Ford Five Hundred to be called Taurus after all?

[ifcar]

Here's the new Sable:

[JWC]

I used to rent cars I was interested in for weekend test runs. 

[Catman]

Here's the new Sable:

That's actually very handsome IMO.

[YO]

YO WAS RIGHT!!

[TheIntrepid]

How were you right you troll?

[Atomic]

Five Hundred is a shit name.? They could at least call it a Ford 500.? Mind you, I think both names sound kinda old fashioned, Taurus probably isn't going to appeal to many younger buyers I'm guessing.

But are people really that stupid?? The Five Hundred has been a Five Hundred for too long now, they can't just change it to Taurus and expect people to think 'oh, the new Taurus, wow!'.

I think it would be better if they wait for the next generation of models if they really are planning to change the name.

i totally agree? ! however, i would still retire the taurus and sable names indefinately.

gee, how about ford galaxy 500? ford fairlane 500? i like them both. as for merury, i'd stick w/ the mercury montego moniker. sable??

ford will change the name of the freestyle, as well! read below...

CHICAGO -- Ford Motor Co. today said it will bring back the Taurus and Sable nameplates, rechristening the Ford Five Hundred and Mercury Montego sedans for the 2008 model year.

Ford also is renaming the Ford Freestyle crossover the Taurus X. The renamed vehicles will go on sale at the end of summer, Ford said.

But the 2008 Ford Taurus will not get a price cut to better compete against the Toyota Camry and Honda Accord sedans -- the prime competitors for the Taurus model that was discontinued in October.

So the new Ford Taurus will be lined up against larger vehicles such as the Toyota Avalon sedan. The current Ford Five Hundred has a base price of $23,785, compared with base prices of $19,090 for the Toyota Camry and $27,495 for the Toyota Avalon. All prices include shipping.

"We believe it takes more than two years of consistent marketing and literally hundreds of millions of dollars for brand awareness to reach appropriate levels," Mark Fields, Ford's president of the Americas and the executive in charge of the automaker's restructuring, said today at the Chicago Auto Show. "Frankly, that strategy will not work for us.

"Honestly, we never should have walked away from the tremendous equity we built in the Taurus and Sable names," Fields said.

Since joining the automaker last year, Ford CEO Alan Mulally has publicly questioned the wisdom of dropping the Taurus nameplate.

The Taurus nameplate is a Ford Motor icon. It first appeared in December 1985 as a 1986 model and fueled a sales revival at the automaker.

The Taurus reigned as the top-selling car in the United States from 1992 through 1996 but gave up that title to the Toyota Camry. Sales continued to fall in the following years. In 2006, Ford built the Taurus solely for fleets. Production ended in October.

~ Rick Kranz, February 7, 2007

by renaming the slow selling freestyle "taurus x" (dumb name, imo), fmc seems to be striving to make the "taurus" a bigger seller in the midsize "sedan" segment than it really is.

[ifcar]

I wonder if they'll combine Five Hundred and Freestyle sales under Taurus/Taurus X. Maybe that's what they had in mind.

[Atomic]

I wonder if they'll combine Five Hundred and Freestyle sales under Taurus/Taurus X. Maybe that's what they had in mind.

my thoughts exactly! i'd still prefer ford "500" and "500 x" over ford "taurus" and "taurus x"  !

[Payman]

At least GM's turnaround involves lots of new and exciting product. Unfortunately, Ford is fucked, IMO.

[Eye of the Tiger]

Save for a certain Mustang, all of Ford's American market cars are junk.

[LonghornTX]

Save for a certain Mustang, all of Ford's American market cars are junk.

Eh, I think the Fusion is quite respectable as well.

[Raza]

Save for a certain Mustang, all of Ford's American market cars are junk.

The Focus is a little behind the times, but it's still good.

[SVT666]

Eh, I think the Fusion is quite respectable as well.

So is the Freestyle.  In fact it's a great car.  So good in fact, that we bought one.

[thewizard16]

The cars aren't really the problem so much, they've definitely improved, it's the people running the company that amaze me.

[SJ_GTI]

Name change aside, the 500 was always a very good, practical car. Its main issues were style and engine power.

Engine power is fixed for sure, and style is better (though still on the bland side).

Personally I think the 500 is better than the Avalon, 300 Touring, Maxima, Grand Prix (okay, not saying much this one  ), and Lucerne V6.

If I needed a car with this much space (which a lot of families do), I would take a Taurus w/ AWD in a second.

