problem (ranging from minor to major). 1 4R70W had a tailshaft leak, the other a broken 1-2 accumulator spring. The A4LD failed twice. You're not wrong.
Any T-Bird/Cougar with a 3.8 was a problem waiting to happen. Oil leaks galore, some head gasket issues. The SC was a nightmare. Difficult to work on, all of the oil leaks and gasket issues plus the labor costs and too many parts that didn't fit any other car/powertrain. I replaced a few superchargers under warranty. The 4.6L 4R70W combo was great. Not great stoplight performance but really good as a highway cruiser.
Beautiful cars, Loved owning either! I passed my driving test 20 years ago in a 94 green Tbird, that thing felt so comfortable and nimble, and they look so cool!
My Mom bought a 94 T-Bird Brand New in 94, Was a Darker Green, 4.6 V-8, After was involved in a deer accident, i received car, welded in some Stainless Steel Flowmaster Mufflers onto the Stock Exhaust Pipes, Sounded pretty good, Buddy of mine had a Cougar 1 model year Older, so his had the 5.0 V-8, and Automatic Trans Also, we Drag Raced many a times on the Streets, my 4.6 T-Bird was Always a Tad Quicker than the 5.0 Cougar, Always pulled a little from him every single time, Dead Stop, Side by Side at 60 mph, Or at any Speed. I'm very old school when it comes to Stuff, But just goes to show Technology, No Pushrods = Faster.
I had a 1992 and a 1994 Thunderbird SC , both in black. As a Ford employee it was a pretty good deal to lease the cars with our employee A plan discount. Loved them in the summer, not so much in the winter. Wish i had kept one of them.
I'd forgotten about that 90's Ford "wraparound" interior. Really takes you back to the days of the Macarena... I had an '89, from the previous generation. It was extremely angular in all respects, so it's funny to me to see this reactionary redesign again. I'd almost forgotten what else they did to it before they cancelled it.
I like the mid-life restyle of this T Bird. A friend of mine had a 97, blue, with a sporty package and that 4.6 modular. It sounded awesome with that dual exhaust! I wish I had bought it from him before he traded it off.
I had several TBirds during the 80s and 90s. 1978 Diamond jubilee edition, 1990, 1994 models. They are all I drove for 27 years. I use a wheelchair because I am paralyzed but I could get my wheelchair in-and-out of the car with not too much difficulty. I was driving the 1990 TBird when I was married at age 41. She has passed away but we took that car everywhere. Love TBirds. Now I drive a 2000 Chevy Monte Carlo. Great car too.
@@thirdstar9255 Hipster? I was graduating high-school when this review came out. And I could honestly say I'm about the furthest thing you could find on the planet from a hipster.
Saying the SC 3.8L lacks the bottom end punch of the 4.6L is comical. It makes more power EVERYWHERE and the torque is monstrous from the roots blower. I remember racing a kid in high school who took his dad's 95 Thunderbird LX 4.6L and was talking all kinds of shit about how he'd destroy my 90 Thunderbird SC automatic. We did many dig and roll races and I pulled away from him hard every time. From a dig I left him in the dust and put a huge gap between us by the time we got to the overpass a 1/4 mile from where we launched. Those V8 Thunderbirds and Cougars are absolutely gutless with stock gears. The LX only had like 40k miles so it was nice and new still. My other SC, a 1992 5-speed would put an even bigger gap on the V8 LX.
Old cars brings back such great memories these cars were out when was little in head start at time. Seems back in the good old days which was around '94 cars were more modern than today's cars looking cookie cutter used to see these cars all the time at that time when SUVS didn't rule the roads, Thunderbird/Cougar both were ahead of their game like these Fords as GMs doing that time now ready for a '93 Infiniti J30 and '95 Aurora MW review next.
205 horsepower from 4.6 liters. I’ll never understand how the big three got so little power from these huge engines. That Black T-Bird SC with the blue interior is fantastic.
It was the mindset of the time....different set of priorities back then. The same kind of group think is why we still don't have Miata with any real power today. lol
@@SirtubalotTX i made 240rwhp on 87 octane, longtubes, high flow cats, electric cutouts open n Marty tune.. Check my dyno vid out if you'd like, 09 P71..
4.6L v8s are baby motors in the v8 world bro, you must be a 4cy guy..lol The motors were meant to be cheap, low compression fleet motors that run forever on 87 octane n got 25+mpg hwy.. That's why.. They have crap tons of torque tho from idle, something these turbo 4cy can't compare with still..
I wanted one of those cars back in the day. Never got one, and glad I didn't. My brother had one, they were absolutely horrid in winter driving. I remember those things wouldn't even move, just spun the tires on snow. Doors were super heavy as well, wearing out the hinge bushings. Dash board needed to come out to pull the hinges due to the bolts bolting outward🙄
@@jacktorse2145 Nothing to do with the car🤣. Open diff rwd car in winter, that wasn't 1955 in the 90's. I am not doing the truffle shuffle with snow tires twice a year. Thats why just about everybody went with 4wd, fwd or awd in northern climates.
Absolutely brutal in winter. I had two sc's for two years each. Lived in Chicago, four years was enough couldn't take it anymore lol. Never got rear wheel again. But in the summer they were a blast!
I had the last TBird, the 1997. V8,with leather. I loved that car. I drove it till the wheels fell off, 350k miles. That car had many more miles left on it. I let her go for a smaller 4 cylinder Honda. The Honda was also a coupe. You can’t find a coupe that is not in the higher price bracket anymore. My Bird was less than 30k, now a Infinity G coupe cost more than 50k.
