Will the Ford Taurus return?
Just when it seemed that we would never see the Taurus again, new Ford Motor Co. CEO Alan Mulally says that he was a big fan of the Taurus and even rented one on a recent business trip to check it out. His feelings date back 20 years to a research study he was doing on Ford's production system for Boeing. He has also publicly stated that the Five Hundred "should have been the next Taurus."
Over the 20-year run of the Taurus, Ford invested literally hundreds of millions of dollars building brand equity in the name, then just walked away. It's nothing new with automakers; look at what GM did with the GTO, Camaro and Firebird. The GTO has come and gone and the Camaro comeback is well underway as a completely new car; can the Firebird be far behind?
Mulally took a whimsical shot at the name game this week when he said he was still looking to drive his Lincoln Zephyr. Not to be outdone by the new guy, Ford's sales analyst chief George Pipas made a Freudian slip by referring to the Zephyr in this week's sales call.
We say go ahead and bring back the Taurus name, but not on the Five-Hundred. Hopefully there will be a new, rear-wheel drive large sedan in the product pipeline soon that will need a name, so save it for that. Besides, the name "Taurus" evokes images of charging bulls and, if you think about it, wasn't appropriate for a plebian front-wheel drive sedan.
[Source: Businessweek]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
Turbofrog 6:39PM (1/05/2007)
I think for anyone who's grown up in the past 20 years, Taurus evokes a plebian front-wheel drive sedan better than just about anything else. Perfect for the Five-Hundred.
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gsu777 10:22AM (6/20/2009)
I have a 1992 taurus
is it eligible for the cach for clunkers program?
I need to get rid of it
smooth sailin 6:42PM (1/05/2007)
How about Galaxy 500.Cause it's got space.
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David P Brown 6:44PM (1/05/2007)
*TOO SOON*
Has anyone driven a Taurus lately? I had one as a company car for about 8 months and that was 8 months WAY too long. Maybe wait 15 years and make a much better car with the Taurus name!
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Chris Rock is not Funny 9:38PM (1/05/2007)
Slow news day when a blogger can just offer empty speculation. The Taurus is dead. The Firebird is gone. Give up. The Taurus name fell apart once Ford focused on the Explorer and F-150. Get over it.
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sean 12:18AM (1/06/2007)
xactly, Ford threw away a 20 year old name for a gimicky name "Fusion" "Five Hundred". while never an excellent car, the Taurus was well known, and considered a safe buy. Taurus was a great name. Ford's worried about matching "F" names more than the consumer sould ever care..Killing the Taurus was one of Ford's biggest mistakes in this century. that car single hand saved Ford in the 80's. like i've said over nad over.. the Taurus should still be americas best selling passenger car, come on. a company as old as Ford...People actually wanted a Taurus. and Ford in all of it's wisdom let his car sit and sit untill it was basically only desired by fleets, stupid Ford...they deserve a bitch slap for that one...
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Scott 7:06PM (1/05/2007)
Re-use the Taurus name?? At least the top guy at Ford admits that some of Fords names are good sounding even if it doesn't start with an "F"....how 'bout Torino??
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Jayson 7:11PM (1/05/2007)
Seriously, why can America build Shuttle Crafts, Bombs, Intel Chips, and Boeing airplanes, but they cant build a car thats brand new every 5 years like several other companies? this is why they lose market share. Yes, the moonshine drinking trash keeps buying Fords but other people with brains that want to be impressed with technology and innovation always turn away from Ford. This is sad. As an american, I want my country to be at the forfront of the automobile indutry like it was at the dawn of the century. We can do it!
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DON SHORTRIDGE 7:20PM (1/05/2007)
I have owned a 1992 tarus bought new. as 150,000 miles on it, has been matained to the book. still looks and runs like new. it as been a great family car.
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Daniel 7:15PM (1/05/2007)
How about the Pinto II
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John P. 7:17PM (1/05/2007)
The original Taurus put Ford on the track to "overtaking" GM in sales, at least that's what everyone was saying back then as the Taurus sold 4-5hundred thousand a year.
It was a great design and a competent if not exactly great car for the time that surprised alot of people. Every Taurus refresh after that original was a step backwards, Ford beat the horse long after it was dead. The SUV craze made easy money for Ford in the meantime and the Taurus floundered. What a Shame!!!! The funny thing is, they did the exact same thing with the Focus. It did get better after the initial couple year bugs were worked out until it was a genuine Civic alternative, 10best cars every year for awhile etc,...
But, as Ford seems to do, they "freshened" up it's design, taking huge steps back each time to where it now looks like a damn '90 Escort. Never really improving it, just beating it for all it was worth, like a jockey on the backstretch of the kentucky derby riding a 20yr old fleabag. Blah, Historically, I've loved Fords, always have, but they can't do this shit anymore. Europe went a bit upscale with the Focus and we got stuck. I own a Focus and it's a good car, handles, good mileage, reliable, for 2001, when it was bought, but it's nothing like what a 2007 from Ford Focus should be.
