Well Buick and Pontiac are basically in free-fall (even with the huge fleet sales), so color me unimpressed.

I don't believe there's any magic figure that equals "good sales". The problem is 150K ain't so great when they are set up to build 3x as many and their assembly operations have been running at a loss for years and years.

 

Proudpony can ring in on this because he knows more about Fords than even I do, but I'm pretty sure Taurus was profitable till the very end.

But let me get this straight:

If a car sells 150-200,000 cars to the general public without a single sale to a fleet buyer it's a success and it impresses you, but if it sells 150-200,000 sales to the general public but just because it sells another 150-200,000 to fleets on top of that, you're unimpresses and it's a failure.

Am I reading you right?

 

Yup, if your plant capacity is so out-of-line with consumer demand that you need to dump 50% of your production onto low-profit fleet customers, you have a big problem. This is clearly reflected in the Big 2's financials.

 

They should have called it a Galaxy 500.

 

"Galaxie"

And if they're going to use that name, they should save it for the big RWD sedan they may finally get around to building.

 

I say the SHO name should go on a 3.5L 6-speed (AWD?) Fusion.

Or, put it on both, kind of like fords version of SS or SRT, oh wait thats what the SVT is.

Ok, scratch that. Fusion SVT - 3.5L/6-speed/AWD & tight suspension.

Taurus SVT/SHO - 3.5L TT AWD - super executive express

 

I like that. Having them both done by SVT would bring them back in a big way and might open the door for them to be competitive again.

 

I personally think the Taurus name should have never died...and should have carried over into the Fusion. The Five Hundred in my mind is a full sized car bigger than the Impala, so I really do not think the Taurus name, and the volume it could create is being fully utilized. Also, Taurus name or not, the Five Hundred's styling and market presence is forgettable to the point that it hurts the car. Saddest part is that Ford knows this...which is why they think they can slap a new grill on, change the name, and John Q Public will never know. The Five Hundred is actually a decent car. It is underpowered, but that should be fixed with the new 3.5L.


The Fusion on the other hand would be a perfect Taurus. It has pretty cool styling, and a size that would appeal to younger families. Taurus has always had pretty innovative (for better or worse) styling for a basic four sedan, and this would have been a nice continuance of that.

 

The 500 is 3/10 of an inch longer than the Impala and less than 2 inches wider. So it's not like it's significantly bigger. The 2006 Taurus was 3 inches shorter than the 500, but 7 inches longer than the Fusion - so the Taurus actually hewed closer to the 500 in size than Fusion, but I know what yu mean. Seems like Fusion should be more of the mainstream car like Taurus was.