While this may have a “rearranging the deck chairs” feel to it, it’s actually a pretty good move on Ford’s part. The Taurus name has some history to it, way beyond it’s reputation as a rental fleet darling. As far as the late 90s the Taurus was the best selling car in America, until Ford basically abandoned it in favor of SUVs and pickups. Had Ford lavished the same attention, no doubt the Taurus would still be a strong seller. With all the improvements to the 500, now is the time to change the name, not later. And while it is a good idea, Ford shouldn’t stop here. Dump the MK-whatever over and Lincoln and bring back that marque’s classic names, too.
This fuc#$n dud screwed up Mazda and since he left, mazda is coming back. I have an idea, “Bring back the Taurus and get rid of this dead weight Fields” Look at that geek ,so smug like he invented the automobile.
Ford’s bringing this back like that’s a good thing? With thinking like that, no wonder they’re $12billion in the red!
My parents owned a Taurus once. It may have been the worst car they ever owned. The luggage rack fell of while driving down the road, the windshield cracked for no reason, the air conditioning went out at around 4000 miles, two inside door handles came off while closing the doors, power locks went out five times, knobs broke off everywhere, screws came out by themselves, one taillight fell out and never would work correctly, back seats folded down but wouldn’t fold back up, water pump failed at 10k miles, paint started rotting off after two years, and the throttle stuck causing it to run into a Walgreens.
All of this does not include the numerous recalls by Ford.
Needless to say my entire family has driven Hondas or Toyotas ever since. No Ford products ever again. Especially anything named Taurus.
“Needless to say my entire family has driven Hondas or Toyotas ever since. No Ford products ever again. Especially anything named Taurus.”
Oh please, the taillight “fell out” and the paint “rotted” after two years. Yeah right. Are you sure you’re just not another paid shill for Toyota or Honda? My roommate in college had a Taurus with over 240k on it. Yeah, it was a faded baby blue beater and had no AC, but it had a quarter million miles on the clock and never let us down. Compare that to my 89 Celica which snapped a timing belt wile idling at a stoplight with only 70k on the odo back in 1993. I won’t even go into the B pillar trim that wouldn’t stay firmly attached or the various plastic snap-fit interior bits that disintegrated. I, for one, know first hand about “Toyota quality” and how reluctant they are to stand behind their vehicles and their customers. While I made fun of my roommates Taurus wagon, I was the one who had to be picked-up in it while my “reliable” POS Toyota left me stranded.
I’ve rented plenty of Tauruses, I’ve known people with them and, while no one is going to dream about owning one, the Taurus was a good car for what it was.
Fields looks bold in that picture…Errr…Wait…
What does Ries know? She is just an MBA that memorized text books written by well established losers.
Timing belts are to be done every 60,000 miles. Lack of maintenace is your own fault not the manufacturers fault. You could get picked up in any car you want that doesn’t make it a good car.
The only good Taurus was the SHO.
Simply because it was never a Ford.
RE: Anon 12:34
The Celica had every scheduled service that was required, and that is why Toyota covered the cost of the engine rebuild. Since I was idling when the belt snapped, the valves weren’t damaged and the fix was easy. But only after months of hassle and denial from Toyota. The reason it ever got resolved is because I had everything properly documented and finally got a lawyer. He was my professor, so he did it as a favor. I would have been completely screwed otherwise.
Whether the timing belt was an anomaly or not, it doesn’t explain the other misery the car and the brand caused me. I was never so happy to get rid of a vehicle and I am vocal about it whenever anyone attempts to sell me on the overrated garbage Toyota produces. Ask the countless Toyota and Lexus victims whose engines have seized from sludge.
I’ll take any Ford any day over a Toyota. They’re not perfect, but they’re better in my opinion. I know the old Taurus was crude, but they have proven to be durable. I was raised on Volvos. And that’s what I’ve mostly driven since the awful Celica experience.
“Oh please, the taillight “fell out” and the paint “rotted” after two years. Yeah right. Are you sure you’re just not another paid shill for Toyota or Honda?”
You sound like a Ford employee, er, “shill.”
Car companies are going back to no-maintenance timing chains now… This is a good thing.