Ok, back to the Taurus, I wish they'd bring it back. but do it right please?
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That One Person 7:21PM (1/05/2007)
I will admit the recent Taurus was no looker and wasnt exactly the best thing around...unless it was fully loaded and came with the Duratec.
I would love to see the Taurus name be used again. I am already tired of this "F" naming system. Hell, slap the Taurus name on the Five Hundred...well, when it gets the 3.5.
I say bring back the Galaxy and Torino names. How about a Maverick?
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Tool 7:24PM (1/05/2007)
This Alan Mulally seems to be a pretty bright guy. I give him a lot of credit for plain-speak which is uncommon in the ego-inflation of most Automaker CEOs.
It is a damn shame that Ford pissed away its brand equity with the Taurus. While it is true that Ford invested hundreds of million in building the Taurus brand, they under-invested in the product development. Thus, the true brand equity is nil or even negative.
I, too, have driven the Taurus at Hertz. It is the most pitiful, crude vehicle I have driven in the past 5 years. Based on that experience, I would be very hesitant to ever purchase a Ford product. (I also said that about GM products a few years ago, but some of their new products are quite good).
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Tool 7:26PM (1/05/2007)
That One Person: Great Idea to rename it "Maverick".
If Ford really is about BOLD MOVES than that would be an appropriate name. However, the might relegate that terrific name to the Interceptor concept instead.
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ak47 7:29PM (1/05/2007)
I agree that Taurus a good sounding name but it had become synonymous with "bland rental car". Maybe they could bring it back 6-7 years from now when the rental companies retire their Tarus fleets, but right now it doesn't seem much better than say Fusion in the light of its rental car past. On the other hand, I always thought that "Five Hundred" was one of the dumbest names you can give to a car. 500 is maybe ok if you really like the numeric themse, but "Five Hundred"? This must be a work of some bright, recently graduated MBA.
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JarryHames 7:57PM (1/05/2007)
Ford should have never gotten rid of the Taurus. I've known people who've owned them and they were impressed. I think that GM and Ford are notorius for building their brands on a specific car and drop it for a brand new model. This is where they screw up everytime. While Toyota and Honda continue to build on their Camry and Accord models. They constantly refine them with each new generation. Ford should have done the same thing. The Taurus was a very popular and gained popularity rather quickly. It has not been the same with the Five Hundred. It practically goes without being noticed at all. The Fusion seems to be a pretty solid car and quite popular. Let's hope that they keep it in the future and only offer refinements. I'm still waiting on the next Focus.
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whofan 8:27PM (1/05/2007)
I think the 500 is a nice car, and 500 an appropriate name for a car its` size.
The Fusion should have been the new Taurus. The Fusion is a good size agile looking car.
While the new Camry looks bloated and bulky. The new Fusion (could have been Taurus) trumps the Camry in looks reliabilty and driveabilty.
Taurus could have lived.
The 500 to Ford is more like Avilon is to Toyota.
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J Finz 1:27AM (1/06/2007)
wow jayson nice stereotypes there. I'm not moonshine drinking trash and i'm not mindlessly impressed with technology and gadgets in cars (after owning a honda with various sensor and module problems), but I think the fusion and five hundred are decent looking cars and would consider the fusion if I didn't already have aspirations for a mustang or camaro. I agree tho, the taurus name should be revived.
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iQuack 1:10AM (1/06/2007)
Makes no sense to put so much money into a name and then drop it unless the name elicits negative thoughts.
For example, Chevy shouldn't consider using the VEGA name for at least another 50 years.
Taurus was and still is a good name and the car isn't all that bad, either. The last Taurus I drove was a rented one in late 1997 and, while it had some faults, was a comfortable and pleasant car that was responsive, handled well, and had excellent brakes.
I think Ford should have given the Taurus name to what's now the Fusion. Spending millions to inform the public what a Fusion is could have been avoided by simply telling people to see the all-new Taurus.
And yes, Zephyr is a better name for a Lincoln than MKZ!
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j0rd4n 9:16PM (1/05/2007)
Re: That One Person
The Duratec was not even available until the '96MY. And do you seriously want to say that the Yamahammer-equipped bull was worse than the 'tec? Bologna. Other than that it was the Essex and Vulcan, both of which are rock-hard motors (minus the Essex head gasket problems, but I don't think those were that huge of a problem anyways).
But anyways, the bull was a looker back in it's day, read any car mag from the late 80's that mentions sedans, and I bet the bull would be mentioned as a step forward, if only for the SHO.
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