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Ford Taurus/Mercury Sable Sedans Pre-2008

3389 messages,  Last post on Jan 21, 2011 at 11:46 AM

You are in the Ford Taurus/Mercury Sable Forum.

What is this discussion about? Ford Taurus, Mercury Sable, Sedan

Messages Page 320 of 339

#3190 of 3389 What happened to the Taurus by vanbuyer2

Aug 03, 2005 (10:18 am)

I had a 1987 Taurus GL. Completely loaded with the exeption of the digital dash and a moonroof. I just drove a 2005 Taurus. What the hell happened to this car? It really is a rental car now. My 1987 had small head rests molded into the back seat, the cool storage bin on the real deck, map pocets on the backs of both seats, power drive and passenger seats, nice upholstery, adjustable front headrests. Overall the car has a very nice interior feel... felt more expensive than it was. Everything was intuitive and at your fingertips. Okay it had the column mounted shift but it was 1987.
 
Now, the 2005 feels cheaper than it is and the backseat looks like it came out of a late 1970's domestic. The door panels are awful and nothing is intuitive on the dash. What did Ford do to this once great nameplate?

#3191 of 3389 Re: What happened to the Taurus [vanbuyer2] by badgerfan

Aug 03, 2005 (1:43 pm)

Replying to: vanbuyer2 (Aug 03, 2005 10:18 am)
Well, my guess is you are not comparing apples to apples here in terms of what trim level you drove. Probably you drove a 2005 base Taurus vs a loaded 1987 Taurus.
 
By contrast, I owned a fairly base 1990 Taurus L, bought new and drove ten years, and I now drive a 2000 Taurus SES again bought new (One notch below the SEL which was the top of the line Taurus in 2000).
 
Actually between the ten years, my cost for the 2000 SES was not all that much more than the 1990 Taurus L, certainly increased much less than the general inflation in that time period.
 
Here is what my 2000 SES has that the 1990 L did not:
 
Dual front Airbags ( the 1990 only had a drive side)
Dual Visors
The optional 200 HP 3.0 Duratech (plenty of power for all but the leadfoot-my old Taurus had the 3.0 V-6 Vulcan, a very good engine for the time but nothing like the Duratech)
Split folding rear seats
Power Windows
Low fuel indicator
ABS brakes
Remote door unlock and trunk unlock
Alloy wheels, 16" vs old Taurus had steel 15" wheels
Flip fold center console (yes, my 2000 Taurus has a column shift, I don't need to impress anyone with a merely cosmetic floor mounted shifter.)
Power drivers seat with manual lumbar adjust.
Better mileage by my own measurements
Time delayed accessories power until door is opened
Dual map pockets on the back of both front seats
Much quieter operation
Sturdier, more versatile front cupholders even though they do not pop out of the dash-they are in the flip fold console
Rear cup holders
Smoother ride with no loss of handling-actually the 2000 has better handling, in my opinion
 
I am sure I missed a few things on this list, but nothing of much importance. I can't think of any single thing that my 1990 Taurus L had that was missing on my 2000 SEL.
 
Ford dropped all the mid level Tauri for 2005, I believe all that has survived is a stripper base model and the top model SEL. This is a result of tapering off Taurus production and ending it all together very soon, Fusion is introduced this fall and Five hundred was last fall. These two models together are intended to fill the Taurus void.
 
Complaining about what Ford did or did not do to Taurus is soon to be a moot point. My only wish is they continued the Taurus name on Fusion, but Ford wants all their cars beginning with letter F, so out goes Taurus.

#3192 of 3389 2005 Sable $13.5K before TTL good price? by lelandl

Aug 07, 2005 (3:49 am)

Hi, all
 
Today local Mercuty dealer was advertising 2005 Sable with Cruise, Remote Keyless, Auto transmission, Anti-Theft System, Power door/window and other basic options at price of $14K minus the $500 college student cash I received in mail from Ford so finally I can get the car at $13.5K before TTL. Looks like Ford Taurus is selling for at least $1000 more now.
 
