Ford to rename 500 model the Taurus

[Thomas Rogers]

RichardL said:

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

That has been my same complaint with the Mustangs for the past 20 years as well.



Muscle cars died in the mid-70s. Anything made since and called a muscle car has been a cheap imitation, at least in the "looks" dept, IMHO.



TJR

 

[Peter Vincent]

I had a 96 taurus and loved it. I got it with about 15000 miles on it and drove it till 145000. Never replaced anything on it... Dont get me wrong I should have I just didnt. Front end was crap, suspension was crap, tranny was shot but it held together for a work car. I then bought a 2001 taurus and got rid of it in about 2 months.

 

[Gavin Allan]

I had a '74 Mustang. It wasn't any muscle car! 2.3 litre 4 cylinder with automatic transmission. It was more of a yawn car.

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.

Even worse, they cancelled it or else really cut the production numbers. We HARDLY EVER see a SHO Taurus around here. Seriously--they are as rare as bore tits.

 

[Travis Munday]

You don't SHOs anymore 'cause they all were wrapped around a tree at some point. That much power through the front wheels and in a car with suspension that ancient Romans would be comfortable with? Yup, you can turn the wheel all you want, but that tree/wall/utility pole/etc you're trying to miss will end up in the passenger seat. In one local junkyard I've seen no less then 5 in about a year. Both generations. All were wrecked.

 

[Ian Gross]

you can turn the wheel all you want, but that tree/wall/utility pole/etc you're trying to miss will end up in the passenger seat.

I used to have one of these It was a '94 and I loved it. It held the road with everything I could throw at it and that was only with putting the swaybars from the '89 SHO and alum subframe bushings on it. That car was a champ and it sure got the kids in their civics thinking about how they just got beat by a 4 door and not only that but a taurus. Its a very under appriciated car until you own or drive one, atleast until 1996. That motor was great if you kept up on the maintainance on it.



Dont get me wrong it had its problems but when you got on it and the secondary intake runners would open up it was an amaizing sound, and all your doubts faded.



Its ashame the SVT team has set idle for so long. I think that dodge has the right idea with offering a perfomance package on almost all of its vehicles. I think Ford should look there for some insipration.

 

[Josh Langel]

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

Yeah, well the GTO is fast, but looks bland.



Taurus: cheap POS. Rentals wanted. Looks slow. Bottom of the line.



That's my impression.

 

[Dreman]

Some of us (admittedly few) would rather BE fast than LOOK fast!



My first (running) car was a 1971 Ford Custom 500 4dr sedan. After a 428CJ transplant, I went out Trans Am hunting. It didn't look like much, but it was hard to beat. And half the time the guy in the next lane got the ticket instead of me.



A later car was a 1985 LTD LX with the Mustang HO engine. Not as quick, unfortunately, but much better around corners. And most wouldn't race it because of it's "stealth cop" look.



Maybe it doesn't sell as well to those who have to be flashy, but mild-looking quick cars are still quick.

 

[Ian Gross]

Yeah, well the GTO is fast, but looks bland.

Taurus: cheap POS. Rentals wanted. Looks slow. Bottom of the line.

That's my impression

Yeah i couldnt agree with you more but if you look at a 92 - 95 taurus next to an SHO of the same year and they are pretty different. Im not saying that either of these look fast but the Lets not knock the whole line here when the whole line doenst fall into the rental car category.



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[Josh Langel]

They just don't look good, IMHO... but I have different taste.

 

[Bart Adkins]

My mom has a five hundred limited with all wheel drive...It is AWESOME! To even sugest a corolla comes close is (in my opinion) crazy...Toyota makes a great car, don't get me wrong, but the five hundred is total class and performance. What a car!

 

[user 62394]

It seems to me that Ford has lost a large chunk of consumer confidence. Renaming it just seems desperate, like Ford is trying to pull a fast one, a bait and switch.



"You didn't like it as a 500, but you'll love it as a Taurus!".



C'mon, people are dumb, but they're not that dumb, are they?

 

[gary s]

they are renaming it because after a few years the residule will be 500 bucks

btw, i had a 96 taurus with the optional v-6 ( if i remember 200hp ). it was a nice car and i thought it looked good as well. earlier on the taurus and escort were a bonus for ford as well as being inexpensive and reliable, but they lost "focus" as the years went on. in the late 80's and early 90's, ford was on its game, but since have fell out of the game because of poor planning to compete with the imports. tom, your not going to like this but i feel the unions

are to blame as well for not helping in a time of desperation.

 

[blksn8k]

The 500 is being redesigned for 2008.



