I used past tense because it's no longer made.

The last Taurus was actually too revolutionary when they came out in the late 90s. As far as "gutless, bland, fleet manager's dream", I'd be willing to bet you never drove one and drove a Camry. Taurus has plenty of power and good handling. I rented one for the return trip from Arizona when I dropped my T-bird off at my sisters when I moved. Compared to the Camry and a Altima I've also rented, the Taurus was far more stable, comfortable, and simply felt better than the other 2. While the Nissan felt a little nervous at 90+ the Taurus went right on about it's business.

Again, I feel you are speaking as a performance enthusiast rather than a person intrested in what the public wants. The general public doesn't base their decisions on tire smoke, big rims, and the ability to take freeway ramps at 90. They base it on what they get for the money, how well the car's put together, does it have a reputation of spending time in the shop instead of on the road, what's it's crash rating, and does it have enough torque to merge onto a freeway without becoming roadkill.

This part of your post baffles me. If it wasn't desireable, why would it be in fleet sales. There are very, very few Ford FiveHundreds being sold to fleet buyers, and even fewer being sold to rental agencies. In fact, of all sedans in it's class, the Five Hundred is probally at the bottom of the list in volume to fleets. Does that mean the Five Hundred is extremely desireable???

You don't like Taurus, and that's cool. But remember, we're talking about a family car for middle-America that involves child seats, kiddy shuttles, "mom can I borrow the car?", & daily commutes from the suburbs in rush hour traffic. That's what Taurus did best, and that's why Camrys and Accords are cleaning up in the Taurus' absence.


For the record, Grand Prix's sales to fleets is running above 60%, Impala is around 50%. The average for most US family sedans is about 40%

 

Same goes for the other top sellers Camry and Accord.


The problem with Ford is they spent billions building up the Taurus brand over the last 20 years and brought it from nothing to the #1 selling car, then once a the top they let the car rot until the name was a joke and the only time you you saw anybody driving one was if they worked for a government agency or rented it.

No one knows what a FiveHundred is.

 

As Ive said in other threads I think something with a so-so reputation that people may have a few positive feelings toward is probably better then something unheard of and uproven with no reputation.

Having been in and driven the 500 I don't think there is anything wrong with it outside of ugly and slow, which I suppose are fairly large flaws, but they're fixing one... I think the real issue is getting the word out and getting foggies and soccer moms in the seats to see that its an extremely practical car...

Im 6'8" and about 280 and I easily got in the trunk...

 

Comeon Guion -- trying to spin a car that only fleets bought as "desirable" is just ridiculous. The fleets weren't buying the 500 because Ford was dumping the Taurus on them.

Oh, I saw a retail 2006 Taurus advertised -- $10,500 ! Gives one an idea what Avis was paying for these things.

Ford's challenge right now is to get everyone to forget about the last 10 years when the Taurus was a bit of a joke. Given the right advertising, I think they could do this.

Either that or they've decided that the 500 is always going to be a loser, so they're just hoping on picking up a few nostalgia sales. It's not like Detroit doesn't have a tendency to live in the past.

 

It was only “too revolutionary” in as much as it looked like a damned catfish and had an oval stereo head unit. We'll just have to agree to disagree, I guess. In my honest opinion, my wife's old '92 camry drove better 13 years after rolling off the line than the Taurus I rented three months ago. There's nothing inherently wrong with the thing, but it is nothing but an appliance.


I'm comparing it to Camrys, Accords, Altimas, etc. Cars that are available with 250+ hp, deliver feedback through the controls, and dont look and feel like the interiors are manufactured by Fisher-Price. Comparatively, there is nothing other than price that made a mid nineties to 2006 Taurus better than the competition. I too have driven all of these, and my opinion is completely opposite of your own.


Fleet managers do not buy cars that people want to drive, they buy cars that are cheap and dependable. The Taurus may be cheap and dependable incarnate, but it’s still not a name that will bring people into the showroom, IMO.


Like I said originally, I can not figure out how to market to people that only want an appliance, not an automobile. Even these people, as evidenced by the popularity of the competition, know better quality when they see it, and will pay for it. I find the fleet sales numbers of US made sedans pretty sad all the way around, but if that is the target audience, I can't blame the manufacturers from doing it. It just doesn't seem like a winning strategy to me or Oldsmobile.

 

Ford bringing the Taurus name back is a smart move, I agree.

Ford bringing the Taurus name back as a rebadged Five Hundred =

This name juggling act that Ford continues to perform only gives off the perception to the public that they really aren't sure about their cars, or how to market them....and by the transitive property, really don't have much of a clue, period.

