SC fact or fiction?

matteo

Registered User
i'm too young to know personally (20), but an older friend of mine told me when the SC first came out it was like the Ford flagship. the kind of thing where if you saw it in a parking lot you'd check it out. kind of like the '05 mustangs today.

that would be cool if it was true. but if it is, what happened to everyones love for the SC? none of my friends even know what it is. and ive even been told i drive a grandpa car.
 
The Mustang is, was and always will be positioned as Ford's "flagship," if you want to put that label on any vehicle of theirs. Either the Mustang or, to some, the Crown Vic (ducks flying tomatoes).

The Thunderbird (Fox/MN12) was a car that quickly lost its appeal despite the fact that it was a SUPERB vehicle. The big-coupe market was winding down (the Monte, the Thunderbird's main rival, went on hiatus from 1988?-1993), Chrysler never had anything that would stack up, and the entire market was starting to bail out of RWD configurations in most vehicles.

The Thunderbird SC was a vehicle Ford designed with a crosshair on the then BMW 6-Series. It outperformed the 6, out handled it, and out sold it...but that isn't saying much since the 6 of the era was a sales failure (despite its graces). Plus...if you wanted a Bimmer, you weren't going to cross-shop a Ford dealership.

It won Motor Trend Car of the Year in 1989 (specifically the SC, not the Thunderbird...which is odd) and won just about every comparison in any magazine I saw it in. Most notably, in 1995, against a Monte Z34 and Regal GS.

Is it a grandpa car? Yes. Is it a youth-oriented car? Yes. It's quite possibly the most ubiquitous vehicle chassis/platform for a two-door I have ever come across. As much as I need a new car to drive daily, this chassis is just perfect for everything I like and I know it well. I know exactly what it can and cannot do. Maybe I can STILL have my cake and eat it too (maybe pick up a '97-98 Mark VIII?).

So go ahead and tell people that. And if they STILL don't like it...show them how those tail lights look from a stop light. They'll like that. Heh.
 
The problem with the SC is that Ford never did an upgrade to it. If you look at any other car that gets any respect, the car was upgraded over the years. In 6 years Ford did not do a significant upgrade. In a time when the Z28 went from 205hp to 285hp the SC went from 210-230hp and no one could tell the difference. In fact in 92 Ford changed the LX bird so that you could barely tell the difference between it and the SC. Most people couldn't justify the extra price for something they couldn't even see. Ford killed the SC on purpose. Such is life.
 
Ford should have made the car 310 hp and 390 ft. lbs. then maybe we'd get some respect.

I remember seeing them when I was younger, and I stopped and looked. First one I saw was a 35th anniversary beating a 3rd gen Z28 on the main drag through town. I was hooked then and tried to learn everything I could about that thunderbird which eventually led me to this place back in like 1997.
 
Some good responses to your question already. blkthndr posted an excellent thread on 10-28-02, and was the first one I read after I got my SC a couple of years ago - it is well worth reading and gives some good insight into this fine car. Myself, I live in B.C. Canada and can tell you the SC still turns heads, especially those who really appreciate a fine car. They were ahead of their time in many ways and anyone who gets to look one over and drive one is impressed, despite the fact they were built some time ago. I've owned many vehicles and the Supercoupe is still my favourite, good luck with yours.
 
in fact i remeber reading somewhere that when the Sc got the car of the year award in 1989 , the next morning instead of being congratulated , they were severely critized by the faults of the car ( heavy etc etc)
 
in its day the sc was a great contender, I loved it from day one when i read about it as car of the yr ,

they had a mystic cloud around them, me well mine is sort of a local hero, everyone claims its faster than it is im always told it turns 12s ive seen you jump on it its feared by the locals,

even the heavyhitters with their blown big blocks give me apat on the back it really gets up and goes . just something about a supercharged engine that makes men smile .

be it ford chevy or dodge.

we dont have much of the cut down jerks here we all get along its not the fastest car here far from it but it gets respect for being a big heavy car that scoots along with a v 6 if i had a v8 they would not give me the respect i get with it .

they all say check it out this thing has a v6 its kicks butt for a v 6
 
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92TBurnSC said:
The Mustang is, was and always will be positioned as Ford's "flagship," if you want to put that label on any vehicle of theirs.
I don't think so. The Mustang is and always has been a mass-produced affordable performance car, meant to appeal to a wide market. A flagship vehicle at least in terms of marketing would be one that shows off the ultimate capabilities of the automaker and says "look what we can do". It has a premium price and typically the availability is limited. Not everybody can afford it, but it inspires customers about the brand and drives sales in the whole product line. (can you tell I work in marketing?... ok I'll stop now)

I think the SC was definitely a flagship in it's time. Now it would be the Ford GT. Guess the stakes are a little higher these days!
 