@Nathan Lopez - re: "Best Thunderbird hands down" Can readers assume you never got near, or drove Thunderbirds in the early to mid 1960's ?? If so ... your "hands down" comment above ... makes zero sense !!
Had a 96 Ford Thunderbird LX with the 4.6 V8. It was perhaps one of the best cars I have ever owned. It was very comfortable and good on gas. I hated to part with it.
Bought a '94 Thunderbird LX with the 4.6L back in '94. Still driving it now with over 500k miles. Loved the looks then, and really can't think of anything new that looks as good to me.
@@P71ScrewHead why replace it? Because it has 500k miles on it. Because the world has moved on from 1994, we have all sorts of new stuff, plus the seats don't have to be covered in meth burns.
@@rodmunch69 Sure, let him buy a new electric car, damn thing won't make it half a million miles, I promise you that.. All he needs is a TrickFlow top end kit, a Jmod or shift kit, n that car will be running as fast as today's muscle cars.. I don't see the billionaires of the world giving away money, much less him.. But I get your opinion.. You must be the leasing type, that's fine too..
Had a 95 t-bird with the 4.6. super comfortable front seats and extra cold A/C but blew a headgasket at 60k. it cost more to fix than the value of the vehicle.
These cars were hugely popular during my most formative years. Everywhere you went, you saw at least one. A neighbor of mine has a Cougar. Other than that, it's incredibly rare for me to see these on the road anymore. Just four years after this review, these cars were put out to pasture.
Yes they were. I had a 92 SC go up to 130 mph on a Missouri highway no problem. It was said they could top out at 150 mph. Never had the guts to see though lol.
gotta be honest, i owned a 92 cougar xr7, 5.0 auto. and ill give you this, the styling was truly some of the best, the interiors were comfortable, and for being such a big coupe for its day, it handled, braked, and moved alright. not to mention the big trunk and good amount of under hood space to work on everything, but comparing stock to stock, unless you absolutely needed v8 and rwd, i would've gone for a buick/pontiac with the 3800, naturally aspirated or supercharged. something akin to the riviera, regal, bonneville etc
Had 3 of these but never an SC,I always wanted one. My first car in late 90s was 90 cougar 3.8 non sc… cost me $400,it had no power steering no AC. White with black bumpers that I taped to hold on. I Put away a few dollars and wanted to upgrade,almost got a 93 ford probe GT because my older brother had a non GT when I was growing up but I ended up getting screwed by the dealer… went from $2500 to almost $4k within 2 days so F that. On my way home I spotted a red tbird with dual exhaust at a gas station with for sale sign. $900 for a 91 5.0 V8. Took it home that day,next day got some 17 inch chrome rims for it and boy was I the shit freshman year of HS. 2 years later I got a 94 thunderbird with the 4.6 and it was near mint,everything worked BUT 2nd gear became rough and it started burning oil like crazy. $3000 down the drain,i junked it. I also had Lincoln 94 LSC but ran only on 7 cylinders. I played with junk cars for 2 years untill I turned 18 and got my first bmw e36 325i.
I've had my 97 cougar 30th aniv for a few years and honestly it's one of the best cars I've driven for the quality ride for its time. Ofc there's better and faster, but after I do some work to the heads, it's gonna be awesome.
Thank you motorweek for uploading your retro videos! I watch almost each one. Will you upload your 2002 episodoe or road test showing the 2002 chevrolet express quigley 4x4? The year when the company introduced the ifs on these 4x4 vans?
Pretty sure it was just the third. But essentially you could swap the goodies into a sn95 with the same na 3.8 iirc. Also have you ever heard one of these 3.8 cammed??? Sounds incredibly good
As far as I know the 3.8 supercharge was only available in the thunder bird supercoupe, Never installed in anything else. Never even knew there was a 5spd manual option with supercoupe, that would make it fun to drive.
I owned a 97 T-bird V8 and it is one of my fondest memories of driving. Is it as powerful as other offerings today? No. The Challenger has several engines that far out power even the SuperCoupe. It also has a driver oriented cockpit design and is probably the spiritual successor to today's Tbird...even if it is a Dodge. That said, the Tbird was a wonderful daily personal cruiser, able to rack up lots of miles while keeping the driver comfortable and happy. It was also a very safe car...provided you did not skid out and hit a telephone pole just behind the driver's seat. That said, it protected me as well as any car could have when I was rear-ended at a stoplight by a commercial truck hauling granite countertops. I am glad I had this vehicle and if it had still been around when it was wrecked, I would have bought another. Sadly, I had to move to a foreign manufacturer to get a RWD V8 in a mid-sized automobile. While I gave serious thought to the Crown Vic/Grand Marquis, I just wanted something a bit smaller than one of those...and more nimble.
Memories! My 1st ever brand new car of the lot: 1995 LX v8. Abs and automatic headlight the only options. 17.5K OTD. Slippery when wet, but otherwise a dream ride. BUT THE PROBLEMS: stuck spark plug in one cylinder and the transmission that went out early on. One transmission rebuild (~ 2.5K job) and drove it to the ground. Finally cashed in on California's cash for clunkers offer. The one and only Ford for me.
One guy in my area (Lower Silesia - Poland) has 1994 Thunderbird. People seems to be more interested and pay more attention to my '91 Geo Storm GSi and '95 Chevy Beretta.. We often meet each other on the parking of market in our neighbourhood :D
Bought a black on gray 94' T-Bird at Santa Maria Ford one night...Was a over all nice car and last of the "Stock" cars like what you wound see on the track racing NASCAR. Got a ticket in it going up I-5 the CHP officer, a nice guy, said they worked three counties before stopping me in it so I guess it was fast enough. Was a nice highway car. Enjoyed the dashboard styling and the leather was nice.
