1997 Thunderbird 4.6; seen 04APR24

Irv said:
the OEM post-refresh blue, green, and red interiors which I find all to be horrid despite also not being a fan of black interiors either.
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Weirdly, I don't love those either, though based on my usual preferences I should like them.

I can't exactly put my finger on it. I think the lack of two-tone accents is partly to blame. The colors are also all a bit off: I find the red to light, the blue too purple-ish, and the green too dark.

Among those three interiors, I think I still prefer the red as it seems to age the best from what I've seen in the yards. Blue cloth fades very badly. I will say that I've seen some beautiful Cougars with green cloth/leather combination seats.

I wouldn't mind experimenting with color combo interiors if I had a pristine green interior donor. A combination between green and tan, like that Daimler I posted earlier. But I'd have to plan very carefully which elements would get which color.
 
There's a dollars and cents motive for the lack of originality in homes too, people are bound by the idea of investment and many change houses as they grow families relocate for jobs, or get better jobs and can afford a better house. Therefore you're going to want to follow the trends of what's most quickly saleable for the most profit, and that rainforest themed room with the life sized waterfall feature you personally dreamed of might need to be reigned in lol

We got spoiled by the knowledge of 50s-early 70s where back then cars weren't just depreciating assets but deteriorating assets; I love em, but all the classics were toast in 5 years or 100K miles either from rust or being legitimately worn out mechanically. There was more freedom of personalization then because of those realities, cars weren't considered investments any more than the clothes on your back, and indeed, buying a used car in 1965 was basically equal to buying clothes at a thrift store(before it was cool). When cars started getting better corrosion protection, more durable and long lasting drivetrains and less and less need for routine tune ups with the EFI and electronic ignition revolution of the 80s and 90s used cars were no longer this guaranteed instantly depreciating asset (unless the model was a an ugly piece of shit). Then suddenly colors started to get a little more neutral, bodystyles became a little more accommodating(the end of the 2-door), options became a little more standardized, because whether the individual buyers actually needed or wanted these aspects or not, a silver 4 door sedan with power everything and an automatic guarantees an much more hassle free trade in prospect than a bright red sport coupe with a stick.

It's the weird part about the USA, we define ourselves by capitalism and individuality but they are completely incompatible ways of life. You don't really own anything if it's treated as an investment. I probably sound like a dirty hippie with the tl:dr basically being "your possessions own you", but in a way it's absolutely true. What's the point of freedom of choice if you're buying motivation is pleasing everyone else with your purchase?


Oh and I completely agree with the 94-97 colored interiors. I don't know to this day why Ford dropped black, as available from 90-93 and moderately popular, and ADDED green to the options! Red and blue were carryovers, I'm not crazy about the chosen shades but they were there, but why add green? I know for a fact based on extensive observations that it wasn't a common option, not helped by the fact that(unlike black) it was tethered to select exterior colors.
 
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@XR7-4.6
I'd also love to know the rationale behind such decisions. I imagine that they wanted a certain maximum number of color options to limit complexity, and the black interior just dropped off in favor of green. I could also imagine that with the facelift, they had a somewhat better grasp on their customer base: wasn't the MN12 initially launched as more of an American 6-Series? As such, the black interior could have been viewed as something conveying Euro simplicity. By the time of the facelift, maybe they wanted to refocus on American Thunderbird tradition.

Speaking of Ford decisions, what I find even more puzzling are the ongoing changes to tan interiors. In a few years, they went from Mocha to Saddle to Prairie Tan. Why? Would potential buyers even know the difference without seeing them side by side?
 
1997ThunderbirdLXV6 said:
@XR7-4.6
I'd also love to know the rationale behind such decisions. I imagine that they wanted a certain maximum number of color options to limit complexity, and the black interior just dropped off in favor of green. I could also imagine that with the facelift, they had a somewhat better grasp on their customer base: wasn't the MN12 initially launched as more of an American 6-Series? As such, the black interior could have been viewed as something conveying Euro simplicity. By the time of the facelift, maybe they wanted to refocus on American Thunderbird tradition.

Speaking of Ford decisions, what I find even more puzzling are the ongoing changes to tan interiors. In a few years, they went from Mocha to Saddle to Prairie Tan. Why? Would potential buyers even know the difference without seeing them side by side?
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Black wasn't initially available either, in 1989 the choice was grey, red, blue and tan only, Black was added in 1990.

Ford actually changed grey and green for 96 as well, in 94-95 all pieces except the black bezels in the Tbird) were all the same shade, but in 96 all except the dash console and door cups were made noticeably lighter, contrasting with those darker parts that were basically the 94-95 shades. Red was dropped in 96 and blue oddly never changed from 94-97
 
Ahh, that reminds of something I meant to put into the stupid questions thread:

Are the dark parts of my Prairie Tan interior, such as dash and console sides, the same color as the entire Mocha interior from 94/95?

The ones I've seen always seemed to have a pinkish undertone, but that may have been due to fading.

I once considered using the door pulls from a Mocha interior, but never got around to it.
 
1997ThunderbirdLXV6 said:
Ahh, that reminds of something I meant to put into the stupid questions thread:

Are the dark parts of my Prairie Tan interior, such as dash and console sides, the same color as the entire Mocha interior from 94/95?

The ones I've seen always seemed to have a pinkish undertone, but that may have been due to fading.

I once considered using the door pulls from a Mocha interior, but never got around to it.
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It's close, it might be off a tiny bit(the 97 graphite dash/console is ever so slightly different from 94-95 Opal too, but close enough). Saddle's the real orphan, there's nothing common with other years
 
1997ThunderbirdLXV6 said:
Ahh, that reminds of something I meant to put into the stupid questions thread:

Are the dark parts of my Prairie Tan interior, such as dash and console sides, the same color as the entire Mocha interior from 94/95?

The ones I've seen always seemed to have a pinkish undertone, but that may have been due to fading.

I once considered using the door pulls from a Mocha interior, but never got around to it.
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It is off just a hair. But unless you're really looking at it you don't notice it. I put a 94 console lid in my 97.
 
Ignoring the lack of a glovebox lock on the '97, when I replaced my glovebox lid, I originally put on a '94-95 opal glovebox lid that was noticeably different from graphite. I then acquired a '97 lid. Side-by-side, the difference is enough to know they don't look right next to each other.
 
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Just as I complained about interiors, GM comes out with this new Enclave, including blue interior accents and even color matched carpets. There's hope.

Screenshot_20240409_211133_Gallery.jpgScreenshot_20240409_211110_Gallery.jpg
 
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