What's New Is Old Again: 2010 Ford Taurus launching with incentives
2010 Ford Taurus – Click above for high-res image gallery
The new 2010 Ford Taurus may share nothing mechanically with the model that ended production a few years ago, but it will launch this September with one thing in common: incentives. A poster car for rental fleets, the last-generation Taurus was being sold with rebates of between $3,000 and $4,000 before Ford stopped selling it to retail customers altogether. The new Taurus, despite being better in every way and touted as the brand's new halo sedan, will go on sale with an early-order incentive offering $500 to buyers who receive their car by September 1 and an additional $1,000 cash rebate on all but the base model Taurus.
The new Taurus shouldn't be judged too harshly for launching with money on its hood. Poor sales can't be blamed, because none have been sold yet. The incentives are meant to kick off Taurus sales and get the numbers up to where they might have been had the economy not gone sour. And to ensure the new Taurus doesn't wind up clogging rental fleet lots like the last one, Ford has stated that it will keep rental sales in the single- or low-double-digit range.
Gallery: 2010 Ford Taurus
[Source: Automotive News, sub. req'd]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 4)
Timsvtgen1 5:03PM (6/19/2009)
Yea, go on a rental lot right now, Fords are WAYYYY less common then they were before.. Lots of Nissans and Toyotas.
Reply
Luis 5:04PM (6/19/2009)
and Hyundais and Kias. And of course G6s with faulty locks like the one we had last month.
Randy 1:48PM (6/20/2009)
Interestingly. One of the major factors of previously lower resale values on domestic automobiles was their use in rental fleets. Oh how the tides are going to change even more....
In other words, I'd imagine the resale value of the cars being used (whatever they be) will be lower. So Toyota, Honda, Nissan, Kia etc will all end up with lower resale values.
arturo 5:07PM (6/19/2009)
I am already seen a lot of fusions in the road. It feels nice to see people buying this beautiful cars, instead of ugly toyota's and nissans.
Ford 4th generation Taurus was nothing to brag about but this new one it is. I hope it sells well.
Reply
Mr.Oak 2:58PM (6/20/2009)
It is a beautiful car. This car makes the MKS look really frumpy. There is no way that I would buy the MKS over the Taurus.
Farmboy 5:23PM (6/19/2009)
In all honesty, as retarded as this may be, it could be effective. It would be like test-driving the new Taurus but for a little longer. This could spark more sales...
Reply
Blake Luttrell 5:41PM (6/19/2009)
This is a fantastic, gorgeous car and I hope it sells very well.
Reply
Harley Cook 5:38PM (6/19/2009)
It looks very big and very boring.....yawn.
Reply
Dave 5:44PM (6/19/2009)
Ugh, this looks like a crossover. Looks like Venza actually has a competitor!
Reply
Andy 5:44PM (6/19/2009)
Why not just lower the base price?
Reply
Len_A 7:13PM (6/19/2009)
Because "rebates" get customers attention more, silly as it sounds. That why all the mainstream automakers, Japanese and Korean included, all use incentives. Toyota is running $400 rebates on the Venza in my area.
bssplayr 9:32PM (6/19/2009)
Rebates help move cars off the dealer lots. While lowering the base price might do that as well, it also has the side-effect of lowering the resale value as well.
audi_arena 9:30AM (6/20/2009)
I can attest to this: there is no one dumber than the american consumer. As a salesperson, it's common knowledge that the customer's perception of a "good deal" usually has nothing to do with the actual price of the car, but instead how much negotiating they feel they have accomplished. (which is why we are forced to go through the big dumb act of going to our managers and coming back with counter offers... blah blah blah)
Its a great day when I get a reasonable and well researched customer that I can actually make a smooth and easy transaction with.
Patrick 9:53AM (6/20/2009)
Because banks and finance companies, especially ones owned by the automaker, will finance cars for full MSRP (list price), incentives can be used to finance the amount that the purchaser is upside down in their current car.
Basically it makes it easier to finance people who probably shouldn't be getting financed.
Charlie 6:17PM (6/19/2009)
A round of applause for the 2010 Rental-Car-Of-The-Year!!!
Ford can make cars people would like to own. This should have been the Mondeo.
Reply
Yaroukh 6:32PM (6/19/2009)
Mondeo is Fusion-sized
AngeloD 8:35AM (6/20/2009)
""Ford can make cars people would like to own. This should have been the Mondeo""
Ford tried selling the Mondeo here in the US as the Contour and it was a complete flop.
Jim 12:30PM (6/20/2009)
"A round of applause for the 2010 Rental-Car-Of-The-Year!!!"
this article is about the Taurus, not the Sebring.
"Ford can make cars people would like to own. This should have been the Mondeo."
that happens in a couple of years when the EUCD platform merges into the North American CD3 platform. You have to keep in mind that the '10 Taurus is a substantially larger car than the EUCD Mondeo and the CD3 Fusion. It's essentially taking over for the Crown Victoria, which hasn't been sold @ retail for a couple of years now.
Tang 6:18PM (6/19/2009)
SEL trim looks better than Limited
Reply
JZeke 6:19PM (6/19/2009)
I just saw one in Chicago traffic, and I gotta say its mighty impressive. Its alot taller than I expected for starters, but also very broad shouldered. It reminds me of the proportions of classic post-war American cars, like 1940s era.
Reply