Ford Taurus Totally Explained

Everything about The Ford Taurus totally explained

The Ford Taurus is an automobile manufactured by the Ford Motor Company in the United States. Initially a front-wheel drive mid-size car, it has since evolved into a full-size car available in front- or all-wheel drive. Originally introduced in the 1986 model year, it has remained in near continuous production for more than two decades, making it the fourth oldest nameplate that's currently sold in the Ford lineup. Only the Ranger, Mustang, and F-150 have been in production longer. Throughout its production run, it had a Mercury branded version entitled the Sable, as well as a performance variant, the Ford Taurus SHO. It is currently sold alongside a crossover SUV variant, the Ford Taurus X.
   The original Taurus was a milestone design for Ford and the entire American automotive industry, as well as a very influential vehicle that brought many new features and innovations to the marketplace., making it the fifth bestselling North American nameplate in Ford's history; only the F-150, Escort, Model T, and Mustang eventually losing the title to the Toyota Camry in 1997
   The Taurus was briefly discontinued in 2006, with production initially ending on October 27, 2006, with 2007 being the last model year. However, Ford revived the Taurus name a few months later by renaming two new models that were intended to be facelifted versions of the Ford Five Hundred and Ford Freestyle "Taurus" and "Taurus X", respectively, and have announced that a new Taurus is in development for a 2010 release. Previously, at both Ford and General Motors, interior and exterior designers worked separately with no input from each other or from engineers. As a result, the interiors and exteriors of many American cars seemed "mismatched". Unlike the Escort, though, the Taurus was developed entirely by American engineers at Ford's headquarters. Popular Mechanics also tested pre-production Tauruses, and gave praised them as well, describing them as a "totally new breed of car" When the Taurus was actually released in 1986, it garnered unanimous critical praise from automotive publications. It went on to win many awards, most notably being named Motor Trend's Car of the Year for 1986, as well as being named on Car and Driver's Ten Best List for 1986.
   It was also received very well by the public, as over 200,000 Tauruses were sold for the 1986 model year., and was named a "Future Classic" by Autoblog . A 1986 Taurus is also currently featured in the Henry Ford Museum's Showroom of Automotive History exhibit, in which it's touted as "one of the two most significant American automobiles of the 1980s", the other being the Dodge Caravan/Plymouth Voyager.

First generation (1986 – 1991)

The first-generation Taurus was launched in 1986 to strong fanfare and sales, replacing the slow-selling LTD. Upon the Taurus' debut, Ford was producing a range of rear-wheel drive cars, as Chrysler and General Motors offered more front-wheel drive vehicles. With the introduction of the Tempo, Ford had started its own transition to front-wheel drive.

Exterior

The Taurus displayed a rounder shape than its contemporaries, often likened to a 'jelly bean' or 'flying potato', inspired by the design of the Audi 5000 and Ford's own Tempo. Originally, the NHTSA required that all cars sold in the United States use standardized round or rectangular sealed beam headlights, and Ford had to convince them to change the rule to allow the headlights be any shape, as long as they met federal lighting standards., as well as becoming adapted to many other cars, and are still used on nearly all cars today. In 1990, it got a redesigned dashboard. Every body panel, save for the doors, was redesigned. However, many of the redesigned components closely resembled that of the previous generation, leading many to falsely believe that this generation is just a face-lift of the previous generation. Output of the police Essex version was 15 bhp greater than the standard due to the addition of a dual exhaust muffler system, similar to that standard on the SHO; a Y-pipe was added after the resonator which allowed for the split to both sides of the rear of the vehicle. Other changes included a larger fuel tank, stainless steel brake lines, standard 4-wheel disc brakes with ABS, a modified front grille fascia that had a slit in it to allow for increased airflow to the radiator, and a certified calibration 140 mph speedometer.
Breaking down and testing competing cars, as well as listening to customer input played a large part in the development of the third generation Taurus, just like it did during the development of the first generation. Many competing cars were broken down and extensively tested in order for the Taurus to be designed to be superior to them in terms of comfort, performance, and refinement Customer input played a large part into the design of the third generation Taurus' interior. The dashboard's design originated from a large number of complaints from customers that the previous Taurus' radio and climate control modules were cluttered with many small and similar feeling buttons, as well as small graphics, which caused the driver to have to look away from the road to be able to operate them properly. As a result, a large portion of the third generation's dash was devoted to the radio and climate control, with each button on these modules containing a unique design, making it easier for the driver to operate the radio and climate control without taking their eyes off the road. This would eventually lead to the creation of the Integrated Control Panel. Ford's trim designers specially selected every one of the Taurus' interior materials, so that every surface, as well as every button and control, was pleasing to the touch. The wagon was unveiled at the 1995 Chicago Auto Show, and garnered similar amounts of attention. After their respective unveilings, both vehicles became among the most anticipated new cars of the 1996 model year

