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Driving the new Ford Thunderbird is like dating someone who is really good-looking, so attractive and desirable that you are willing to forgive whatever faults.

Therefore, I found myself making excuses for Thunderbird’s overly soft suspension, or the dashboard that was a mixed bag of right and wrong, or the poor-fitting tonneau that, when installed over the folded top, not only looked lumpy but came loose and nearly blew off.

But all was forgiven. I really liked this car, from its snarling exhaust note to its comfortable interior. I liked the way it corners, flat and even despite the mushy suspension, and I loved riding with the top down, despite the worthless tonneau.

But mainly, I liked the way it looked. Because this is a truly lovely car that nearly everyone appreciates, and not just the retro appeal but its classical and even rakish beauty.

Thunderbird is Ford’s retromobile, its corporate version of New Beetle, PT Cruiser or the upcoming Mini. The sleek two-seater harks back to the landmark T’birds of 1955-57, a transparent bid to recapture one of Ford’s finest moments.

Like the originals, the new Thunderbird is more about cruising than performance, more style than sport. This is a car for elegant touring, not dicing through sharp corners. Best to just sit back and enjoy the ride. Which I did.

Though soft and heavy, the Thunderbird’s driving characteristics are enjoyable. T’bird benefits from the same chassis as Jaguar S-Type and Lincoln LS, so it feels fairly solid, though there is some body twisting and shakiness on rough surfaces.

Under T’bird’s hood is the excellent 3.9-liter DOHC V-8 used in the Lincoln and developed along with Jaguar. With 252 horsepower, the Ford is lively enough, with good acceleration and cruising power. Just don’t try to outperform any muscle cars from the stoplight. A Corvette will blow its doors off. So would many sedans.

On the highway, Thunderbird roars along briskly, its throaty exhaust rumbling nicely.

Thunderbird comes only with automatic transmission, highlighting its cruiser appeal. The automatic does perform flawlessly.

The test car was bright red, which certainly stood out, though I prefer Thunderbirds in more toned-down shades. I love the way these look in glossy black, like the Neimann-Marcus catalog edition shown at the Arizona Auto Show.

The interior is very retro, from the backlit turquoise gauge needles to the black-and-red leather upholstery, complete with big Thunderbird logos on steering wheel and rear fascia. But some of the red material looked tacky and didn’t match the red exterior. And the center binnacle, with its dark, businesslike setup for stereo and climate control, looked totally out of place.

The attractively sloping rear deck comes at a cost; the trunk is small and shallow.

The tester did not include the porthole hardtop, which costs $2,500, just the fabric soft top. The top goes down quickly with the p ush of a button, though when stowed, the car’s handsome profile is marred by the top’s workings poking up from behind the seats. That’s what the tonneau is designed to hide, but it is difficult to install, fits poorly and, as noted, nearly blew away on the Squaw Peak Parkway.

Thunderbird’s price is fairly steep, with the test car’s base coming in at $38,465, though that’s not out of line considering the exclusivity of this limited-production car. About 25,000 are being made for the 2002 model year.

During my test week, I invented many errands that involved driving with the top folded in the spring weather. It’s really a lovely car with beauty that’s more than skin deep