What is your guys opinion? Is this a good price?
 
Thanks!

#3193 of 3389 cruise control problems by rylee40454

Aug 08, 2005 (4:47 pm)

I have a 2000 Taurus SE with the 3.0L V-6. When you turn the cruise on it just flashes. It will not engage. any suggestions?

#3195 of 3389 '05 Taurus SEL transmission fluid issue by chrisptown

Aug 08, 2005 (8:44 pm)

took delivery 0n 7/28 on new SEL Wagon. dealer got veh. from another dealer 300 miles away for me. have had the car 10 days and driven only 5 days. has 825 miles. today backed veh. out of drive way and saw a large spot of liquid where it was parked. it is transmission fluid. i called the dealer (who is 120 miles away) and he told me to have veh. towed to dealership. dealer's tech. had car for 1 hour and service rep/. said they had found the problem--the transmission had been over filled and excess fluid was coming out of the vent hose>" "it must have occurred at the factory." I have bought 10 new taurus and sables in the last 17 yrs. and never had a problem like this. Any one have any thoughts on this??? thanks

#3196 of 3389 Re: AC vents for 1995 Ford Taurus [glinda49] by drewt999

Aug 13, 2005 (6:13 pm)

Replying to: glinda49 (Aug 02, 2005 8:12 pm)
Hope you have had som eluck. If so, lease let me know wher you got them. I need louvres and a new dash panel so any leads would be helpful. Thanks.

#3197 of 3389 Re: oil leaking [ambob] by juswheels

Aug 15, 2005 (7:13 am)

Replying to: ambob (Jul 30, 2005 2:53 pm)
Whoa - No Way - Please get that car to a responsible mechanic. It would be beyond rare for an engine to need "all seals replaced". If it's a Taurus, they are noted for having the oil pan seal leak after 50,000 or 60,000 miles. It's an easy fix for just a few hundred (around $300 if my memory is correct) and the replacement seals have been modified to correct the problem. I don't even want to think what pulling the engine and replacing all seals would cost. I don't want to be disrespectful to anyone but if you were having your oil changed in one of those "Quick Lube" places, none, None, NONE of their attendants are remotely qualified to diagnose anything.

#3198 of 3389 Re: What happened to the Taurus [vanbuyer2] by juswheels

Aug 20, 2005 (6:24 am)

Replying to: vanbuyer2 (Aug 03, 2005 10:18 am)
I tend to agree with "badgerfan". However with all respect I will add the following. In June I purchased a new 2005 car. My previous car was a 2001 Taurus. I looked at the 2005 Taurus and within minutes came to the conclusion that the 2005 was a virtual twin to my 2001. It was painfully apparent that Ford hasn't bothered to develope the Taurus. I couldn't see the advantage to purchasing a new vehicle when literally nothing has been upgraded in the last 4 years. No, I didn't choose a Ford this time around and that's Ford's fault. (Over the years I've been very satisfied with their products) - I did give some thought to waiting for the 2006 Fusion in September but after reviewing the specs, decided that it wasn't in my best interest to purchase a car that is noticeably smaller and probably more to the point, has a noticeably higher price. ( Sorry, but I'm not a fan of the "pay more, get less syndrome") - Maybe a Ford, next time around, but right now I'm more that happy with my new purchase and not very pleased with the current direction Ford has taken.

#3199 of 3389 Re: What happened to the Taurus [juswheels] by chuck1

Aug 20, 2005 (8:57 am)

Replying to: juswheels (Aug 20, 2005 6:24 am)
I have an '05 Taurus that I picked up last October. It is a COMPANY PROVIDED vehicle. All I can say is time has past it by. The seats are the worst I have encountered in recent memory. The base motor is-at best under powered, and gas miles-per-gallon is pretty poor for a car it's size.
 
The good? It looks like they have finally worked out the tranny problems. It's been trouble free. The car doesn't corner too bad. It has 28,000 miles on it. I am in sales and do LOTS of driving!

Messages Page 320 of 339

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