The Taurus reborrn! Ford may dump Five Hundred name
Click on the image for a gallery of images of the Five Hundred/Taurus?
Ameritech/SBC/AT&T/BellSouth spent the better part of a decade and hundreds of millions of dollars marketing the Cingular brand and dumping the AT&T Wireless name only to turn around and drop the new name and return to AT&T. Ford dropped the Taurus name after more than twenty years when they introduced the Fusion and Five Hundred.
Now hot on the heels of a post here about whether car names really matter much, comes a story from Dow Jones Newswire that Ford may reverse course again and rename the facelifted 2008 Five Hundred to Taurus. Sudden name changes are not new to Ford. Consider how the Lincoln Zephyr became the MKZ after just one year on the market and the Aviator became the MKX only months before its introduction. So far, Ford is not publicly commenting, but it seems doubtful that any name change will affect the fortunes of the big Ford sedan.
The official name change is reportedly going to take place tomorrow at the Chicago Auto Show. Stay tuned.
UPDATE: We asked Ford if the story was true, the official response received was: "We have not made any official announcements regarding our Chicago Auto Show news. Stay tuned for tomorrow's press conference." We figured we'd get a non-answer like that, which is clearly not a "no." In addition, the Freep's now reporting that the rename will indeed happen tomorrow, according to a source they have at Ford.
[Source: Dow Jones Newswire via Smartmoney.com]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 5)
jon 3:44PM (2/07/2007)
The 08 update is going to fix it's only real flaw: the powertrain. The 3.0L V6 and CVT is a big turnoff to buyers (underpowered, weird tranny). The new grill is a questionable update, since the car is for conservative buyers. If it is a better driver and still priced right, it should gain sales - if Ford starts advertising it again...
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Tom 9:35AM (2/06/2007)
I've had two Taurus's previously and loved them. I was a little disappointed to see the Taurus go away. I've been to NAIAS and checked out the 2008 Five Hundred and thought the new make over was really nice. If this does become the Taurus, I would take definite consideration.
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Avinash machado 9:36AM (2/06/2007)
True. A name change might not do much for the sales of the Five Hundred. However it will be nice to have that name back at least for nostalgic reasons.
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Gardiner Westbound 9:47AM (2/06/2007)
The frequent and sometimes silly name changes waste the millions spent establishing the previous name and undercut public confidence in Ford management. It's marketing by whim.
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gices 11:19AM (2/06/2007)
Well sometimes a name change allows the company to re-market a car where the sales have not been so good. It would cost too much to have a different design or different features, so i guess re-branding makes sense in these cases.
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Scott Schneider 10:13AM (2/06/2007)
Gardiner is right- what a waste of effort and $$$ spent on marketing the 500. Why they let the Taurus name die is another question. Does the 500 even compare to the old Taurus?
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BartMack 10:01AM (2/06/2007)
I agree that Ford's monicker reversals tend to undermine their credibility, but I won't make fun of this time as it really seems to upset David and Ben.
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Vega 10:07AM (2/06/2007)
@Tom: And if the same car is named five hundred, you don't take in into consideration? WTF? You're every badge engineer's dream customer...
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CJ 9:57AM (2/06/2007)
Tom, I hope you are kidding. (that you would consider a car because they put a different nameplate on)
This is typical Ford waffling and just shows more of Ford's lack of marketing focus. I didn't think the F/E naming convention on all their cars was an awful idea. I should have made the cars easy to remember, like the Focus, the Fusion, the Five Hundred, the Fown Victoria and the Fustang.
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Michael Karesh 9:59AM (2/06/2007)
"Five Hundred" was a bad idea, but renaming what is obviously the same car will seem quite odd. If they'd more substantially restyled it this would fly.
So, how many parts will need new moulds?
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Campbell53 10:08AM (2/06/2007)
Well...I believe this is Mr. Mulally's influence. He was quoted as saying last fall that the 500 should have been the Taurus all along (which is logical but logic is not one of Ford's strengths). I think he is righting the typical Ford wrongs one at a time. This is just a little more public than most.
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roadside observer 10:08AM (2/06/2007)
This is ridiculousness at its best. Talk about grasping for straws; this is worse than renaming the Zephyr as the MKZ.
I'll be surprised if Mulally goes along with this.
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Chris 10:21AM (2/06/2007)
Hopefully, Mulally will nix this stupid idea. Here's a better solution:
1. Never name another car Taurus. Ever.
2. Axe the Five Hundred completely. It's still ugly as sin.
3. Axe Mercury completely. No one cares anymore.
4. Offer a more luxurious version of the Fusion with better trim and interior.
5. Anyone who wants to go beyond the Fusion can go to Lincoln, which will offer bigger and more luxurious models.
This will do two things: Save money by cutting repetitive models and divisions, and focus the brands to their respective markets. Renaming the Five Hundred the Taurus is only going to confuse customers and muddy the water with competing models.
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Richard 10:10AM (2/06/2007)
Um!
Re-naming this the Taurus will bring a smile to the face of fleet managers around the world.
They'll be checking the Taurus box frequently - again - with glee!
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AntBee 10:21AM (2/06/2007)
Wouldn't this be a slap in the face to the people who worked in the now closed Atlanta plant where the original Taurus was built? I would say so. Does anyone know where the Five Hundred is built?
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ryan 10:22AM (2/06/2007)
Man, lighten up on the dude that would buy this car under the Taurus name. This happens everyday and not just with automobiles.
I know a few people that would not buy a Acura RSX due to the fact it was no longer called "integra".
Same thing, cooler car, lighten up.
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rrr 10:23AM (2/06/2007)
#1 Help me understand something. You will not a 500 buy you will buy a Taurus...KNOWING FULL WELL that it is the same car.
You do realize that if Ford did not drop the name Taurus, the car you see on the picture (500) would have been that car.
It's like saying Oh Saturn Outlook is a terrible car but GMC Acadia is great....IT'S THE SAME CAR.
Look i understand is some sap who knows nothing about cars says what you said, he may have had great experience with a Taurus and he really likes their cars. But you just read that article, "rename the facelifted 2008 Five Hundred to Taurus."
There's only one difference between 500 and Taurus..one name uses numbers, other uses letters. If Ford simply chose not to drop the name Taurus the very same car that is now 500 would have been Taurus.....THE VERY SAME CAR
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ryan 10:24AM (2/06/2007)
I think people think to highly of the Taurus name sometimes.
Everybody under 30 thinks they are for people over 90!
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AntBee 10:25AM (2/06/2007)
Mercury has been unavailable in Canada for a few years now. I don't think anyone misses it, maybe except for the people who like the Marquis.
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D-Dog 10:31AM (2/06/2007)
Lets see, if you put the twin turbo 3.5L V6 in it with AWD, you have a modern day SHO. Maybe they could call it the Taurus SHT (Super Hot Turbo?)!
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