Filed under: Sedans/Saloons, Marketing/Advertising, Ford, Earnings/Financials
Ruh-roh: New name hasn't helped Ford Taurus sales
The 2008 Ford Taurus isn't the running bull it once was or was intended to be -- at least, not yet. Combined sales of the 2007 Five Hundred and new 2008 Taurus -- with its new name, new engine and refreshed design -- were down 3.2-percent in August and a brow-raising 30.1-percent in September versus those same months in 2006.
Ford gave several reasons for the decline: last year's models came with 0-percent financing for 72 months, this year's car's come with 5.9-percent for 60 months. The company also ceased advertising during the end-of-summer clearance sales ads, thinking the car might not get proper attention amid the shouting. And, the full-sized sedan market has been soft this year as car buyers move to smaller, more fuel-efficient cars.
As of this month, an additional $500 has been added to the $1,000 in incentives for the car. Admittedly, though, the new Taurus is still being launched, since it only went on sale in July. With an eye on selling 60,000 Tauruses in the car's first year, Ford sales analyst George Pipas said "the retail sales trend is in a positive direction, and that's good."
Look for our In the Autoblog Garage review of the 2008 Ford Taurus soon.
[Source: Auto News, sub req'd]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
PakieMak 3:02PM (10/08/2007)
It just got released. I love the look of the Taurus, but I can't seem to trade-in my Fusion. It's been so good to me...
And in this US economy, nothing is really a "success" when it comes to vehicles and houses.
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simianspeedster 3:53PM (10/08/2007)
"And in this US economy, nothing is really a "success" when it comes to vehicles and houses."
Pah! This is simply untrue. There are several manufacturers with hot cars on their hands right now.
The new Minis are selling well again. Some of the new Jeep models are selling very well. The Toyota Tundra is selling 40%+ better than its predecessor. The Honda Fit is doing quite well.
People are still buying cars, but Ford unquestionably bungled this car. Had it come with the better engine, slightly more daring styling and a cohesive naming/marketing startegy from the beginning, it would probably be selling much better today.
This is a case where bad product management is to blame.
-SimianSpeedster
psarhjinian 7:27PM (10/08/2007)
I agree. Ford screwed up in promoting this car. It's the roomiest, safest and best-riding in it's class. It's adequately powered, despite what many say and is much, much better than the GM W-Bodies or pedestrian-trim Chrysler LX cars. Consumer Reports quite liked it. Of course, Ford didn't do anything with any of this: either they had no money to advertise it, or they hadn't the brains.
My vote would be for the latter. This was the same Ford that switched the Zephyr to the MKZ moniker after less than a year. They had no plan and were floundering badly, throwing anything against the wall that might stick. The only reason that they sold any cars at all is that, well, the product is pretty good.
"Taurus" has brand cachet like "Cavalier" does. Sure, people recognize it, but not for the right reasons. Only people who live in an absolute ivory tower (ie, who don't remember how the Taurus' market equity was erased by mediocrity) would think it was a good idea.
rv 8:57PM (10/08/2007)
Lucky you. I had the misfortune of renting a Fusion in Maui - broke down, missed by best friend's wedding. Yeah, great car - must be hard to get rid of. Test drive some other cars, my friend - that thing drives like junk - the body roll, unresponsive engine, cheap plastics, can't say anything good about it other than there was a nice little extra glove box above the cheap console. When its running... ANYTHING would be an upgrade. A Camry seems like a luxury car. WHY did you get a Ford? Ay, ay ay...
Level 3:20PM (10/08/2007)
I still say they should of kept the fivehundred name since they got the new higher hp engine which was the problem with the fivehundred it had a weak engine for such a big car, even the Fusion had a higher hp V6 availible......taurus puts a bad taste in my mouth...
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FrankTheCrank 3:26PM (10/08/2007)
Drop that dowdy looking beast and bring over the sexy Mondeo from Europe.
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Chad 3:29PM (10/08/2007)
The Taurus has the rep of being a grandpa wagon. Boring. Yes I know there is a SHO verson. :P
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doug 3:34PM (10/08/2007)
The Taurus is just getting started where I work. We didn't even have any until last month, but we sold 3 in the last week. Too bad Ford has only sent us loaded Taurus X's at $35k. Ouch.
Ford really seems to be letting sales fall to a natural level. Even with crappy September sales, October incentives barely budged, and on some cars actually got worse. Short term this sucks, but longer term it will help sales as people realize that buying a Ford doesn't mean losing your shirt on depreciation like it used to.
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SPG 3:38PM (10/08/2007)
Calling it a Taurus seemed like a terrible idea from day one. Calling it the "Ford 550" even seems like a better idea.
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LJ 3:44PM (10/08/2007)
I drove the old 500, my only complaint was in a tight parking lot, the turning radius was not good.
Felt like a boat, in a car lot.
