Ford to dust off Taurus nameplate for 2008; Mercury to follow with Sable

[TheOtherDave™]

Source: http://www.leftlanenews.com/2007/02/...8-ford-taurus/ http://www.leftlanenews.com/2007/02/...mercury-sable/ 2008 Ford Taurus announced Ford today officially confirmed the return of the Taurus for the 2008 model year, following numerous rumors. The vehicle was first introduced as a mildly redesigned Ford Five Hundred in January, and has now been renamed Taurus. "Taurus has been an icon for Ford’s family sedan for more than two decades, and it’s time to return this powerful name to where it belongs," said Mark Fields, Ford’s President of The Americas, at the Chicago Auto Show. "Consumer awareness of the Taurus name is double the Five Hundred that it’s replacing." Compared to the old Five Hundred, the new Taurus features a revised front end along the same lines of the Fusion and Edge. Also new to the 2008 model is a more powerful 3.5-liter V-6 engine, including a new six-speed transmission and all-wheel-drive system. The new model also improves safety with structural improvements and Ford's AdvanceTrac stability control system. The 2008 Taurus' 3.5-liter Duratec V-6 now offers an estimated 260 horsepower and 245 pound-feet of torque. Other features include the option to install a SIRIUS satellite radio, FordSync, and a DVD entertainment system. -------- 2008 Mercury Sable breaks cover As anticipated, Ford today announced the launch of the 2008 Mercury Sable — a redesigned Mercury Montego with a not-so-new name. "[Consumer] awareness of Sable is triple that of Montego," said Mark Fields, Ford’s President of The Americas, at the Chicago Auto Show. The Sable's new grille digs a little deeper into Mercury's more recent design DNA, taking cues from the redesigned Mercury Mariner SUV. The bumper beneath the grille is recessed, which adds a bit more character to the nose, and appears to give it a more prominent face. The Sable's tail-end has received some attention as well. New taillights are predominantly white, with a red strip at the bottom, essentially swapping the color red and white color treatment found on the current car. The trunk lid has been changed, moving the license plate down onto the new Sable's redesigned rear bumper. The Japanese have understood the concept of model name equity for decades; witness the Accord and Civic. It's amusing (and also depressing) that FoMoCo has taken so damn long to come to the same conclusion. IMO, it's a sign of their desperation to make some sales headway. They still don't get it.

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[Llamaguy]

why would they do that? It's like Toyota bringing back the Tercel name.

[AcuraFanatic]

The problem with this is, the Accord/Civic, etc. all have a solid reputation.

The Taurus was ground breaking for it's time in 1986, but has always had poor quality and never really set a benchmark from that timepoint forward.

[TheOtherDave™]

Originally Posted by Llamaguy

why would they do that? It's like Toyota bringing back the Tercel name.

Simple.
The Five Hundred was a flop on launch and in an act of desperation, Ford wants to draw people in with the equity of the Taurus and Sable names.

Much like the Civic name does for Honda, or the Corolla does for Toyota.. people recognize model names with history and it influences their impression of the car.

But in Ford's case, the problem is that they neglected the last Taurus and Sable to extinction. The Taurus and Sable were substandard to the Accord in 1997 and they got progressively worse as the years piled on.

[TheOtherDave™]

Originally Posted by AcuraFanatic

The problem with this is, the Accord/Civic, etc. all have a solid reputation.

The Taurus was ground breaking for it's time in 1986, but has always had poor quality and never really set a benchmark from that timepoint forward.

Exactly.

FoMoCo thinks all they need is brand recognition, when in fact they desperately need to improve their cars throughout the life cycle of each generation.

Just throwing together a Haldex coupling, a driveshaft and an open rear diff isn't enough to call the Five Hundred a ground-breaking all-wheel-drive sedan. They're just playing catch-up to where VW/Audi was in 2000.

[Ochdx]

Meanwhile there they are renaming the Zephyr to MKZ or whatever...

[ILuvItTheJDM]

Meanwhile they're renaming the Freestyle the Taurus X.

Also, they improved the crash performance of the Fusion and the Milan, but they did not redesign the interior trim of the MKZ. So that means their least expensive model variants from their less prestigious brands are safer than the top-of-the-line variant. That's like if the Camry had better crash performance than the Lexus ES.

Ford does not have it together. At all. I used to think Mitsubishi would be the first great automotive disaster of the new millenium, but they've started to turn toward profitability and they do have some appealing products (I've warmed up to the Eclipse and the Galant Ralliart). Ford, however, seems hellbent on driving itself into the ground with poor products and even poorer "management."

[Ochdx]

Mitsu turned towards profitability? I guess kudos to them, I thought they were just about dead.

[Blob]

LOL, is this a move to save their azz, why a Taurus? that thing is hideous, even the Fusion couldn't save their life, now they have to bring this thing back, are they gonna call it the Faurus to go along with the F series?

[AcuraFanatic]

It has history behind the name and people recognize it, so at the very least if they have a solid product it will generate sales.

The Big Three accountants will never realize that making items cheap and offering big discounts to push them (and fleet sales) will get the same sales to the public once they demonstrate proper engineering, R&D time, and quality.

Even something boring (say the 1992-1996 Camry) was pretty bad in driving dynamics but they never broke, were well put together and had high resale.

I know Ford can do that with management shakedown.

[reno96teg]

what amazes me is that they didn't realize the name Ford Five Hundred was absolute shit from the start. i mean, it was more than obvious to me from the very first time i saw it on the road, and i'm no CEO.

now, less than what? 2 years later? they're getting rid of it. fucking shocker.

what are these idiots doing??