Ford to rename 500 model the Taurus

[TrainTrac]

Is this a "Bold Move"? Do they really think that this will save them again, like the Taurus did in the mid-80's?

Posted on Tue, Feb. 06, 2007





Ford to rename 500 model the Taurus



TOM KRISHER

Associated Press



DETROIT - Ford Motor Co. will rename its slow-selling Five Hundred model the Taurus, a name that Ford had previously used for a car that became the nation's top-seller, company officials said Tuesday.



The officials spoke to The Associated Press on the condition they not be identified by name because the official announcement had not yet been made.



The Taurus, considered by some the car that saved Ford, revolutionized the way autos look and feel when it was introduced in 1985. The Dearborn-based automaker ceased production of the Taurus in October after 21 years and sales of nearly 7 million, perplexing many industry analysts and former Ford executives who said the brand name had great value.



Ford spokesman Jim Cain would not confirm that the Taurus name will be brought back, but said new Chief Executive Alan Mulally has been interested in the Taurus ever since arriving from aviation giant Boeing Co. last year.



Cain said the company would make news at the Chicago Auto Show later this week, but he would not say what it was.



"It will be announced in Chicago, whatever it is. I'm not confirming or denying," he said.

 

[TomT]

Should have named it the Pinto.

 

[Fred]

They should have named it Corolla. No, it could never be that good, even if it was.

 

[Nelson Atwell]

Renaming a vehicle after a car that sucked. That IS a Bold Move.



I agree with TomT, they should bring back the Pinto too. Aftermarket add-on would be a detonator. Back in the 70's you didn't need to be a terrorist to drive a car bomb. A Pinto would be very popular in the middle east. It might even cut into the sales of Toyota pickups which are currently the weapon of choice there.

 

[Tom Schindler]

Lets look at this. There was one higher up in the company that wanted all Ford vehicle names to start with an F and all Mercury Vehicles to start with an M.



Ford Fusion

Ford Fivehundred

Ford Freestar

Ford Freestyle



Mercury Mariner

Mercury Montego

Mercury Monterey

Mercury Mountaineer



That guy is no longer with Ford.



Honestly, I thought it was cheesy.



Renaming the Fivehundred to Taurus is a good move. The Taurus is a name people respond to. Not everybody responds to the name Fivehundred. Is it speddled Fivehundred, Five Hundred, or 500?





Tom

 

[TrainTrac]

Tom,



Don't forget, all of the SUV's were supposed to have names starting with an "E":



1. Escape

2. Explorer

3. Expedition

4. Excursion

5. Edge (Not really an SUV, but I guess they figured a CUV was close enough).

 

[Gavin Allan]

They need to redo the 500 before they change the name. It is an OK car, but you can get a nearly identical Impala for about $5,000 less than the 500.



The Taurus name is synonomous with "boring", "vibrations", "medioke performance", "low resale value", "failing to evolve and adapt", etc.



Ford should dump the Taurus name. They might as well name the 500 the "Fairmont" or the "500-II"...

 

[Tom Schindler]

5. Edge (Not really an SUV, but I guess they figured a CUV was close enough).

The Edge came out AFTER that guy left Ford Motor Company.

The Taurus name is synonomous with "boring", "vibrations", "medioke performance", "low resale value", "failing to evolve and adapt", etc.

The Taurus name is not synonomous with those words. Ford is!



The Taurus was the car Honda and Toyota followed. Ford set the standard in family automobiles. Toyota and Honda did everything that they could to keep up with the Taurus.



Ford then realized they could make more money with trucks and SUVs, so they let the Taurus sit idle. Once Toyota and Honda beat the Taurus, they set the bar. Ford still let the Taurus sit idle. SUV sales started to fall, what does Ford do in a situation like this?



The only obvious thing to do. Let the Taurus sit idle.



They let those same people that drive Expeditions, F-150's, and Explorers visit a Toyota or Honda dealer to buy a Camry or Accord. They could have purchased a Taurus, but when the Camry and Accord is better looking, has more features and options, for less price, only a fool would have gotten the Taurus.



Once you let your customers stray, you are only asking for trouble.



Trouble is what Ford has.





Tom

 

[WXMotorSports DecalsPartsAccs]

At least they will sell them to the rental companies. Oh, wait they did sell the 500 to them and sales were low. Renaming is NOT a good move. The 500 doesn't look anything like a Tauras. At least the old Tauras models you knew they were a Tauras. Maybe it works and they only lose 11 Billion. It's a start...LOL

 

[Josh Langel]

Maybe rename the Sport Trac "Ranger EXL?"



Seriously, I highly doubt this is going to help AT ALL. I always felt the taurus to be a cheap looking, low end car. It sounds poor (with no disrespect to those who own one). They just never struck me as performance, looks, or cool. The fivehundred (500, five hundred, 50 cent's car) at least sounded higher end.



Taurus.



Sorry, sounds like we've been zapped back to the 90's.



FORD, seriously, literally ... moving backwards.

 

[Todd Z]

Question :



didn't Chevy got through a car renaming phase ???



Nissan kind of did it when the maxima seemed to be a larger altima and the altima got a re design...

Todd Z

 

[A K]

Back in the late 80s, my father was asked if he liked the Taurus. He replied with a strong negative. He then was told that the designer was "in house." He never said another word.



Truth be told, the Taurus offered the most for the least when it was released. Over time, it offered the least for the most (or a variety thereof). What Ford needs is to beg those who built the company's bread and butter in the 80's to, at the least, consult the folks today who are so horribly disconnected from the needs of the average car-buyer.

 

[Tom Schindler]

It sounds poor (with no disrespect to those who own one). They just never struck me as performance, looks, or cool.

One vehicle I can think of.



Taurus SHO 24 Valve 3.0 V6 5 Speed Manual Tranny. Very fast, handled great, flat out great vehicle.



What does Ford do? Gives it a V8 with an automatic tranny that is slower than the earlier models.



My sister had one. It would give a BMW a run for its money...and win.





Tom

 

[Todd Z]

Gives it a V8 with an automatic tranny that is slower than the earlier models.

That was a Yamaha motor, good as a boat anchor...

Todd Z

 

[TomT]

This just in: Ford Motor Company will rename the Sport Trac. It will now be called the F-125.

 

[Tom Schindler]

That was a Yamaha motor, good as a boat anchor...

The V6 was a Yamaha engine too.



Anyone know who made the Corvette ZR1 engine?





Tom

 

[gary s]

mercury marine, i think. one quick car but a nightmare of maintanence !

 

[Richard L]

Calling it a Taurus is not going to do anything for sales. Everyone knows it's a Ford 500 rebadged. It would have been smarter to wait until the Ford 500 was due for redesign and then reintroduce it as the new Taurus.



Why don't they just call it a 4 door Mustang since that is one of the best selling cars ever made? Well for one, it doesn't look anything like any Mustang we've ever seen and everyone will know it's just the old Ford 500 renamed.



GM came out with the new GTO a few years ago, and it was a flop. The car did not look or resemble any part of the previous muscle cars of the 1960's and early 1970's. They didn't even put a hood scoop on it which was the GTO's trademark. The body styling looked like it was made by Kia, and it never caught on with the public even though it was as fast if not even faster that the early GTO's.



Ford is just putting lipstick on a pig.



...Rich

 

[Tom Schindler]

gary s,



You are right.





Tom

 

[Todd Z]

Just to add to it...



It was partially designed by Lotus, but was actually hand build by the Mercury Marine Company in Stillwater Oklahoma...



Todd Z