You'll find the 2005 Ford Thunderbird in
these colors:
Evening
Black, Torch Red, Platinum Silver,
Bronze,
Medium
Steel Blue, Inca Gold,
Cashmere
VIN # decoder
Are you buying a Used Thunderbird?
Check this page for
the loose items that came with the 2005 T-bird.
Check this page to
learn some of the differences between the 2002, 2003, 2004 & 2005.
Check this page for "Original
Equipment Manufacturer" = OEM
Check this page
for the differences between Canadian T-birds and US T-birds
No Owner's Manual? A FREE
pdf file download is available from Motorcraft |
|
Production Totals have been updated with the latest information known
as of August 4, 2006. These supercede any previous totals published.
If you've bought a 2005 and would like your Thunderbird's picture on
the
owners' page, please send me
a digital photo of it. Thanks.
updated March 14, 2005
Body Color |
Standard Black Ink |
Black Ink Accent |
Partial Red* |
Full Red* |
Partial Steel Blue* |
Partial
Performance White* |
Light Sand Package* |
. |
Black Hardtop
Premium only |
Body Color Hardtop
Premium only |
Platinum Silver
Hardtop
Premium only |
Performance White Hardtop
Premium only |
. |
Soft Top
Color*** |
| . |
s |
o |
o |
o |
no |
no |
o |
. |
o |
o |
o |
o |
. |
black or sand*** |
| . |
s |
o |
o |
o |
no |
no |
o |
. |
o |
o |
no |
o |
. |
black or sand*** |
| . |
s |
o |
no |
no |
o |
no**** |
o |
. |
o |
o |
o |
no |
. |
black or blue**
or sand*** |
| . |
s |
o |
no |
no |
o |
no |
o |
. |
no |
o |
no |
no |
. |
black or blue** or sand*** |
 |
s |
o |
no |
no |
no |
no |
o |
. |
no |
o |
no |
no |
. |
black or sand*** |
| . |
s |
o |
no |
no |
no |
o**** |
no |
. |
no |
o |
no |
o**** |
. |
black |
| Cashmere |
special interior color |
no |
no |
no |
no |
no |
no |
. |
no |
S |
no |
no |
. |
Medium Stone |
s=standard
o=optional
no=no!
* these interiors are only available on the premium models.
** steel blue soft top part of partial blue interior package only
***sand soft top part of sand interior package only
****performance white hardtop available only with this interior choice;
This interior choice was not available on the Silver though the 05
order sheets say it was in one spot.
Added note: the premium model comes standard with heated seats.
Heated seats are not available on the Deluxe model.
Another note: The premium model came either with or without a
hardtop BUT the deluxe model came only without a hardtop. All have
Traction Control.
Engine: 280hp - same as the 2003 and 2004. Same automatic
transmission with 2 different shift patterns, standard and select shift.
See OEM page for other features.
Click to download the last 2005
dealer order info
-
There is an exclusive 50th Anniversary Badge (saber or blade) on all
the 2005 T-birds - on the fender - see photo at top of page
-
the V8 emblem on front fenders is gone! You'll have to
add that yourself if you want it.
-
The steel blue has a matching partial
interior choice and a steel blue soft top to go with it. Blue interior
is available on the silver, too. Good idea.
-
The Light sand interior available again
-
The red partial and full accent interior remains
-
the black ink standard and accent remains. Caution!
Be careful when buying a touch up paint for the interior. Test the color
first to see if it matches your interior.
-
new - map pockets on the back of the seats [like the 04 PCR]
-
platinum silver hardtop is available with black -[ hmm - will the NM owners
be upset?]
Comments: The bronze is a light antique gold metallic color
(but not yellow) - perfect choice for a gold 50th anniversary color
but not the special edition color that Ford choose for 2005. I do
think it would look good with a black hardtop which is not available with
it.
I've seen the steel blue color and think that either the silver or
white hardtops would look good with the color... and the black..
Recall AKA, customer satisfaction program,
issued January 2005. This is a transmisssion fluid problem.
Program extended thru Dec 31, 2005. It now includes more Thunderbirds.
Affects all 2004 T-birds and some 2005 T-birds built thru Sept. 22, 2004
~~~~~
Recall: Gas Tank: This was a real recall
but only affected 56 2005 Thunderbirds built during 1 week of Feb. 2005.
Most would not have been sold to a customer before getting fixed due to
the quick finding of the problem. |
Trivia about the 2005
Ford no longer has the 2005 information; removed in March
of 2006.
The last known address for Ford Thunderbird information on Ford's
website was: http://www.fordvehicles.com/cars/thunderbird/
Owner's Manual and other information is still available on Ford's Motorcraft
website.
The following information is for historic purposes
For the Trivia buffs: Official pictures of the last car, show
a cashmere 05 but word has it that a silver 05 was the "last" one across
the line as production of the t-bird continued on thru that day, after
the official photo was taken. It's a matter of logistics & money;
"break" time was used to make the photo, not production time. So consider
it a moot point. To further confuse matters, some of those that apparently
finished on July 1 received an official "build" date of July 25.