WOW. Just wow. How can someone seem that proud with such a bland and crappy looking vehicle behind him. I think they are world class fucked up people.
Good lord thats an ugly car.
The name ‘Taurus’ does have a great deal of history attached to it, all BAD!!!! What’s the next countermove by the next major American automobile maker, rename the Chevrolet Cobalt the new ‘Vega’?
Everything Ford does these days just reeks of Bold Moves huh.
let me see toyota=565,000 recalls just this year and it is only feb. i found that most of these stories are very false. just stop the bashing
my sister still has her 1995 taurus and it only needed a tranny. after 300,000 miles on it with no servicing. nothing fell off or broke.look lets be real,there are no such thing as cars that don’t break down or foreign car makers can put cars together better than people in the states. people are not stupid. at least most of us are not except those who believe foreign cars dont break. i had a cousin with a lexus with a bad motor and he was so mad he sued and won. he also had bought it brand new.
So people will buy it because it has a different badge on the back? Really?
I think the car is nice enough for what it is. Every brand has at least one bland basic sedan in its lineup. Ford might have one or two too many though.
And that name is Mondeo, not Taurus, they should bring the European build Mondeo here, not this thing.
In my opinion the name change makes alot business sense because the ford taurus was once the number one selling car in the united states, i do not think it is a bad move.
not only is the name ‘taurus’ made a comeback on the sedan but ford is sticking it to a so-called cross-over suv too…
As all three Detroit automakers struggle, they have been reaching into their past for nostalgic vehicle names. The Chrysler Group brought back the Dodge Charger as a sedan last year. Two classic muscle car names, the Dodge Challenger and Chevrolet Camaro, are slated to return within a few years.
In Ford’s case, though, the Taurus brand had become so damaged by the end that it is unlikely to conjure images of the company’s glory days in many car buyers’ minds, said Laura Ries, president of Ries & Ries, a marketing strategy firm based in Atlanta.
“Unfortunately, they let the Taurus die. Once you do that to a brand, it’s difficult to bring it back,” Ms. Ries said. “Consumers are not necessarily going to remember the best days of the Taurus.”
While this may have a “rearranging the deck chairs” feel to it, it’s actually a pretty good move on Ford’s part. The Taurus name has some history to it, way beyond it’s reputation as a rental fleet darling. As far as the late 90s the Taurus was the best selling car in America, until Ford basically abandoned it in favor of SUVs and pickups. Had Ford lavished the same attention, no doubt the Taurus would still be a strong seller. With all the improvements to the 500, now is the time to change the name, not later. And while it is a good idea, Ford shouldn’t stop here. Dump the MK-whatever over and Lincoln and bring back that marque’s classic names, too.
This fuc#$n dud screwed up Mazda and since he left, mazda is coming back. I have an idea, “Bring back the Taurus and get rid of this dead weight Fields” Look at that geek ,so smug like he invented the automobile.
Ford’s bringing this back like that’s a good thing? With thinking like that, no wonder they’re $12billion in the red!
My parents owned a Taurus once. It may have been the worst car they ever owned. The luggage rack fell of while driving down the road, the windshield cracked for no reason, the air conditioning went out at around 4000 miles, two inside door handles came off while closing the doors, power locks went out five times, knobs broke off everywhere, screws came out by themselves, one taillight fell out and never would work correctly, back seats folded down but wouldn’t fold back up, water pump failed at 10k miles, paint started rotting off after two years, and the throttle stuck causing it to run into a Walgreens.
All of this does not include the numerous recalls by Ford.
Needless to say my entire family has driven Hondas or Toyotas ever since. No Ford products ever again. Especially anything named Taurus.
“Needless to say my entire family has driven Hondas or Toyotas ever since. No Ford products ever again. Especially anything named Taurus.”
Oh please, the taillight “fell out” and the paint “rotted” after two years. Yeah right. Are you sure you’re just not another paid shill for Toyota or Honda? My roommate in college had a Taurus with over 240k on it. Yeah, it was a faded baby blue beater and had no AC, but it had a quarter million miles on the clock and never let us down. Compare that to my 89 Celica which snapped a timing belt wile idling at a stoplight with only 70k on the odo back in 1993. I won’t even go into the B pillar trim that wouldn’t stay firmly attached or the various plastic snap-fit interior bits that disintegrated. I, for one, know first hand about “Toyota quality” and how reluctant they are to stand behind their vehicles and their customers. While I made fun of my roommates Taurus wagon, I was the one who had to be picked-up in it while my “reliable” POS Toyota left me stranded.