If you're so sure of Taurus' name value, why wasn't the Fusion just called the new Taurus from the get-go? The Five Hundred isn't considered Ford's bread and butter sedan, like Taurus was and Fusion now is. Seems to me Ford is stuck with a loser in the Five Hundred and is trying desperately to salvage the line with a switcheroo that doesn't even follow the lineage.

 

They haven't had much of a clue for several years. They are now being beaten, hard, with the clue stick. I see this change as a sign of that.

 

They may be getting a clue, but I think they're going about things the wrong way. If you want to use the Taurus name again, put it on a car that has a prayer of being competitive with Camry and Accord, like it used to be.

Now you have to spend money to market Fusion in the position that Taurus should rightfully be in, while marketing Taurus as a bigger, more expensive, more upscale car....a car Taurus never was. The public is not stupid. They know a re-badged Five Hundred when they see one, so I remain unconvinced this musical chairs game Ford has been playing recently will even make a difference.

Imagine if you will that the next Camaro isn't called Camaro. Then Chevy realizes it was a mistake to not use the Camaro name again, so they slap the Camaro name on the next RWD Impala after it has been out 2 or 3 years. Not the exact same scenario to be sure, but you get the idea.

 

Actually, Ford didn't sell the Five Hundred to fleet buyers because it wanted to position the car above the Taurus. In all fairness, the last year Taurus was sold only as fleet cars, although many found their way to dealerships anyway.

As for desireable, I think we're looking at 2 different definitions.

I suspect you mean as a Charger SRT is desireable, and you're right. Taurus wasn't. However, if you mean as in Toyota Camry desirable, then we part on opinion there, because it did sell to the general public in very high numbers, so it was desirable in that way.

To get matters straight, Ford let the Taurus wither to nothingness. I'm in no way defending Ford for letting Taurus hang out to dry, and by no means am I saying Ford didn't damage the brand in doing so. But there is still alot left to the Taurus name. The car itself, despite being around forever, wasn't bad... especially compared to the previous Impala.

Probally about 20 grand a pop.

10 years ago, the new Taurus came out, and maintained sales (though the new design was pretty controversal). If anything, the last 3-4 years is when it lost it's luster.

The interior of the Five Hundred is actually pretty nice. It's just that Ford went back to late 90s Audi for styling cues, and it had the misfortune of debuting at the same time as the Chrysler 300 which made the car look even more dated than it was. Having a weak engine and a CVT tranny that makes it feel even slower didn't help either.

I will conceed that the new 3 bar grille does not work on this car, and I'll predict the new front end on the car will probally sink it. Attaching the Taurus name to it might keep it from sinking as fast, but will still sink it.

 

I just saw this on the news, a smart move on their part I think.

 

It's not even close to being the same scenario. It's not even on the same planet. Camaro's rabid enthusiast base supports the car and fusses over details. Taurus doesn't have that kind of audience. Taurus (and Camry) sell to people who don't care about cars and just need reliable, functional, reasonably comfortable transportation.

Taurus was a modern interpretation of a big American family car, something roomier and more familiar than a Honda or Toyota, and that was a strong value proposition for several hundred thousand people every year. Five Hundred, properly repositioned, can fill that role. I bet there will be thousands upon thousands of new Taurus buyers who will never realize the car was gone, because they only pay attention to the new-car market every five or six years when they need one. I don't see that happening (much) among Camaro buyers in Chevy showrooms in '09.

 

The problem is, the Five Hundred's purpose isn't about functional, reliable, bare bones transportation. The car is not necessarily cheap. It doesn't come in many different configurations or with many different option groups. As it sits now, it is aimed at those who want something a bit more than small to midsized indiscriminate transportation (this is why Ford has the Fusion in the first place). Therein lies my problem with this. How are those "traditional Taurus buyers" you speak of going to react when they see stickers on "their" Taurus exceeding $30,000? As Five Hundred sits now, it isn't out of the question.

It was probably a mistake to even compare this to Camaro/Impala. You and I are both on the same page with that one. My only point was that, just because both cars appear to be the same at their most primitive level (V8, RWD....or V6 FWD sedans in Ford's case) doesn't mean it's a great idea to play musical nameplates.

 

"Taurus" is sooooooooooooooooo 1980's RETRO

 

I hear you. Most of them go out the door around $25k, apparently. On the other hand, what do V6 Camrys sell for?

 

It looks like V6 Camrys start at $23,540. I believe that a good majority of Camrys sold are the 4 cylinders though, and they start at just $18,470. Another reason why the Taurus nameplate isn't a good fit for the Five Hundred. No one equates upscale mid sizers with "Taurus". There is a huge range of Camrys to be had, and the Fusion is the natural competitor.