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Ford Taurus Put To Pasture
Filed under: Miscellaneous, Ford Taurus, Sedans, Midsize
Countdown to the end of an era begins this week as the Ford Hapeville Plant in Hapeville, Georgia, prepares to assemble the last Ford Taurus.
The Taurus is Ford’s most successfully-selling car to date, with the company selling nearly seven million sedans since its introduction in 1995. The car was also the last American vehicle to hold the top spot as best-selling car between 1992 through 1996 before Toyota assumed the position with the Camry. While reasons vary as to exactly why the Taurus fell out of favor with the American public, most point to Ford’s focus to the more profitable SUVs and trucks in the 1990s as the car’s deathblow. The Ford Five Hundred, the Freestyle SUV, and the Fusion are considered the replacements to the Taurus. It’s Mercury twin, the Mercury Sable, was discontinued last year. Our take? The Taurus, despite its sullied name among enthusiasts, is still a well-known vehicle by the public and we’re not sure why Ford had to come up with no less than three vehicles to replace it, none carrying the well-known moniker. Did marketing point to figures showing the hypothetical “modern” Taurus would not sell? Both the Honda Accord and Toyota Camry, which currently occupy the number three and number one spots as best-selling cars in the U.S., didn’t change their names even after a weak entry into the U.S. market. We just hope that Ford will be looking more long-term for the Taurus replacements and its future vehicles.
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