Well, I bought my first SC in 1993. It was a 1991 and man was it a head turner. I used to get compliments about it all the time. I was 22 at the time and I used to let my girlfriend drive it. She was a HOT 19 year old red head. She told me people would ask her "how did you afford that car?" and stuff like that! :) ahhh the good ol' days. Now i'm in my 30's and I was talking to this hot 21 year old. Showed her a pic of the SC I was thinking of buying and she said it was a "piece of *****" and I shouldn't buy it. Get a WRX or a EVO!! dumb broad!!! I don't know if you guys watch Monster Garage, but Jesse James did a Honda Civic build with a High School class. He said ,"Girls would like this Civic more than a Camaro! Makes me sick" or something like that. I don't talk to that girl anymore! ;) 21 yr olds can be hot, but boy are they annoying!
 
So she doesn't respect a fine automobile, she has been hanging around too many teenage boys who watch fast and furious too much. Doesn't mean she wouldn't be good in the sack.

Yeah I would think the SC could have been referred to as ford's flagship. It was pretty pricey compared to their other offerings at the time, it performed better than the Mustang (unless you got a bare bones LX 5-speed). And it could cruise comfortably at triple digits, and won car of the year. Has the stang ever won car of the year for its pony car class?
 
Flagship for the working class~

I prefer the MN12 chassis over the Mustang chassis any day! Agree that the GT40 is Ford's "new" flagship. But who can dish out 200 grand for it?

Sure wish that Ford would bring back the '95 SC with the GT40 motor and tranny in it! Now that would be the "working mans" Flagship!
The MN12 is such a stable chassis, I think it could handle it well.
Whadda-ya think guys? Would you buy one?
 
We were driving home the other evening in our SC and at the local drive-in there was a group of 'Stangs parked and the owners were gathered around their cars. We had to stop for the light and while we sat and waited every single guy standing there was checking out our SC. When the light turned we got "thumbs' up" from everyone standing there, and the car didn't even have to do a burnout. Talk about respect!!!!
There isn't a car in the world I would take over my SC, bar none. No matter where we go in our SC, that car never fails to turn heads and we get smiles and thumbs up everywhere we go. What more could you ask for? :D
 
Mine isn't the fastest by far, but people always tell me it looks cool.

Wish I could beat the local LS1 guy that has been cleaning up everything that gets next to him. Then I'd get respect from the racers since they all think the LS1 is a gift from god.
 
Scott Long said:
since they all think the LS1 is a gift from god.
hahaha the LS1 is a gift from god.

its too bad the SC doesn’t get the respect it deserves. all my buddies are believers now, but im still working on teaching the girls how cool a SC can be.
 
I have owned my current 95 SC since late 2002, & I had another 95 before this one. I've 4 other T-Birds through the years, an 85, an 88, a 90, & a 95 LX. I guess I'm a T-Bird guy! I recently picked up an 03 Mach 1 5-speed. While the Mach is a lot of fun to drive, I much prefer my SC. The guys at work always tell me I should put the Bird back stock & drive it daily, & mod the Mustang. They just don't get it. Or maybe it's ME who doesn't get it! It does stink, however, that I've put all this money into the SC, & the bone stock Mach 1 would porbably beat it by a half second or so!
 
I still get compliments on my SC's

I remember back in the day (89, 90, 91..) The SC was actually feared by most stock street cars at the time because from light to light they were quick as all hell,,When I got my first SC an 89 auto I had plans of doing this that and the other thing to it.....To only find out there was nothing to do to it really............Eventually I found the SCCOA in its early infancy....I saw every one trying to make thier SC's run.....Well $ per performance just wasnt there..So I kept mine stock...I eventually upgraded to a 94 and did the usual bolt ons....Unhappy..........................

Anyway..Yes th SC was meantto be the premier Ford coupe..And it was...To bad Ford did nothing to spur an aftermarket interest in it..They barely even had high performance support for the mustang back then.

They coulda made teh SC a supercar...They just chose not to...all about the $$$$$
 
Gotta disagree with Dave. Ford didn't upgrade the SC? The SC in 1989 and the SC in 1994 are pretty different. Exterior styling, interior styling and some changes under the hood. Weather or not they are token changes or significant is up for debate. But did the C4 Vette change that much more from 1984 to 1989? Or the Z28 from 1986 to 1991? Or the Fox body stang from 1987 to 1992?

A big difference is that each car had at least factory support with a catalog full of parts to hop it up with (in addition to aftermarket). SC had virtually nothing in the catalog and same for aftermarket.

It's been agreed that long ago it was lack of marketing, advertising, and ford exec's keeping it handicapped as to not screw up their beloved pony car's status as top dogg.

To answer the original question about the SC's debut and being of extraordinary status....I don't know. I didn't even know what an SC was until 1996. Again, a testiment to Ford's lack of advertising. I sure as heII knew what a Vette, Iroc and Stang GT was though. My Dad told me that he looked at one on the showroom floor back in a 1989 (just happenstance I suppose) and the biggest impression the car had on him was, "Wow, $20,000 for this thing?"

Micah
 
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