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[tom prudhomme]

C'mon, people are dumb, but they're not that dumb, are they?

People ain't the smartest humans on the earth... ...long day...



Renaming that turd a Taurus may achieve a small sales goal. People are stupid, and some stupid people will fall for that tactic.

 

[Dre L]

Better than naming it:



"Longshot"

"Hope"

"Please"



If you ask me, these are the steps to make Ford a success:



Eliminate the Mercury brand, re-brand all Mercury dealerships FORD.



At every even dealership, sell FORD, Lincoln, Volvo, Mazda. At every odd dealership sell Jaguar, Land Rover, Aston Martin. At every dealership which is a prime number, build an automall which sells Ford, Lincoln, Volvo, Mazda, Jaguar, Land Rover, Aston Martin.



Get better dealers, get better service departments. Find mechanics that actually find and fix the problem, rather than rely on "idiot guides to Ford vehicles".



Apologize to all customers for the past 20 years.



Promise every Mustang will capture the spirit of a Mustang, and deliver on performance.



FORD: Focus, Taurus, Crown Vic (cops, cabs), Mustang, Explorer / Sport Trac, Ranger, F Series.



Lincoln: Town Car (cabs limos), Full Size, Navigator.



Mazda: Zoom 3, Zoom 6, Zoom 9, all turbocharged, all to rival any ricer.



Jaguar: $80,000 and up only.



Range Rover: $80,000 and up only



Aston Martin: Yeah, have those, make 100 per year, make the rich have death matches over them.



SVT: Bring SVT back, limited edtions, 100 model, per year.



Advertising:



"Ford, We're sorry, and we're going to win you back."



"Lincoln, You'll love being driven around in our cars."



"Jaguar, you'd better be rich."



"Range Rover, because some British prick is driving around in one."



"Aston Martin, you'd better be richer than everyone else."



"Volvo, If you get hit by a Ridgeline, you'll survive in any car. In a Volvo, you'll even survive getting hit by a Ford Truck."



"Mazda, Vin Diesel's our bi*ch. Hey Subaru, Hey Mitsubishi... PWNED"



"Mustang, the most widely recognized tail lights by drivers of other sports cars."

 

[WXMotorSports DecalsPartsAccs]

Ford probably paid and outside marketing firm 1M to come up with that great idea...LOL

 

[Tom Schindler]

tom, your not going to like this but i feel the unions are to blame as well for not helping in a time of desperation.

You can have you opinion. You can't blame the guys that build them when they are given 20 year old designs and the CEo's make more in 3 minutes then the guys that build the product make in a year.





Tom

 

[A K]

You can't blame the guys that build them when they are given 20 year old designs and the CEo's make more in 3 minutes then the guys that build the product make in a year.

But the exercise in finger pointing is no help, either. The captain blamed the crew. The crew blamed the captain. The ship still sunk...

 

[Ryan Schaecher]

I still drive my 96 Taurus. Tranny is a bit shaky (always has been though), but other than that, it's been solid.



I've had it since 2000. My uncle was the origional owner. In 7 years (as of Super Bowl weekend) I've put two starters on, front rotors, idler pulley and serpentine belt.... THAT'S IT. That car has cost me less than my 02 ST.



The Taurus used to be the leader in design innovation.... 1992, 1996, 2000, died in 2006. All banner years for styling concepts. I remember when the 96's came out and everyone was agahst with the oval everything. No corners anywhere in the car, including the radio bezel and A/C controls and vents. It was the next year that every car was curved with no corners. Now we've moved back to boxy, sharp lines, etc.



Bottom line, if the story is true, the 500 is kaput. The Taurus is back. Bold Move? Anything is better than nothing. At least they are "trying". The best thing they could do is put a hybrid or all-electric drive train in the Taurus and keep it under $20k for the "Eddie Bauer", Top of the Line edition. An economical, relatively cheap "American Made" car would sell like crazy as long as maintainence wasn't horrid.



Fat chance



I like my Taurus. It's usually my daily driver. 28-30 mpg is nearly 1.5x the ST. It's also paid for, and has been since 3 months after I bought it. Cheap insurance, cheap maintainence, etc. It's going to be in my garage until it gives up the ghost, then I may just buy another used one.... 1999-2001 or so. Good enough car. If the 2008's or whatevers run as well or better, they may save Ford's bacon once again.

 

[Thomas Rogers]

And I quote:

I've got hostages here!



My demands?



Simple!



I want a million dollars, and a jet plane.



Oh, and I want a new car. I want it to be big and get really sh!tty gas mileage!