I have an '88 Thunderbird Turbo Coupe. It has a lot of balls for a 4-banger, the engine can stand up to a ton of abuse (factory boost is 15 psi, it can handle 23+), and it's fun to drive. Not as quick as a Mustang GT but it's easy to supe up the stock engine, or a 5.0 will drop right in. It's on the same platform as the Mustang meaning most parts are interchangeable.
It got the best chassis parts that Ford had to offer at the time, too. 87-88s had 4-wheel ABS disc brakes, a 3.27 (3.73 in automatics) limited slip quad shock axle, electronically adjustable shocks, 1-5/16" front swaybar, Mustang GT steering rack, front control arms that were later used in either the '93 Cobra or SN95 (I forget which), and some other goodies. If I'm not mistaken it handles better than Mustangs from the same era. I know it easily outhandles my '93 Lincoln Mark VII despite having a better ride, although it still has that annoying Fox-chassis characteristic of sticking like glue in corners until the rear end suddenly goes flying without any warning whatsoever. Still it's a really cool car, and makes a good sleeper.
The best part is how cheap you can get 'em. I bought mine back in 2001 with 74k miles for $1200. Had a check engine light ($60 O2 sensor) and was burning oil ($3 PCV valve).. Because of that the previous owner thought the engine and turbo were shot. 35k miles later it's still running perfectly and hasn't burned a drop of oil, so it's safe to say she was wrong.
