The Ford Taurus is no more. This isn't the first time we've said good-bye – Ford shuttered the model for a short time over a decade ago. The then-last Taurus was built at the Hapeville plant near Atlanta in October of 2006, and the closure of the plant followed. That silver example was then hauled to the Chick-Fil-A HQ where it joined the company founder's car collection.
A couple years later, Ford resurrected the Taurus name, slapping it onto a facelifted Five Hundred. Then, Ford gave the Taurus a real rebirth in 2010, and that's the generation that survived until yesterday, until the again-final one rolled off the Chicago plant's assembly line. You only live twice, it seems.
The Taurus was born in the '80s, as a bold new design direction for Ford took hold. The Tempo, its underling, looked somewhat similar, and there was also the Probe coupe, which dressed Mazda moving parts in an aerodynamic Ghia study derivative. There was a smooth zeitgeist to be captured, and the aero shaped sedan made competing Chevy offerings look dated. And, despite being aimed at people just wanting to get a regular car with few frills, there were Tauruses worth mentioning: a Yamaha collaboration resulted in the punchy SHO sports sedan, and the police Tauruses in Robocop films are fondly remembered by movie buffs.
The successful Taurus and its Mercury Sable sibling enjoyed a refresh for 1992, which kept their looks pretty much similar to the first iterations, but the early 1990s had Ford stewing: how to keep the Taurus fresh in the face of strong competition from the Honda Accord and Toyota Camry, both extremely well redesigned around that time? Ford's answer was the ovoid third-generation Taurus, which featured a bulbous design inside out. Customers were perplexed, which showed in sales, and that third generation car was facelifted in 2000 to look more conventional. But it was no longer groundbreaking in any way, and that eventually contributed to the Taurus's first shelving in 2006.
Even if Ford already brought the Taurus sedan back once, it's unlikely to do it again. The end of the Taurus line is due to the carmaker's gradual plan to eliminate everything but trucks, SUVs and the Mustang. Unless there is a future crossover bearing a Taurus name, the nameplate is likely to be gone for good. Well, if you don't count the Chinese market seventh generation Taurus that continues to be built, but not shipped abroad.
A couple years later, Ford resurrected the Taurus name, slapping it onto a facelifted Five Hundred. Then, Ford gave the Taurus a real rebirth in 2010, and that's the generation that survived until yesterday, until the again-final one rolled off the Chicago plant's assembly line. You only live twice, it seems.
The Taurus was born in the '80s, as a bold new design direction for Ford took hold. The Tempo, its underling, looked somewhat similar, and there was also the Probe coupe, which dressed Mazda moving parts in an aerodynamic Ghia study derivative. There was a smooth zeitgeist to be captured, and the aero shaped sedan made competing Chevy offerings look dated. And, despite being aimed at people just wanting to get a regular car with few frills, there were Tauruses worth mentioning: a Yamaha collaboration resulted in the punchy SHO sports sedan, and the police Tauruses in Robocop films are fondly remembered by movie buffs.
The successful Taurus and its Mercury Sable sibling enjoyed a refresh for 1992, which kept their looks pretty much similar to the first iterations, but the early 1990s had Ford stewing: how to keep the Taurus fresh in the face of strong competition from the Honda Accord and Toyota Camry, both extremely well redesigned around that time? Ford's answer was the ovoid third-generation Taurus, which featured a bulbous design inside out. Customers were perplexed, which showed in sales, and that third generation car was facelifted in 2000 to look more conventional. But it was no longer groundbreaking in any way, and that eventually contributed to the Taurus's first shelving in 2006.
Even if Ford already brought the Taurus sedan back once, it's unlikely to do it again. The end of the Taurus line is due to the carmaker's gradual plan to eliminate everything but trucks, SUVs and the Mustang. Unless there is a future crossover bearing a Taurus name, the nameplate is likely to be gone for good. Well, if you don't count the Chinese market seventh generation Taurus that continues to be built, but not shipped abroad.
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