I’ve rented plenty of Tauruses, I’ve known people with them and, while no one is going to dream about owning one, the Taurus was a good car for what it was.
Fields looks bold in that picture…Errr…Wait…
What does Ries know? She is just an MBA that memorized text books written by well established losers.
Timing belts are to be done every 60,000 miles. Lack of maintenace is your own fault not the manufacturers fault. You could get picked up in any car you want that doesn’t make it a good car.
The only good Taurus was the SHO.
Simply because it was never a Ford.
RE: Anon 12:34
The Celica had every scheduled service that was required, and that is why Toyota covered the cost of the engine rebuild. Since I was idling when the belt snapped, the valves weren’t damaged and the fix was easy. But only after months of hassle and denial from Toyota. The reason it ever got resolved is because I had everything properly documented and finally got a lawyer. He was my professor, so he did it as a favor. I would have been completely screwed otherwise.
Whether the timing belt was an anomaly or not, it doesn’t explain the other misery the car and the brand caused me. I was never so happy to get rid of a vehicle and I am vocal about it whenever anyone attempts to sell me on the overrated garbage Toyota produces. Ask the countless Toyota and Lexus victims whose engines have seized from sludge.
I’ll take any Ford any day over a Toyota. They’re not perfect, but they’re better in my opinion. I know the old Taurus was crude, but they have proven to be durable. I was raised on Volvos. And that’s what I’ve mostly driven since the awful Celica experience.
“Oh please, the taillight “fell out” and the paint “rotted” after two years. Yeah right. Are you sure you’re just not another paid shill for Toyota or Honda?”
You sound like a Ford employee, er, “shill.”
Car companies are going back to no-maintenance timing chains now… This is a good thing.
WOW. Just wow. How can someone seem that proud with such a bland and crappy looking vehicle behind him. I think they are world class fucked up people.
Good lord thats an ugly car.
The name ‘Taurus’ does have a great deal of history attached to it, all BAD!!!! What’s the next countermove by the next major American automobile maker, rename the Chevrolet Cobalt the new ‘Vega’?
Everything Ford does these days just reeks of Bold Moves huh.
let me see toyota=565,000 recalls just this year and it is only feb. i found that most of these stories are very false. just stop the bashing
my sister still has her 1995 taurus and it only needed a tranny. after 300,000 miles on it with no servicing. nothing fell off or broke.look lets be real,there are no such thing as cars that don’t break down or foreign car makers can put cars together better than people in the states. people are not stupid. at least most of us are not except those who believe foreign cars dont break. i had a cousin with a lexus with a bad motor and he was so mad he sued and won. he also had bought it brand new.
So people will buy it because it has a different badge on the back? Really?
I think the car is nice enough for what it is. Every brand has at least one bland basic sedan in its lineup. Ford might have one or two too many though.
And that name is Mondeo, not Taurus, they should bring the European build Mondeo here, not this thing.
In my opinion the name change makes alot business sense because the ford taurus was once the number one selling car in the united states, i do not think it is a bad move.
not only is the name ‘taurus’ made a comeback on the sedan but ford is sticking it to a so-called cross-over suv too…
As all three Detroit automakers struggle, they have been reaching into their past for nostalgic vehicle names. The Chrysler Group brought back the Dodge Charger as a sedan last year. Two classic muscle car names, the Dodge Challenger and Chevrolet Camaro, are slated to return within a few years.
In Ford’s case, though, the Taurus brand had become so damaged by the end that it is unlikely to conjure images of the company’s glory days in many car buyers’ minds, said Laura Ries, president of Ries & Ries, a marketing strategy firm based in Atlanta.
“Unfortunately, they let the Taurus die. Once you do that to a brand, it’s difficult to bring it back,” Ms. Ries said. “Consumers are not necessarily going to remember the best days of the Taurus.”
https://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/07/automobiles/07ford.html?_r=1&oref=slogin