Comments on: Why the Return of the Taurus Makes Sense, But Ford will still Die

By: Joel A

Joel A — Tue, 13 Feb 2007 02:38:48 +0000

densityduck,

oops! thanks for the spot. explanation has been added to the end of the post.

By: joela

joela — Tue, 13 Feb 2007 02:37:51 +0000

smellerton, luciano,
i believe the taurus/five hundred is a stop gap to the next incarnation of the new taurus. i wouldn’t be surprised if the 2009 version is considerably different

By: Otis Wildflower

Otis Wildflower — Tue, 13 Feb 2007 02:05:02 +0000

Ford 500.. They ripped the rear-end styling off of the Audi A4, they shoulda ripped off some more of its fun-to-drive..

By: DensityDuck

DensityDuck — Tue, 13 Feb 2007 00:25:22 +0000

You have an asterisk on “fun”, but it doesn’t have a footnote…what’s that about?

As for the Taurus: Meh. I agree that “Five Hundred” doesn’t imply “consumer sedan”, but that’s the fault of the dealers, and of Ford itself–I don’t recall seeing many ads that said “The 500 Is A New, Affordable Full-Size Family Sedan” in so many words. And the thing is, when you add chrome frippery and fancy fixtures, the thing looks like it’s supposed to be a luxury car–and potential owners think “gosh that looks expensive, and I don’t want an expensive car, I’ll go buy a cheap Honda instead.”

By: Bill

Bill — Mon, 12 Feb 2007 21:54:43 +0000

I still don’t get it. Taurus? What a horrible name. Why would you name your car after a cow? Why not just name it the Ford Bessie and be done with it.

By: Luciano

Luciano — Mon, 12 Feb 2007 01:40:00 +0000

I agree with the precedent comment and I also say that the latest Taurus is very ugly and old looking!!!What is happening to Ford design center?

http://www.lucianobove.blogspot.com

By: smellerton

smellerton — Sat, 10 Feb 2007 08:47:07 +0000

Boring sells cars. As an enthusiast, I loathe the Camry. I applaud Honda for selling a 6 speed manual on their 6 cylinder versions of the Accord. But it seems that boring sells more cars than cars with manuals. Lazy Americans want to put it in D, in contrast to Europe where 80% of the cars are manuals. I digress, this seems to be a good strategy for Ford. Toyota has all but abandoned any vehicle in their lineup (Scion withstanding) that is not boring. I think the Taurus name has a lot of brand equity from before they turned it into an ovoid spaceship in the mid nineties redesign. I think the real problem here is not the name, but the fact that this new Taurus / rebadged 500 is still ugly as sin. I mean come on, those tailights look rediculous.