Posted on 10/19/2006 10:56:56 AM PDT by floridareader1
DEARBORN, Mich. - Sometime next week, the assembly line at a Ford plant near Atlanta will come to a halt, signaling the end of a family sedan so revolutionary that its 1985 debut changed forever the way cars look, feel and drive. ADVERTISEMENT
Say goodbye to the Taurus.
After 21 years and sales of nearly 7 million cars, Ford Motor Co. is giving up on what some call the most influential automobile since Henry Ford's Model T. The Taurus is credited with moving America away from boxy V-8 powered gas-guzzling bedrooms-on-wheels to aerodynamic, more efficient cars with crisper handling.
To many, the Taurus' death was slow and painful as Ford in recent years abandoned the car that saved the company, focusing instead on high-profit trucks and sport utility vehicles.
"When that thing came out, it was a big deal," said Robert Thompson, professor of popular culture at Syracuse University. "It so much became kind of the template of what a modern car was going to look like."
The Taurus, so futuristic that critics called it a "jellybean" or a "flying potato," made its debut late in 1985, with 1979 gasoline shortages still fresh in consumers' minds. The U.S. economy was just pulling out of a downturn when the scalloped Taurus, initially equipped with V-6 and four-cylinder engines, hit showrooms. It was an immediate hit, with buyers snapping up more than 263,000 in 1986, its first full year on the market.
It became the best-selling car in America in 1992 with sales of nearly 410,000, unseating the Honda Accord just as Japanese imports were starting to take hold in the U.S., and it held the top spot for five straight years until it was supplanted by the Toyota Camry in 1997. Even near death in September, it remained Ford's top-selling car.
Ford also sold another 2 million Mercury Sables, the Taurus' nearly identical twin.
"It was really the last full-size American passenger sedan to dominate the segment," said Jim Sanfilippo, senior industry analyst for Bloomfield Hills-based Automotive Marketing Consultants Inc.
Ford was losing billions in the early 1980s when Taurus was just an idea. Philip Caldwell, chief executive at the time, challenged designers and engineers to come up with a radically different car that would return Ford to profitability.
"We were in terrible condition financially," recalled Jack Telnack, chief designer on the original Taurus who retired in 1998. "He said `Look, we need something really different, really new, that will kind of set the pace out there.'"
Nearly 1,000 people worked on the car, many coming from Ford's European operations. They had spotted a trend that U.S. buyers were moving away from big, cushy cars to better-handling European models, Telnack said.
Engineers met that trend with a stiffer suspension, and they also gave the car more interior room, firmer seats, better ergonomics and more trunk space, said Telnack.
The car also had a lot of new "surprise and delight" features including a cargo net to hold grocery bags in the trunk and rear-seat headrests and heat ducts, said Joel Pitcoff, the Taurus' marketing manager at the time.
It was a hit in market research tests, and sales beat expectations, said Sam Pack, owner of three Dallas-area Ford dealerships who took part in Taurus research.
The car's sales remained strong until it got a makeover in 1996. Although the second version sold well, it never matched the original's numbers.
Still, company officials said the Taurus restored Ford's reputation for quality.
Frank Ribezzo, a lawyer in North Smithfield, R.I., is selling a 1997 Taurus for $950 after running up 210,000 miles. It's his third Taurus, with the first two going over 220,000 miles.
Ribezzo said he buys them used because they don't cost much and, save for the transmissions, they're reliable.
"As far as used cars, their value just goes to hell in a handbasket in a couple of years. But they run," Ribezzo said.
In the late 1990s, the Taurus became symptomatic of Ford's current ills. The company focused on high-profit trucks and sport utility vehicles, leaving the car almost unchanged for 10 years with little advertising support. In the meantime, competitors had copied the Taurus and refined their models, and the Taurus eventually became solely a rental car and fleet vehicle.
"It didn't keep pace. That's the whole story in four words," said Pitcoff.
Ford, left with few desirable cars, was caught flat-footed this year when consumer tastes shifted away from trucks. Sales have dropped 8.6 percent through September, and the company lost $1.4 billion in the first half of the year.
"They put no money into that product for the last several years," Telnack said of the Taurus. "They just let it wither on the vine. It's criminal. The car had a great reputation, a good name. I don't understand what they were waiting for."