[mazda6er]

At least they got rid of that "everything has to begin with an 'F'" thing. I wouldn't want to drive around in a Fustang.

[Vinsanity]

Name change aside, the 500 was always a very good, practical car. Its main issues were style and engine power.

Engine power is fixed for sure, and style is better (though still on the bland side).

Personally I think the 500 is better than the Avalon, 300 Touring, Maxima, Grand Prix (okay, not saying much this one? ), and Lucerne V6.

If I needed a car with this much space (which a lot of families do), I would take a Taurus w/ AWD in a second.

just curious - in what ways do you think this car is better than the Maxima, 300, and Avalon?

[SJ_GTI]

just curious - in what ways do you think this car is better than the Maxima, 300, and Avalon?

AWD, 6-speed automatic or CVT, interior space, driving dynamics, fuel economy, etc...

Other than it being a Ford, what is it you think is so bad about this car?

[ifcar]

just curious - in what ways do you think this car is better than the Maxima, 300, and Avalon?

First of all, it's less expensive than any of them, and none are as roomy. It did better in crash tests than any of them. It's more comfortable than the Maxima. It handles better than the Avalon. Unlike the 300, you can see out of it.

The Five Hundred is more of a Camry/Impala competitor anyway.

[nickdrinkwater]

First of all, it's less expensive than any of them, and none are as roomy. It did better in crash tests than any of them. It's more comfortable than the Maxima. It handles better than the Avalon. Unlike the 300, you can see out of it.

The Five Hundred is more of a Camry/Impala competitor anyway.

What does the Fusion compete with?

[ifcar]

Camry/Accord/Altima/etc. The Camry is sized between the two, and the V6 Camry is comparable in price to the V6-only Five Hundred.

[Vinsanity]

First of all, it's less expensive than any of them, and none are as roomy. It did better in crash tests than any of them. It's more comfortable than the Maxima. It handles better than the Avalon. Unlike the 300, you can see out of it.

The Five Hundred is more of a Camry/Impala competitor anyway.

meh. to me, it's like they threw a bunch of family sedan ingredients from the Avalon and Impala, and came out with a spectacularly mediocre package that's neither here nor there.

that said, (addressing SJ), I never said that I thought the Taurus 500 was a bad car. it's the perfect car for my dad

[JWC]

In case anyone missed it, the CVT is gone for the "new" Taurus.  Six speed auto only now.

Reading Ford's message to dealers this morning led to some confusion on my part.  It states that the all new Taurus has 500 new engineering changes.

Ok.

Does that mean that the Taurus has changed from the previous Taurus, because it is/was a 500?  Or, does it mean that there are 500 changes from the previous Taurus?  (In essence, meaning the same as the first question).  To me, it is a dumbass statement either way. 


They are making it sound as if the Five-Hundred never existed and this is a all new model from Ford.

[ifcar]

It shares nothing with the original Taurus now that they replaced the engine, except maybe the steering wheel. They mean the 07 Five Hundred to 08 Taurus, I'm sure.

[JWC]

It shares nothing with the original Taurus now that they replaced the engine, except maybe the steering wheel. They mean the 07 Five Hundred to 08 Taurus, I'm sure.

What "500" engineering changes have they made to the Five-Hundred....err....Taurus. Except to rename it.

The way it was phrased makes it misleading.

I do know that; the engine changed, the CVT was dropped, there were structural changes, exterior trim changes, I supposed they changed the rear brake pad composition since the original design was locking up, causing the rear wheels to drag. 

At the introduction, it was touted as the Taurus you loved has returned, brand new.  The press release should have read:

The Five-Hundred, that you didn't buy has returned as a product that now has some name recognition.

[MX793]

I don't know if anybody else saw this, but it's solid gold

http://www.autoblog.com/2007/02/14/meet-the-2008-ford-taurus-heritage-edition/

[SJ_GTI]

I don't know if anybody else saw this, but it's solid gold

http://www.autoblog.com/2007/02/14/meet-the-2008-ford-taurus-heritage-edition/

I saw it over on VWVortex. Its pretty funny stuff. 

[the Teuton]

They actually do look pretty similar.  That is funny.

[ifcar]

Not only is that very clever, but I find myself liking it more than the 3-bar version.

[omicron]

I don't know if anybody else saw this, but it's solid gold

http://www.autoblog.com/2007/02/14/meet-the-2008-ford-taurus-heritage-edition/

Oh my Lord. That's eerie.

Scary as shit, too.