The dual chrome exhaust was a nice touch in person. Note the "air vent" on front fender.
Posted on 02/06/2007 7:34:06 AM PST by Spktyr
Ford will announce on Wednesday plans to rename its Five Hundred mid-size sedan "Taurus," according to a report by Dow Jones Newswires. The name change will be announced at the Chicago auto show.
A month ago, a report in BusinessWeek suggested Ford could revive the Taurus name, but it seemed unlikely at the time.
CEO Alan Mulally was quoted as saying Ford should have never dropped the nameplate in the first place. "I havent had time to do the deep dive on why we stopped investing in Taurus, but I'd like to," said Ford CEO Alan Mulally. "The Ford Five Hundred should have been the new Taurus."
In the same report, Ford's new marketing chief Barry Engle expressed a similar sentiment. Asked why Ford doesn't rename the Fusion or the Five Hundred "Taurus," Engle said, "stranger things have happened […] I don't know why we invest hundreds of millions of dollars in a name over 20 years and then walk away from it."
Ford revealed the redesigned 2008 Five Hundred at the Detroit auto show in January. Ford gave the sedan new headlights, taillights, and its three-bar signature grille.
Go over to the Detroit News and Free Press websites and read the last 6 months of their documentation of their turn around efforts, i.e. your "reponse". It would take hours to type, do your own research.
P.S. the papers mentioned can't be posted here on the Freep, they are on the "list".
Unfortunately, you have to pay for them and I can't link them: http://usa.polk.com/Industries/Research/
I got a look at them through the Jaguar dealership that I deal with.
It's not just Toyota, most foreign manufacturers have similar requirements. XJ6s used to have a problem where they'd chew through waterpumps. Nobody could figure this out until someone noticed that it was only the US cars with the problem, and that the coolant the owners had put in them was Prestone Green.
The owner's manual states that only phosphate-and-silicate free coolant should be used in the vehicle, as with most foreign makes. That's part of why the water pumps in foreign cars tend to last longer than their domestic counterparts.
Prestone Green is emphatically NOT phosphate or silicate free, and the silicates are what chew up water pump seals and bearings.
The dual chrome exhaust was a nice touch in person. Note the "air vent" on front fender.
I rent cars when I travel more than 500mi. round-trip.
I've always had good luck with the Taurus.
Tight, quiet, comfortable and economical.
I'll admit to never driving one with more than 20K on the odometer.
Um, not much of an improvement that I can see. Interior's better, but the front end looks like they borrowed it from a Tundra. Rear end has those fake Altezza lights.
If Ford truely wanted to save the company...they would bring back the LTD...with no changes. It was the only 5-star car they ever made. My dad would swear by the series...toughest car ever made...real steel...and they drove forever.
The Taurus was running neck and neck in sales with the Camry in 1992 as America's most popular model. Ford was also making a lot of profits in 1992. I owned a 1992 Camry and still think it was the best car I ever owned.
I swear, they need to fire their entire marketing department.
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I think their problems run deeper than one department. They've lost so many buyers who don't even consider Ford anymore that it might be hopeless to try to rescue Ford.
As for me, a senior, I'm looking for a new car but only looking at Japanese and Korean brands. It hasn't even dawned on me to look at U.S. brands.
The current production Ford Falcon...from Australia. I6, turbo I6 or V8, RWD, rave reviews from the world press.
Thanks anyway. :) I'll give you the benefit of the doubt that it might be near 20%, though.... :)
Why? Because the Taurus hit its sales peak 16 years ago, and has fallen dramatically (last year they were at about 1/3 of peak sales).
Of all vehicles sold 16 years ago, only about 20% are still on the road, per NHTSA. Considering the quality issues on Gen1 and Gen2 Tauruses, I would expect a lower than average % from those generations to be around. Also considering those were the best selling years by far, it wouldn't surprise me if the number left is low.
I somewhat doubt it is quite as low as you remember, though, considering the number of Tauruses I see every day... :)
Also why I go to the Ford dealership for coolant... :)
Sometimes trying to save $5 on coolant can cost you hundreds... :)
The LTD is still around today. It's called the Crown Victoria - same platform and chassis, only the exterior sheet metal has been remodelled.
The LTD was a horrible barge with poor brakes, no handling, and steering by Novocaine. Safe? Maybe. Good to drive? Heck no.
Ummmmm.....
Ford lost $7.39 Billion in 1992.
Yes, I have one "Test" Falcon here in the US up close in a parking lot over a year ago, and they have that hot rod look, nice. But it begs the question, if it is so easy to bring over, why hasn't it been done already, and would you do it after the "GTO" debalicle. Remember they have bet the farm and every one of those 20 billion+ leveraged dollars count.
"As for me, a senior, I'm looking for a new car but only looking at Japanese and Korean brands. It hasn't even dawned on me to look at U.S. brands."
Hence the need to fire the marketing department... did you even know that the Ford Fusion is rated higher for reliability than the Camry by CR? Try one - you'll like it.
i thought this was a parody
Silver with red(?) interior, was here for a tier supplier working on the turbo. I talked to the guy driving it.
Nice.....
Had a relative kill one of those once.
They didn't change the oil for 3 years, drove short hops, then suffered the inevitable bearing failure and rod knock...
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