Ford Thunderbird LX “Roadster”
I have posted here and here about my interest in how American car companies choose to name special models of their cars. It seems like this was really popular back in the 80s and 90s.
This T-Bird belongs to our friends Suzan and Max, and they love this car! They are grad students from the Netherlands and did what many Europeans do when buying a vehicle in the States; get some serious “Detroit Iron”. I couldn’t find a specific reference to this Roadster model. I’ll have to ask Max if this is the 6 or 8 cylinder, and what year it is.
I really love the Thunderbird logo. It looks very Southwestern.
It appears in several places around the car. None more beautiful than the one in the grille on the front bumper.
I wouldn’t think those are real turquoise stones.
I tried to explain to Suzan that the term “roadster” doesn’t exactly fit this style of vehicle. This particular model is from the 10th generation of T-birds which were produced starting in 1989.
Jon Crispin's Notebook 
Thank you so much for sharing the car photos. I love old cars too! Mostly from the 40s and 50’s. Hope you’re doing wel. Please feel free to send other photos at any time. I’ll be interested in them. I just won an HM (honerable mention) from my photo club photojournalism competition. Also, recently returned from a 3 week vacation in Puerto Rico & have a few decent photos from there. Take care.
Fondly, Martha
Martha, thanks for your comment. Congratulations on your HM in the photo contest. Wishing you all best, Jon
I knew my car was beautiful, but I didn’t realize it could look this good! Wonderful, John! I would have cleaned it if I’d have known…but I guess this is a different kind of charm :-). This is the 1996 Thunderbird LX – the V6 model. I guess it comes as no surprise that a car that was made to look like convertible but really isn’t cannot be fully trusted to call itself a roadster, but the intention is clearly there. Also, the rather extraordinary length of the vehicle compared to the lack of legroom in the rear seats almost makes it one.
One more fun fact: part of the reason why you may not be able to identify the exact edition is the fact that Ford never made a hardtop TBird. It started out in life as a beige ragtop. No-one told me you’re not supposed to take a ragtop into an automatic carwash, which tore it to shreds. The hideous, ragged orange glass fiber top took quite some sanding, 8 coats of primer and 3 coats of black to become what it is now, giving the car a bit of a vintage 1950s dancing-shoe look.
Best wishes and talk to you soon!
-Max