Bully about the return of Taurus

What’s in a name? Apparently a lot if that name is Taurus. Ford saw fit to rename their updated Five Hundred to Taurus after just three model years. But the name Taurus means a lot of different things.

To some, it harkens back to the aerodynamic 1986 sedan that was a revelation, eclipsing the domestic (and most foreign) family sedan competition. However, to others it conjures up an outdated car that went ten years without a major redesign, selling mostly to rental fleets. Either way you look at it, Alan Mulally, the recently hired CEO of Ford, reasons that Ford spent hundreds of millions of dollars advertising the Taurus name over the last 20 years. That level of recognition – good or bad – simply couldn’t be matched by "Five Hundred."

The Five Hundred, and now the Taurus, is the answer to the decades-old question, WWWCD? (What would Ward Cleaver drive?) The Taurus now has decent power from its new 3.5-liter engine, crash test results are excellent (it’s a IIHS Top Safety Pick), you can finally get stability control (but c’mon Ford, it should be standard), and there is plenty of room for Wally and the Beav to bring Eddie Haskell along. It’s a very practical car with big doors and a high seating position, emphasizing ease-of-use over flash. Even though it now has more chrome bits outside, the Taurus still remains a very conservative sedan, one that blends in. (Even though Ward drove a Plymouth Fury on the show, there’s no way he’d be driving a Chrysler 300C or Dodge Charger today. Maybe that flashy convertible-driving Mike Brady, but not steady Ward….)

Ward also knew his way with a dollar, and the Taurus would fit his sensibilities there, too. Our Taurus Limited, well-equipped with power heated leather seats and an optional sunroof and ESC, tallied a sticker price of $28,985 before a $1000 rebate, and it wasn’t hard getting more money off from that.

We’ll be testing the Taurus next to some other recently introduced family sedans, including the new Honda Accord, early in our 2008 test program. (Ford Motor Company images shown.)

--Tom Mutchler

By coincidence, The Detroit News published a related report on 8/24 ("Mulally challenges Ford marketing, vehicle branding") with a quote that relates to Tom's point and the reader comments:

• Ford has changed model names too frequently for no good reason, Mulally said during a dinner with reporters Wednesday.

  "I can remember saying to my team, 'How do you pick these names? It seems to me you just put out another product every year, you kill the last year's one, you look in the dictionary and find another word that starts with E or F and you slap it on it,' " he said.

--Jeff Bartlett, added 8/28/07

Comments

[Dennis]

Can I ask you a question? Does consumer reports have something against American cars? Sorry to be so blunt.

I am a very unbiased consumer. I've owned American and Japanese cars. I don't judge based on its country of origin, but by the quality and reliability of the car.

I thought CR was supposed to be fair and balanced. I can't find an article that CR has written like this about a German or Japananese car. Can you? I joined CR because I thought it was unbiased. Obviously it not. I realized this is a blog, but common!

I go to CR.com all the time, because I'm a car guy. I read anything I can about cars. Does anyone agree with me about CR?

[Derrick]

I didn't see anything unfair in the blog. Truth is, the old Taurus was left to rot on the rental lot. Nothing has been written like that about a Japanese or European car because few have been left unchanged for that long. Overall, what Tom wrote was accurate. And I've certainly seen unpleasant things written about some import cars, such as some Saabs that are past their prime, as well as Gabe's recent forum comment about a Mitsubishi, as examples.

[Dennis]

Well I guess what I'm getting at is, When are American cars going to get the respect they deserve?

Beyond this article, in my eyes, CR is bit unfair to American autos.

Have you seen the latest JD Power ratings on reliability?

Whether or not the Taurus is boring is really besides the point. That's the opinion of one person, in one age group.

I'm sure I'm not the only one that feels this way. Its obviously a problem. Check out this article. http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/aboutus/mission/haveyouheard/driversseat0604/index.htm?resultPageIndex=1&resultIndex=1&searchTerm=american%20cars%20unfair

[Dennis]

Just my opinion, but I think CR over does it on criticizing US autos because they want people to think they are unbiased. We get it.

[David Evans]

I don't get it. It looks like a positive blog to me. Nothing wrong with boring, I say (2002 Camry, anyone?) One extra note: in Canada, even the base FWD Taurus comes standard with ESC.

[Darrel]

Are Dennis and Derrick the same guy who appears to be a plant from Ford? Sounds like a lot of spin trying to counter attack the 300,000 mostly Americans who fill out their survey's on what went right or wrong on their cars each year. Consumers Union reports what they report and the chips lay where they fall, not where Consumers Union wants them to fall. Quit spinning and just make a better car. THEN, you will get the spin you are looking for.

[Steven]

I LOVE the Ford Taurus. I have a 2008 Ford Taurus and a 2005 Toyota Camry..i spent 3,000 on the Camry. It only has 21,060 Mi on it. The Taurus has 17,000 when the Camry started having troubles and is wonderful! I dont come to think Consumer Reports is favoring other cars that are not American. I dont think the Taurus is boring up until the gril. It is a little fake looking. So..the Camry is not the best looking car either its pretty ugly. I am trading in my camry for a Fusion tommrow afternoon.