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Sedans Ford Taurus/Mercury Sable What Are Your Thoughts on the Return of the Taurus/Sable?
530 messages, Last post on Aug 22, 2008 at 10:00 PM
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The change to Taurus is obviously an excellent decision, but it surprises me that Ford thinks that Sable name has enough of a following to be worth once again retiring the Montego name. Of course, in the early years of the Taurus and Sable, owners of each were very proud of their cars. It seems that the name Taurus may appeal more to the growing Hispanic market than the name five Hundred. |
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I can't believe how negative the haters are?! I have not read the whole thread, but I think Ford was smart on this update with this triple set of cars. These were always excellent, safe, comfortable, roomy cars. Even the handling was buttoned down and good. What they lacked was style and zip. Both of those "problems" have now been addressed, and the engine runs just as strong with 87 octane gas. These cars will be powerful, smooth, comfortable, safe, stylish and roomy. You can be a sheep and follow the herd to the imports..........(way overrated BTW) or you can make an informed decision on these excellent cars. BTW - If your decision on car buying rests with the cars model name on the trunk lid, you're just a plain moron! Just so you remember, the Taurus revolutionized the car industry when it came out..........did Fo Mo Co let it go in the later years? Yes, but it was still a very functional, bulletproof, reasonably powerful, fun vehicle - all for thousands less than the competition. I had an 03' SEL loaded with a Duratech that game me no problems whatsoever after 75,000 mi. I now have an 05' Focus ST with 26k that has also been very solid, fun, zippy  and trouble free. The American car haters need to pull off the frickin blinders....
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"The American car haters need to pull off the frickin blinders.... " This statement, and it also must be directed at the media. It has been bashed and beaten into the heads of the American consumer that ANYTHING Ford builds is garbage. I have owned Fords for over 25 years and all have been fine. Now on topic... I feel Ford may have made a mistake here. The 500 name was good, Montego.. I could have done without. Lets take a look at the car overall. Its solid, very safe and very reliable. Now with the 3.5, this will make it even more of a selling point. Ford should have left the 500 name... 
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I am of the opinion that the name change for the Five-Hundred was favorable, as at least this gets the slow selling Taurus/Five-Hundred some attention. I disagree with renaming the Freestyle the Taurus X though. Taurus X just seems like such a silly name. I do agree that the Crown-Victoria and the Taurus/Five-Hundred are redundant; one of them needs to stay and the other needs to go. Maybe Ford should have called the Fusion the Taurus, as the Fusion is more of an Accord/Camry competitor than the Five-Hundred, which caters mainly to the Avalon/Impala/Azera crowd. |
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The problem with the 500 wasn't the name, but the creation of a car nobody wants. Ford buyers who want a big boring car are going for the Crown Vic. Ford buyers who want a nice looking family sedan are going for the Fusion. Honda and Toyota have kept their brand names alive through continuous improvement. You know that your 2007 Civic or Accord is going to be a step from your 2003 Civic or Accord. (And I'm talking about perception here, I know Toyota's quality is slipping). With the Taurus, I honestly can't see much difference from the time they gave their cars the spaceship design (mid 90s) to the last ones to roll off the line. Why buy a new one if it looks no different and the interiors aren't markedly better? Loyal Ford fans and Taurus lovers aren't going to warm to the 500 just because it is now renamed the Taurus (they probably bought the Fusion). And I don't think the design will suddenly become more exciting because it has a name that most of us now associate with rental fleet cars and the car that our grandfather uses to visit flea markets and haul potting soil from Wal Mart in. The 500 is simply a car without an audience. It's a dumb move by a company that continues to make them.
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Replying to: jchan2 (Feb 09, 2007 8:02 pm) Most new cars these days are reasonably comfortable, quiet, decent handling, etc. Nonenthusiasts test driving the Taurus, Impala, 300, LaCrosse, Charger are likely to fixate on features that appeal to them when they sit in it, and the deal offered as well. Ford needs to get more people to sit in these relatively boring sedans. The Taurus/Crown Victotia are not exactly "redundant" though Ford needs to differentiate them more. Right now, the Taurus/500 is front drive, much more tidy on the exterior, given its interior space, now has more hp, and is just more modern in execution. The CV could be updated to offer a RWD alternative, something akin to a toned down Interceptor. Then Ford would have roomy sedans to compete with both the FWD and RWD competition. Why not, if the platforms are both available? One way Toyota succeeds so well is that they offer more models and choices under the Toyota nameplate than almost any other manufacturer. The Taurus X name is no more silly than a lot of car names. Taurus wagons were part of the mix for most of its run. Why not? Is Explorer Sport Trac not silly? What is so not silly about "Freestyle," especially given that so many people confuse the name with stablemate "Freestar"? What about the BMW X3 or X5? Not silly? The Volvo XC (sometimes called Cross Country)? X does seem to suggest shorthand for crossover or CUV. And Ford learned with the LS that adding a number onto a letter name cam spell trouble (it was originally to be the LS6 and the LS8, but Lexus objected). So, it seems to me the development of the Taurus X name is pretty clear. I have been and continue to be one of the vocal critics of FoMoCo these past 10+ years. It comes from having owned more Ford brand products than any other, and being a longtime stockholder as well (but no more). This strikes me as one of several rational decisions that have appeared since Mulally took the helm from well-meaning doofus Bill. They have a long way to go yet, if they hope to survive at all. Too bad some people got attached to the 500 name...that's another bit of fallout from yet another stupid move. But they are fixing this error now, and doing it before all the previous Tauri have even been sold out. Good for them. Tempest in a teapot. It won't save the company, but it is a move that cannot hurt them at all. It's just so surprising to see such a rational move occur so quickly.
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Replying to: crutnacker (Feb 09, 2007 10:38 pm) Not me . . I wanted a nice big "boring" family sedan, and I chose the Five Hundred. The Crown Vic drives like a boat. |
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Replying to: gregg_vw (Feb 10, 2007 7:53 am) I'm attached to my Five Hundred, but not the name.  Actually, I don't CARE what they call it . . I won't be out looking for a Taurus name-plate to replace my Five Hundred with, that's for sure. And hopefully others won't, either. 
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Replying to: grega (Feb 09, 2007 3:28 pm) 50 to 100% sales increase becaue they changed the NAME??!! Boy do you have a future in marketing. "Baby-boomers grew up with the Taurus"??!! Certainly you're no mathemetician as Baby boomers bought their first cars in the 60s. The idea that you might buy a 500 cause it's now named a Taurus makes even less sense than the idea that I WONT buy a Montego cause it's now named a Sable. Doncha think? ANd the fact that Ford is so lost in the woods that it's renaming a dog after a former sales champ to try to boost sales has absolutely NO relationship to the fact that Toyota and Honda have kept the same names for their quality cars for 30 years. None. Zippo. As I've said, if Ford sells ONE more Taurus than it sold 500s it will be because they finally gave it the engine it needed. |
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Replying to: pnewby (Feb 09, 2007 5:45 am) pnewby: I know who you're speaking of. He was not dumped. He left Ford for a startup when Ford made the decision in 2002 to drop the manual transmission from the LS, effectively sealing it's fate. Jim dorve a manual LS - a blue one in fact - and once he could see that his vision for Lincoln was not shared with Bill Ford and the other schmucks in charge at Ford, he got out. A smart move on his part.
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