The lack of attention to the Taurus has angered workers at the assembly plant in Hapeville, Ga.
Earle Chafim, a 22-year electrician who repairs welding robots, said workers met company goals, yet Ford still decided to shutter the plant.
"The biggest part I hate is we got the No. 1-selling car in the company, we won so many awards for being No. 1, it's a shame. We're still outselling other cars, and we're not even taking orders anymore," he said.
Ray Daniels, a 33-year company veteran, blamed Ford for not updating the Taurus and keeping the name.
"If they'd kept the name, we'd still be here," he said.
Mark Fields, Ford's president of the Americas, said he, too, can't understand how the company strayed so far from the Taurus. He wasn't with Ford when those decisions were made, but said he knows well that Ford's 1980s turnaround was led by appealing products, something he's trying to duplicate now.
"We are very, very focused on what customers want," he said.
When the lights go out on the last Taurus in Hapeville next week, there won't be any ceremony.
"It's not a reason for celebration," said plant manager Dale Wishnousky, proudly adding that workers raised quality levels since Ford announced the plant closure. "There will certainly be tears shed. There's already been tears shed."
F***ing Owner Real Dumb
Friend of my brother's bought a Crown Vic at a police auction. An unmarked policecar that still had the "I support the Police Department" bumper sticker and the Brotherhood of Police Officers window sticker on it.
Awesome ride and it was absolute badass on the open road!
I've owned two, both bought second hand. Paid $2000 for the first one(1992 model) and put close to 100,000 miles on it. At around 180,000 miles it started blowing smoke out the tail pipe and the end was soon there after. Got my money's worth out of that one.
2nd one was newer model repo that I got for peanuts. replaced the transmission at 130,000, 2 years later at 175,000 she's still running, albeit rough. Won't be buying anymore.
I drive a 2003 4-door Buick Century, and the only complaint I have is that it has a small back seat.
we just got rid of our '90 Taurus Wagon .. that thing was GREAT .. we even replaced the rotten transmission to keep it on the road. Wish American automakers would again come up with something new, efficient, cost-effective and worth buying.
RIP, dear Taurus
You've got about a year before it starts falling apart. Watch for trim that starts falling off.
Forgot to ask - how does it feel to drive a *1983* Buick Century? Because your 03 *is* an 83 with an updated drivetrain, some minor bodywork changes, and some interior revisions!
Great on gas mileage, and as powerful on the road as a Dodge Ram pickup truck.
Dollar for dollar, pound for pound, I know of no finer automobile than the Ford Taurus.
Sure, you can pay more, but you can't get more value than the new 2007 Ford Taurus.
These will be in the dealer showrooms for only a limited time! Reserve yours today!
You're probably right that GM would have wrecked the Camry due to an atrocious workforce.
IMHO the Big Three got the unions they deserved.
Went from 1979 Fairmont to 1986 Thunderbird to 1998 Taurus to 2001 Taurus to 2006 Five Hundred.
So far, so good.
Which one, the V6 Ram? [snicker]
Naah. I change the oil on a regular basis. Believe me, it helps.
Actually the V-10.
If we all treated ours like you supposedly treat yours, they all wouldn't make it past the warranty date.
I drive mine hard, but I pull all the maintenance on them. That said, my aunt had an 02 Century. She traded it two years ago for a Jaguar XJ8 because the Century was forever losing parts - and had only 30K on the clock!
"The Ford Focus and the Ford 500 are very nice and well engineered cars. And they were designed to replace the Taurus."
The 500 should have been the new Taurus. But I guess by this point Ford had squandered whatever credibility the Taurus name had by pumping them out with uninspired design, fit, and finish, and few if any changes, for so long. Typical Ford thinking. Honda has been selling the Accord nameplate for over 20 years now, with updates every 4 to 5 years, like clockwork.
I take care of all my outfits. 3 years old, and still has the new car smell. I'm a smoker and I won't even smoke in my car.
" - - a family sedan so revolutionary that its 1985 debut changed forever the way cars look, feel and drive. - - the car that saved the company."
Ford did that four times:
In 1908 - Model T
c. 1930 - Model A
In 1949 -' 49 Ford
In 1985 - Taurus
It would be nice if they did it again, but I don't think they know what to do. Cars are so boring and look-alike today that I wish somebody like Ford would jolt us all with a model to write home about, or just write about.
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