That's for the stats, it won't matter in the long run. It's
really unknown why the delay for a few of those cars but there could be
two possibilities (maybe more), either the clerk who entered the data,
was off work before the final paperwork was ready and didn't return until
July 25 to enter that data OR there was a production glitch that forced
a hold on those last few until it could be straightened out. Either
way, the official end is July 1 and the final end is July 25 and the plant
was closed for refitting for the 06 model year for the first 3 weeks of
July. Later reports show that the very last T-bird was indeed, a
Platinum Silver Thunderbird. It is in the hands of a member
of the Ford family in Maine. This last car was fitted with a commemorative
dash trim saying that it was the last Thunderbird built. More on
the last T-bird may be found on this page
Later update: This Thunderbird era ended July 1, 2005.
Last day to place order for a new t-bird passed at the beginning of May.
Is this the last year? Yes. Update March 10, 2005:
There will not be a
2006 Thunderbird. Plans already in the works at the Ford Wixom
plant were scratched as of March 10, 2005.
Ford says the nameplate will be brought back sometime in the future,
they need to, to keep the trademark name "Thunderbird.".
March 04, 2005 - current MSRP prices $38,210 to $44,140
|
Dealer Bulletin:
| "THUNDERBIRD 2005 - LIMITED COLORS AVAILABILITY"
"Please be advised that Medium Steel Blue (SP) Limited Color is being
brought back by popular demand for a one-time production run. A total of
145 units are available during the April wholesale. All Medium Steel Blue
units have to be ordered with the following options: Body Code: P60, Order
Code: 130A, Trim Code: BB, Roof Code: RS, Removable Top w/Heated Glass
Rear Window: 13T, Partial Interior Color Accent Package - Medium Steel
Blue: 68L"
"INCA GOLD"
"Inca Gold (BI) is the new, exclusive Limited Color available for the
balance of the 2005 model year. It will be available beginning with the
April wholesale." |
By the end of production these price changes were in effect:
MSRP, convertible deluxe: $38,985
MSRP, convertible premium: $40,045 & $39415
There has been a price increase Sept 15, 2004: special
edition is now priced at $43,535 and deluxe at $37,605
update Jan10, 2005: Rumor, received word from a buyer that the
MSRP for the special edition he ordered was $44,140. Has there been
another price increase?
July 13, 2004:
Pricing for this next year:
Deluxe ---$37,460
Premium--$38,505
Hard top---$2,500
SST---------$130
Boot---------$125
Feature Car (special edition) (P69) is priced at $43.390
Sept 20, 2004: Dealers started receiving their first shipments
of the 2005 T-bird about 3 weeks ago. Most sightings have been of
the Bronze color. Several have shown up on ebay.
The Steel Blue has also been spotted at dealerships. Comments so far
on that color:
why wasn't a white hardtop available for it?
The partial blue interior color is nice but it would have been better
with the color blue also on the dash. Guess owners will have to paint
if they want that color on more than just the seats, steering wheel and
shift knob. At least the softtop will match the interior.
optional supplemental parking lights are still no cost
the boot is still optional and at a cost
And later in the 2005 model year:
Job 1 date for the 05 was July 19, 2004.
Another interesting thing occured at some dealers, some waited for
a customer to come in and place an order instead of having one on the lot
waiting for a buyer. I suppose with the low production and customers
knowing what they want, this become the norm at many dealerships
so if your dealer doesn't appear to have one, they'll probably order what
you want.
Facts if you had one on order:
-
Order process is now much quicker than in 2001/2002. Still will depend
on your dealers allotment but may only be 6 weeks from your order date
to delivery.
-
Shipping takes from 1 day to 4 weeks depending on where you live and when
your car is shipped out by the shipper.
-
Other than the changes noted above, the 2005 is like the 2004
and 2002. Visit the 2002 pages
for photos and other information about options, etc...
-
The 2005 Brochure is available at dealers now. You may order
a personalized brochure on Ford's Thunderbird website
-
Please contact me if you have one on
order. I love to hear your stories about getting your 'bird.
fyi: "bucked" does not mean it's finished; it means it's on the line
for assembly. Until dealers are told that it's been released to shipping,
will it actually leave the plant grounds.
The usual sequence for vehicle order status is as follows:
(1) clean/unscheduled (2) submitted to plant (3) scheduled (4) locked
in (no changes to order allowed)
(5) bucked (implies that production of the vehicle has commenced) (6)
produced (7) released from plant
(8) assignment of a railcar or released to convoy (9) arrived at ramp
(rail yard or distribution center near delivery site)
(10) if not assigned in step 8, released to convoy. *
|
| Past updates:
July 3, 2004: If you have one on order, please
let me know. :) They should start arriving at dealers by
late August 04 at the earliest.
Update June 26, 2004: Will be posting a photo of the Bronze
color on a T-bird soon. :-) It's posted:
June 14, 2004: Rumored color for later introduction is called
"cashmere" on the Lincoln LS line. This'll be the special edition
color. It's a white color and can be found on Ford's Lincoln pages.
I'd still like a dark green or a rootbeer color or even a burnt orange
in the lineup... and a pink (but not bright pink, the soft
pink from 57 is beautiful especially teamed up with grey). The 2005
needs something bright or different this year!! A love it or
hate it color! So far for 2005, the only "bright" color is
the red which has been around since day one.
My Speculation didn't happen: Will Ford put a 50th anniversary
logo in the porthole glass of the 2005 special edition? It would
be fitting. update: from the bronze t-bird photo above, I hope not, not
using that logo!
update: However, they do have another 50th anniversary
logo that can be found in their Holiday merchandise for the Thunderbird,
now that one would work.
|
