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So why wasn’t the Ford Thunderbird the North American Car of the Year?

That award, given out earlier this week at the Detroit auto show, went to the Nissan Altima, which was justly praised for its design, performance and price. Picked by 49 auto writers, who work for Car and Driver, Road & Track, the Chicago Tribune, USA Today, the Mercury News and others, and who vote independently, the award has gone to the most outstanding car (and truck) each year since 1994.

Before any of us had driven any of the 2002 models, the new Tbird was the front-runner. Heck, it was probably the favorite for the 2002 award ever since it was publicly unveiled at the Detroit auto show in January of 1999.

Certainly, the Thunderbird had history going for it. Four years ago, the updated Chevy Corvette, another legend and one-time rival of the Tbird, was named car of the year. Three years ago, the Volkswagen New Beetle started a retro revival and earned top honors. And, last year, the Chrysler PT Cruiser, which certainly comes with a heavy dose of nostalgia, was the winner.

So, to repeat myself, why wasn’t the Tbird this year’s car of the year?

I think several factors came into play. Ford’s difficulties — the tire tragedies, the sacking of CEO Jac Nasser, mounting financial and quality problems, including a delay in the introduction of the Tbird — were factors in some judges’ minds.

A few test-drove Tbirds with lots of rattles and shakes. Some found the car’s on-road performance under-whelming.

In short, the 2002 Ford Thunderbird was a perfect idea that wasn’t executed perfectly.

I think the car is beautiful, a rare effort that borrows liberally from past models without exactly copying them. As I drove it — first up, down and over the central California coast and then, later, around San Jose — people were mesmerized. They gawked and gasped and left fingerprints and asked for rides. It was especially popular at preschool where the moms loved it.

It’s a car that not only begs to have its soft top taken down, but also looks great with its hardtop (complete with ’50s-vintage portholes) in place.

The Tbird’s rear-wheel-drive platform and 3.9-liter V-8 engine are shared with two other Ford Motor models — the Lincoln LS and the Jaguar S-Type. Here, the ride is a bit softer and the engine feels less satisfying. Never intended to be a speedster, the Tbird nonetheless could use a bit more performance under its hood. It also could use a manual transmission — at least as an option.

But my biggest disappointment with the car was its interior. Buyers can order either a partial ($595) or full ($800) color package that adds matching color pieces such as part of the steering wheel, the shifter knob and other trim pieces. Those packages, especially the full-color one, completes the look of the Tbird, which is sold in black, white, turquoise, red and yellow.

Unfortunately, the b ase model, which is the one I drove in San Jose, came without any interior color. It was only at that point that I realized how bland and incomplete the interior was. The instrument-panel gauges are neat, but the audio and heating controls have a cheap, Ford-parts-bin look to them.

And while I admire the simplicity of the interior, it just isn’t what you’d expect from a $35,000 to $40,000 luxury car.

So, the new Tbird is a wonderful statement from Ford, and I applaud the healthy respect it shows for that company’s heritage. But, as opposed to the New Beetle and PT Cruiser, both of which were cars that had tons of personality and starting prices way below $20,000, the new Tbird came to the market with higher standards to meet, and it fell just short.

My fellow jurors, by the way, voted the Tbird third, behind the Altima and the Cadillac CTS sedan. On the truck side, the Chevrolet TrailBlazer SUV narrowly defeated another Chevy, the Avalanche SUV/truck hybrid. he Jeep Liberty finished third.