Faults:

This was the most expensive, annoying car I have had the opportunity to operate. It was my mother's car, I drove it until I could buy my own. In the 1.5 years I owned it, the following things went wrong-

The alternator went out 5 times (I blame poor quality replacement parts for this).

The starter went out.

The engine blew valve cover gaskets every three months. No matter what gasket was used or how well the work was done, they continually blew out.

The front end would not hold an alignment, so it destroyed front tires.

The engine would not idle properly due to a faulty Idle Air Control.

The air conditioning leaked Freon and would not hold a charge.

Interior parts continually came loose.

General Comments:

I enjoyed the performance of this car. It handled well and the 5.0 had good acceleration. However, I was very disappointed with the reliability and general quality of this car. It constantly needed repairs and left me stranded several times. This is the car that made me dislike Ford products.

Faults:

I received this car from my brother. It ran fine for a while, but a constant short would blow one alternator a year, no matter what I tried. The waste gate on the turbocharger constantly went out. I planted it into a lot of ravines, so the body is long gone.

General Comments:

This car was my first, and I put it away when I got my Chevelle and Trans Am. When I had my Thunderbird in prime condition, it could beat some Camaros and keep up with IROC because of some chip and intake modifications. I ran this car into the ground. Now since I'm bored I'm going to take it down to the frame and rebuild it for dragging only with either a 351 Windsor or a 460. The suspension is amazing and needs no upgrades. This suspension would make even a Caprice handle.

Faults:

Dipstick tube along with dipstick came out.

Coolant reservoir jug had crack and leaked.

TFI Module for coil spark went out (inherent fault for 2.3L)

General Comments:

Comfortable on longer trips yet stiff enough for around town spin offs.

Good gas mileage at 70mph+

Handles curves well without slippage.

Faults:

Nothing has gone wrong with my car, I bought it used in 1994, with 122k on her, she runs like a charm to this day... almost 200k miles. I am in process of a master rebuild as she is getting a little weak so I am going to give her a makeover.

This is by far the best are I have ever owned, very fast, extremely sporty, mine has a two-tone paint job that will be restored as well after she has turned 20 years old and I can put collector plates on her... who know it might 250k on it by then!

General Comments:

I love this car and I would not trade it for the world... it has so much to offer, sped, comfort and quite a few looks on the open road since Bird's are a dime a dozen like mustangs.