Getting behind the wheel of the 2005 Ford Thunderbird is like stepping into a time machine. Sans the Flux Capacitor. No, settling into the T-bird takes you back to a time when the waitresses at A&W flew on rollerskates to your car. If you are an empty nester this car is the perfect weekend getaway vehicle for you and the misses. You can put the top down and relax as the Thunderbird will serve up a compliant, comfortable ride free of harshness. Under the hood is Ford’s smooth-running 280-hp 3.9L V8, ready to provide a little extra spirit to drive, but mostly just ready to cruise.
The vehicle pictured above is really the Ford Flex cleverly disguised as the Fairlane Concept. Ford showed their new take on people moving at the 2005 NAIAS to much acclaim. The Fairlane feature “French-opening” doors that eased access to the third row, as well as all-LED lighting upfront. But the real story here was how much of the concept Ford was able to deliver to the streets in the form of the Flex. Many of the gimmick features were lost, but the basic shape that inspired so much fanfare carried into production untarnished.
That thing gotta HEMI? Actually it has two! A 5.7L V8 is mounted in the front AND rear of the Jeep Hurricane concept for a total 670-hp and 740 lb-ft of torque on tap. The Hurricane is equipped with a sophisticated four wheel steer which will allow the vehicle to make tighter turns by turning the front and rear tires in opposite directions or lock all wheels in the same direction for crab steering the vehicle out of tight spaces. And this Jeep will spin like a top (or a Hurricane) thanks to the skid steer or toe steer feature! Come to think of it I believe this was the only vehicle we saw at the 2005 NAIAS that didn’t need a turn table to show itself off.
When GM revealed the Saturn Aura Concept sedan at the 2005 NAIAS with it rolled out a new vision for the brand that didn’t include plastic body work with huge panel gaps and placid shapes. Combined with the stellar reputation Saturn’s dealer network carried it looked as though the General finally had a winning game plan for the brand. Unfortunately the economic melt down of 2008 would unravel all the hard work and leave Saturns destined to be display items for orphan car shows.
To test Ford’s claims we took the 2005 F-350 Super Duty back home to the Muxlow Dairy Farm and put it to work. Shoot, we probably showed this truck more mud in a weekend than it will see in its entire life as a press fleet vehicle.
We proved the 2005 Jeep Grand Cherokee was a capable runner when we took this paticular example romping through a gravel pit.
These Lotus Elise triplets showed up at the 2005 Kettering University Firebird’s Car Show and caused quite a stir!
The Dodge Slingshot Concept on display at the 2005 NAIAS was a sporty little coupe targeted towards a younger crowd on the lower end of the income spectrum. The styling is sharp but its 3-cylinder engine was only good for 100-hp and 10-second dash to 60 mph.
As far as stunning cars go the Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren pretty much takes the cake, shown here on display at the 2005 NAIAS.
Could the GM Hy-wire really be the transportation of the future? Who knows, but shown here is the “skateboard” chassis of the GM Hy-wire at the 2005 NAIAS.
