The current Ford Taurus is a safe and reliable vehicle with plenty of space for a family of five. The Taurus is also completely invisible in the large car market, due mostly to its vanilla appearance. The Blue Oval is hoping to correct this issue with the next generation Taurus, which is due in 2010. We've already seen a blurry photo of a handsome clay model back in April, and now the future Ford flagship has been spied on the street as well.
Spies have caught a well-camo'd Taurus mule undergoing testing on public roads, with a new grille and modern-looking headlights that are exactly like the model we saw earlier in the year. The test vehicle also displays the same basic shape as the model we showed you back in the spring, which carries a more subdued version of Ford of Europe's Kinetic design theme. Gone is the odd-looking bulbous greenhouse from the current model, giving the future Taurus a more modern appearance.
According to MotorTrend, front- and all-wheel-drive variants will be available, and power will be provided the new EcoBoost engines, with a possible SHO revival packing the same turbocharged mill found in the Lincoln MKR concept.
Click above to view high-res gallery of crash-tested Ford Taurus
Ford has been very quiet about what it will have onstage at the New York Auto Show tomorrow, but one vehicle we do know that will be under the lights is the Ford Taurus. While there will certainly be a number of Taurus models waxed, polished and placed just so in Ford's display at the Jacob Javits Center, one in particular will be a mess. Ford will display a crash-tested Taurus in New York to show off the big car's five-star rating for frontal and side crash tests from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Unlike the mangled Celica that used to sit outside your highschool at prom time, the crash-tested Taurus on display in New York will be interactive. Show goers will be allowed to sit in the post-crash Taurus to see what a crash test dummy sees after a 35-mph meet up with an offset concrete barrier. Looking at the pic above, it is pretty impressive that the passenger compartment remains untouched after such an event. We're looking forward to our seat time with this one, though any trip to the Autoblog Garage might necessitate a tow truck.
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.
click above image to view complete high-res gallery of the 2008 Ford Taurus
Ford knew what it was doing handing me the keys to a 2008 Ford Taurus Limited AWD. I'm a self-professed Taurus fan, counting the 1991 Ford Taurus SHO Plus as one of my favorite cars of all time. I consider the Taurus one of the most influential cars in the history of the American auto industry. I even read a book about it called "Car: A Drama of the American Workplace" by Mary Walton. That makes me, like, an expert on the subject. Unfortunately, by the time production of the Taurus ended in late October of 2006, it had come to represent Ford's over-reliance on fleet sales rather than its cutting edge innovation.
When a CEO from Kansas named Alan Mulally took over as CEO of Ford last September, one of his first actions in office was to announce that the Taurus name would return in 2008, replacing the forgettable Five-Hundred and Freestyle badges affixed to Ford's large sedan and wagon. So here we are, reviewing the 2008 Ford Taurus, and along with a new name, it's got an updated design and more powerful engine. Does the new Taurus do the old one any justice? More importantly, is it a better car than the Five-Hundred it replaces? All those questions and more will be answered after the jump.
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.
Ford is learning change is not always a good thing when it comes to selling cars. Ford's dealers sold Taurus' for 20 years until the company ditched that name and began selling the Five Hundred. Until February, of course, when the Five Hundred became the Taurus again. At most dealerships.
Winding Roadreports that CNW Marketing shopped around and found about 20-percent of Ford salespeople still trying to sell Five Hundreds instead of the revived Taurus. And another 60-percent of the sales team usually call it a Taurus, but occasionally let slip the old name.
We agree with Winding Road that Ford needs to get a handle on this. No matter how good the product, if your sales force can't even remember the proper name, how are the buyers supposed to? Personally, when I'm shopping for a car, if I know more about the car than the the person selling it, I walk. And if they can't get the name right, how am I supposed to believe them when they tell me the Taurus is the best car available? Come on folks, you've had six months to get used to Taurus rolling off the tongue, get out there and sell some cars.
If your Ford sales staff is having trouble keeping the two names straight, feel free to print our handy Field Guide to the Ford Taurus above.
Starting at just $23,995, the 2008 Ford 500 Taurus will undercut the base Toyota Avalon and Chrysler 300 by thousands of dollars when it reaches showrooms this summer. Available in SEL or the more heavily optioned Limited model, all Tauruses will feature the new corporate 3.5-liter V6 pumping out 263 hp and 249 lb.-ft torque. Both trim levels will also feature a six-speed automatic transmission and plenty of standard equipment. Front, seat and side curtain airbags, tire pressure monitors, traction control, CD stereo with MP3-player jack, 17" aluminum wheels, and fog lamps are standard across the board.
If you want to add a 6-disc CD changer, dual-zone electronic automatic temperature control, wiper-activated headlamps with auto on/off, 8-way power driver's seat and wood grain accents, the optional Interior Convenience Package bumps the price to a still attractive $24,890. Other major options include GPS/DVD systems, stability control, moonroof, 18" rims, and Ford's new SYNC system. And if you're looking for AWD, the Taurus comes in about five grand below the cheapest Chrysler 300, at $25,845.
While the debate rages on around whether or not returning the Taurus name to Ford's lineup will do anything to help improve sales of this large sedan, we've had our fun imagining what different versions Ford could produce. First there was the Taurus Heritage Edition that actually won over a lot of readers with its nod to nostalgia, and then there was our first post on a possible resurrection of the SHO model.
While we're of the mind that the return of the Taurus will improve sales, or at least not hurt them, there are some who argue that the Taurus is, was and always will be a rental car. For them, Galvin, the artist who rendered our first two Taurus models, has created this, the ultimate Taurus rental car for the new millennium, complete with many square feet of unpainted black plastic, anonymous wheel covers and an offset Blue Oval that lets everyone know the driver is a little off, as well. While we wouldn't go so far as to say the Five-Hundred/Taurus is our favorite large sedan in the segment, we wish it well in 2008 and beyond and hope its future doesn't come to this.
Ford has opened itself up to a lot of ridicule lately, not the least of which is for its decision to resurrect the recently deceased Taurus name for the 2008 model year. Never ones to let their arch enemy off the hook, the GM fanboy community over at Cheers and Gears has produced these "mock" press materials regaling the return of the original Taurus' intoxicating allure. We can only imagine its authors trying to complete the project while doubled over on the floor laughing, which was our initial reaction when we first saw it. We have to give them credit, however, for getting all the details right, including the peek-a-boo Ford emblem, two-tone paint job, cornering light and those wheels, oh those wheels. The accompanying fake press release is not to be missed; you can find it after the jump.
Our men on the ground have left the building, weary from a long day of press conferences, bad coffee and pointy-elbowed photographers. Wednesday has turned out to be a resounding success, with the introductions of the Pontiac G8, Volkswagen R32, Alpina B7, the Ford Five-Hundred Taurus (plus it's X counterpart) and the Mercury Montego Sable. If you haven't had the chance yet, be sure to check out the galleries and, if you're into watching the sausage made, you can view the press conferences that we were able to record via this new fangled gadget called a video camera. Amazing stuff, really.
We'll be back tomorrow to cover the official debuts of the new Scions, the Rondo concept and a few other surprise unveilings. In the meantime, click on through for anything and everything from Chicago. We're gonna get some rest.
The current Ford Taurus is a safe and reliable vehicle with plenty of space for a family of five. The Taurus is also completely invisible in the large car market, due mostly to its vanilla appearance. The Blue Oval is hoping to correct this issue with the next generation Taurus, which is due in 2010. We've already seen a blurry photo of a handsome clay model back in April, and now the future Ford flagship has been spied on the street as well. 
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