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As long-time readers of Ride&Drive know, I grew up as the son of a Pontiac dealer in the Midwest. One of the advantages was exposure to a wide variety of cars from all manufacturers from the early postwar era, for my father had a penchant for bringing interesting used cars home.

At one point, for example, the local Packard dealership had closed its doors and my father had hired the former owner to become the sales manager at the Pontiac store. As expected, this man brought much of his old clientele with him and the used car lot was well-populated with well-cared-for Packards for years thereafter. From time to time, some of the more interesting ones found their way into our garage at home.

My father must have hired a former Ford salesman, too, as evidenced by the succession of interesting Ford products that passed through my life — including a number of two- and four-seater Thunderbirds. In particular, I vividly recall a deep-turquoise 1956 T-Bird. It had a white, removable top — with portholes, of course — and the requisite continental tire kit, too.

It was, therefore, with particular interest that I accepted delivery of the new retro T-Bird for a week's road test. It was also painted turquoise, although in a much lighter shade than the 1956 example I remember, and captured much of the feel of the original. Overall, Ford has made a huge success of recreating the original two-seater design in modern form.

Ever since the arrival of the New Beetle several years ago, the public has reacted with enthusiasm to other "retro" models from various manufacturers — Chrysler with its PT Cruiser and Prowler, and now Ford with its T-Bird. General motors is planning several models to come along in the near future.

The common wisdom holds that it is the retro charm of these models that spurs sales. While that may be part of it, I think buyers like them because they have unique character in a market where the vast majority of vehicles look pretty much alike. Who can tell a Mazda from a Honda from a Chevy anymore?

Manufacturers have learned to make body panels cheaply at the expense of the deep draws and sumptuous shapes we saw on cars thirty or forty years ago. The compound curves on the hood of the first Jaguar XJ6 sedan — launched in 1968 — involved half-a-dozen separate stampings. The sensuous shape of that car's frontal design would have been impossible otherwise. Today, no manufacturer would indulge in that kind of extravagance. A shallow character line below the beltline is about all you get these days, so it is any wonder most contemporary vehicles lack distinction?

The genius of the New Beetle concept was in finding a way to create distinctive shapes within the limitations of modern manufacturing practices. The PT Cruiser followed suit, quickly becoming the hottest Chrysler product in years. The T-Bird is positioned at a price point that precludes high volume, but it, too, has been enthusiastically received. One hopes the manufacturers are learning a lesson or two from all this, and that we'll see more interesting designs across the board in the future.

As for the New Thunderbird, it is both a successful evocation if the original two-seater design, and a successful modern luxury sports car. It proved a most pleasant machine in all normal driving conditions, and attracted huge amounts of favorable attention from anyone who saw it. The only functional complaint I had with our test car was an annoying harmonic vibration in the center console that appeared at certain speeds. This model had a troubled, and much delayed, development period, but they appear to have worked out nearly all the bugs. Maybe Detroit has learned another lesson, as well, namely that it pays to get it right BEFORE the new product is launched.

Engine horsepower is 280 (28 more than in 2002) and torque at 286 foot-pounds has gone up by 25. Electronic throttle control and variable cam timing improve engine performance, power and fuel economy. The 3.9-liter V-8 is otherwise a carryover from 2002. All-speed traction control now standard. There is a newly styled analog instrument cluster.

Our test car carried a sticker of just over forty grand. Well worth it, in my view. R&D