Also.... as soon as Fusion was released, they raised the MSRP(overnight!) 1000 dollars! I know. I drive by the place daily...ands when the Fusion came out(also drove one of those... it's decent, Sonata/Optima- like)and noticed the 1K price bump.
As for this car.. if i had to have a "larger" car... I'd wait for a sale, and get an Azera, for 20-21K, on sale.
Ford makes acceptable products, but nothing that makes me want to run to a dealership and give them my money.
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Robert Aitchison 3:46PM (10/08/2007)
Toss the hybrid powertrain from the Escape into there and push the mileage into the high 30s/low 40s and you'd have a winner no matter what you called it, especially for the wagon (X)
Also a 4cyl option with a manual transmission to get the mileage into the high 20s/low 30s at a low entry price.
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rjmhotrod 4:21PM (10/08/2007)
I'm not sure I would want a car that size powered by a 4 cyl. But then again, my first car was a '78 Impala with the weak, detuned 305 V8 and it wasn't terrible.
Recently, my Freestar was in the shop for an extended period and I was provided a rental in the meantime. It was an '06 Fusion with the 4 cyl. The power was adequate until I had to put my foot down to pass someone. I pushed the pedal all the way to the floor and it took a LONG time to find the right gear and get motivated to move. In fact, I thought the car had stalled for about a half second. In writing, this delay time doesn't sound like much, but in real life it's dangerous. Careful planning when overtaking (passing) another vehicle is essential with the 4 cyl in the Fusion. Put it in the Taurus and you wouldn't catch me dead in it. Or maybe you would.
BTW, if the rest of Ford's lineup is as unreliable as our Freestar has been, then Ford deserves to go bankrupt.
Robert Aitchison 5:27PM (10/08/2007)
Yeah I think the manual transmission would be essential for the 4 cylinder to get decent performance, otherwise the torque converter would make the last Taurus seem like an F1 car.
Historically a 4 cylinder OR a manual transmission would be a sales killer in the U.S. but the desire for mileage is here and not going anywhere. Plus this thing would be pretty cheap to make which would benefit Ford in the "starting at $$$" competitive comparison (maybe even get the MSRP a hair under $20k)
Also, if they wanted to they could turbocharge the 2.3 and get more modest mileage gains at the same performance level (or greater) as the V6, of course Ford of North America is deathly afraid of turbos so that's unlikely as well.
Ligor 6:05PM (10/08/2007)
considering Ford is buying the hybrid tech from Toyota, maybe they have signed a contract not allowing them to put it in a car in similar size to the Camry, and maybe that is why Nissan only sells the Altima in only 8 states.
Tagg 9:15PM (10/08/2007)
Ford has bought nothing from Toyota. They have paid lisencing fees because the technologies are similar and since Toyota made it to the market first they filed the patent. Ford and Toyota have no financial agreement regarding hybrid technology and its placement.
What I don't get is why Ford hasn't put that hybrid system in more product such as the Fusion or even a Ranger. A hybrid Ranger with some styling upgrades could be a nice PR boost for Ford and get people to notice them again because I strongly feel Ford has a good (not great) lineup.
Fred 3:52PM (10/08/2007)
I saw a commercial recently made by a local Ford dealer. When mentioning the Taurus, they showed a video of the previous generation Taurus. It seems like even the dealer doesn't know the new Taurus exists!
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Jim In Tampa 3:55PM (10/08/2007)
I seem to remember that when it was announced that the Five Hundred would be renamed "Taurus", a lot of posters here at Autoblog said that wouldn't help sales.
Right again, Autobloggers!
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Stéphane Dumas 4:21PM (10/08/2007)
I wonder what if the 500 was originally launched and called Taurus from the beginning if the story could had been different? Then a better transition like "Taurus 500" in a name-game similar to Galaxie 500, Custom 500, Fairlane 500....
Jason G. 4:23PM (10/08/2007)
Wow, what a shocker. The problem was and still is not necessarily the nomenclature...though I don't think bringing back the Taurus name was the best business decision. The design is the problem. From the moment the Five Hundred hit the streets it was already outdated. The thing looks like a late 90's Volkswagen Passat. Ford needs to stop being so conservative in their designs and start making vehicles that are not only better built, but actually appeal to buyers.
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Atomicbri 5:09PM (10/08/2007)
Thank You Jason, I couldn't agree more. It was outdated from the word go and it does look like an old Passat. The problem with Ford is they rely too much on marketing study groups and all.... I think they need to just MAKE A CAR, screw what the focus groups say. Make something nice, memorable and reliable, but says you are proud to buy American. I knew the name change would not do anything for it. When the original Taurus came out, it was radical for its time. This should have been the FIve Hundred/Taurus:
http://gadgetcrunch.net/wp-content/uploads/2006/12/1-ford-interceptor-concept.jpg
Then maybe it would have been a hit. Stupid stupid Ford.