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Mulally says new Ford Taurus coming next year
click above for more high-res pics of the 2008 Ford Taurus Limited
At the Automotive News World Congress in Detroit, Ford CEO Alan Mulally revealed that the automaker would be introducing a new Taurus sedan next year to replace the one that has failed to meet sales expectations despite a number of substantial improvements and a new name. Mulally said in his speech, "The new Taurus is the one we should have made originally." He clearly concedes that the current Taurus is not what the market wants, but as to what Ford should have made originally, we can't say with confidence what he's referring to. The current Taurus is a supremely competent sedan wrapped in a supremely ho-hum package, so we expect next year's Ford Taurus to be more stylish inside and out, as well as be made available with a range of turbocharged, direct-inject EcoBoost engines to augment the currently available 3.5L V6.
Mulally also reiterated in his speech Ford's intent to commonize platforms and models that are sold across the pond from one another. He even specifically mentioned the Ford Focus, saying it would eventually be the same as the European Focus. We've been wanting a hard date for when this will happen, as enthusiasts in the U.S. have been wailing with fists for the Euro version of the Focus to be sold in the U.S. since it debuted. While a firm time-table still eludes us, at least we have confirmation that one day our Focus will be as cool as theirs.
[Source: The Detroit News]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 5)
Nightwing 9:42PM (1/23/2008)
I love the Interceptor and MKR concepts. Lincoln is throwing the face of the MKR on the MKT so maybe we can get the Interceptor on the 500/Taurus body. If they offer a V8 you can say bye-bye to the Crown Victoria because all the cops will want to drive this new machine. Of course, if this did end up being true then the '09 Taurus will have rightfully moved itself back into the king of fleet sales!
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Mike 12:27PM (1/28/2008)
Dave, i have owned 5 Toyotas and they really are trouble free. I owned two Buicks, a 90 Lesabre and a 96 Park Avenue and they were very problematic. the Park Avenue, which needed a new intake gaskets and the lesabre which required a replacement too many parts to list. After driving GM cars, i switched to Toyota, and im very impressed with all of them. Just no problems! you may also know that eversince japanese cars like Toyota were introduced, GM , Ford And Chrysler were starting to loose sales rapidly all because of Japanese quality.
As far as octogenarian, your probably one yourself; you can go F**k yourself smart a**.
Lo 12:16AM (1/27/2008)
I have seen images concept images, it is breathtaking! Beats the current design by a miles.
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fbeg 8:51PM (3/23/2008)
Lo, you said on your post at autoblog that you have seen images of the next Taurus in concept form. Can you tell us what it looks like? Where did you see the concept images?
fbeg 8:07PM (1/27/2008)
Can someone please put some photos of the next Taurus on the web site or tell us what it looks like?
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Mike 6:57PM (1/30/2008)
I didnt mean to hurt your feelings. Sorry if i did.
I think you are making a mistake here, buddy. These are two different cars that look way different from each other. The avalon looks more like a bigger brother to the camry. Looks nothing like a sebring. Ya sure you werent drinkin?
you remember this time in such detail because you were probably left in the dust by you know what..
Thats right, the Avalon.
Jeremy B 3:47AM (1/30/2008)
Yes! please make it RWD, to compete with the G8 and charger, instead of trying to make a companion to dat pussy ass avalon!!!
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Frank 5:40PM (11/14/2008)
My parents are on their second Five Hundred right now, and they absolutely adore it. I can see why - it's very safe (Volvo platform, lots of airbags), it's very comfortable and spacious, huge cargo capacity, all-wheel-drive, decent fuel economy, and even more. I can see why they love it: I have driven that car at 130kph through a heavy thunderstorm, and it is completely planted on the road with great tires, a flawless AWD system and a decent engine.
Though I talk about buying a German car nowadays, I would be very tempted to pick up a 2010 Taurus ST. That thing will be a larger, cheaper, faster Audi S4 with a Ford badge on the front. Not to mention more spacious and much, much cheaper to maintain.
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roselinke 7:11PM (8/12/2009)
wow...seems like the ford taurus has come a long way.
y'all might be interested in this story over here:
http://onthebutton.wordpress.com/2009/08/10/new-taurus/
have a look...
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Taylor 2:03PM (1/22/2008)
New 500, got it.
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Mercury Fan Forever 2:03PM (1/22/2008)
I am looking forward to seeing the new Taurus.
I hope a new Mercury Sable will be brought out to.
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DDL 2:41PM (1/22/2008)
Interesting that he said only new Taurus...
Daniel 3:35PM (1/22/2008)
Hey Allen: This aint rocket science. Just use the current Taurus platform - add a range of engine choice including "TwinForce" with EcoBoost Technology" and a hybrid, and style it like the European Ford Sport Sedans and guess what 0- you have a major winner!!!
Now just do it.
The current Taurus is a nice car with very nice mechanicals and the styling is a zero. Give ti some friggin style!
MCS05 2:03PM (1/22/2008)
I spoke with a Ford engineer on Saturday at a birthday party. He said the new Taurus was "awesome".
We'll see.
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Nellydesign 2:27PM (1/22/2008)
He's not lying. Seen it and it rocks my socks.
DDL 2:35PM (1/22/2008)
Does it stay on the D2 platform? They wouldn't slip in a Falcon based RWD car, would they? If so, its the best kept secret in the world.
Strange how they can somehow turn out a new Taurus so quickly after the 500 --> Taurus II transformation, yet the MKS and Flex seem to be taking FOREVER to hit the market.
MasterCKO 2:45PM (1/22/2008)
DDL:
I bet they were planning this new car to be the new design post-500 design, but made the quickie 500->Taurus II change as a stop-gap (that ended up not really working). Unless, of course, their plan was to utterly bore the market with the new Taurus so they could blindside it with the awesomeness of the even newer Taurus. Then it was a wild success. 8^P
BTW, way to hold keep it this secret Ford. If it's really good, it might genuinely surprise the American consumer. I'm pretty curious to see what it looks like.
naggs 3:32PM (1/22/2008)
now i am curious
Timmbo 5:46PM (1/22/2008)
Cool! It would be tough keeping insider secrets like that.
I'll never understand why they make those great products over in Europe and send us crap design -- albeit good quality, but certainly not inspiring.
Ford should do what Saturn is doing with Opel.
Polly Prissy Pants 3:53PM (1/22/2008)
What's a Ford engineer supposed to say, that it sucks? Since it's only a year away I can't imagine it being much different but I guess we'll see. With that said, the 1st thing they need to do is give it back the 500 name. Taurus just reeks of cheap rental sedan. Is anyone proud to own a Taurus, no matter what the actual car is like?