Interior

The interior was also completely redesigned for the 1996 model year. Like that of the previous two generations, the interior was designed to be user friendly. The GL was basic, and didn't have any optional features, while the LX came with many standard features and was highly configurable. To close the price gap between the Taurus and the Ford Contour, as well as to increase sales, a entry level G model was added midway into the 1996 model year, as essentially a slightly discontented GL.
As well as being sold in the North American market, third generation models were sent abroad to Australia, Hong Kong, Japan and New Zealand, in right-hand drive configuration. However, this action proved unsuccessful. In these markets, it wore Mercury Sable headlamps and a unique front bumper cover to conform to these countries' regulations regarding automotive lighting. Australians and New Zealanders tended to stay away from the cars, due to their high price; a well equipped, larger-engined rear-wheel drive Ford Fairmont cost around the same amount. Vulcan equipped models came with the 4 speed AX4S transmission, while Duratec equipped models got the 4 speed AX4N transmission. However, some Vulcan equipped models randomly received the AX4N transmission for no apparent reason.

Fourth generation (2000–2007)

The Taurus received another redesign for 2000, which replaced many of the oval derived design elements of the previous model. To reduce the price to keep it competitive, Ford did cost cutting on the car in 1999, such as giving the Taurus sedan rear drum brakes on ABS equipped vehicles (previously upgrading to ABS included the addition of rear disc brakes), eliminating the dual exhaust on the higher end models, and trimming many other small features.

Exterior

When the third generation Taurus debuted, it was hurt by criticism by its design, which was formed from oval derived design elements. The design was very controversial, and it strongly limited the appeal of the car. As a result, for the fourth generation Taurus, Ford designed it with a very conservative design in hopes of increasing the car's appeal. Instead of sloping back, this car's trunk stood upright in a more traditional shape, which greatly increased trunk space. The roof was also raised into a more upright stance to increase headroom, which can be evidenced by the thicker C-pillar and larger area between the tops of the doors and the top of the roof.
The front and rear clips were also redesigned on the Taurus and Sable sedans;all body panels on the sedans were brand new except...just as had occurred in 1992 when the second generation models were introduced...the doors. Station wagons received the new front clips but from the firewall back they were essentially the same as the 1996-1999 wagons. The Taurus now had the turn signals integrated into the headlamps, similar to that of the previous generation Sable. The front bumper was also redesigned to include a larger front grill which, like the previous generation, contained a chrome bar running through the middle containing the Ford logo. The rear clip was redesigned with a larger trunk and trunklid, as mentioned above, as well as giving the Taurus two large taillights as opposed to the rear lightbar used in the previous generation cars. Mounted on the trunklid was a large chrome bar containing the Ford logo, like in the front. In 2004, the front clip was slightly redesigned, and the Taurus got a new front bumper and lights. The grille was made smaller, with the chrome bar removed, replaced by just a large Ford logo in the center. The taillights were slightly redesigned, with larger reverse lights, and the chrome bar above the license plate bracket was changed to the body color.

Interior

The interior was completely redesigned with a more conservative shape, although some features from the previous cars were carried over. The dashboard was redesigned with a more conservative design that went straight across the front, as opposed to curving around the driver like in the previous generation. The "Integrated Control Panel" was carried over yet redesigned, although it was made in a bigger, square shape, and placed in the center of the dash instead of being tilted toward the driver. The Flip-Fold center console was also carried over from the previous generation, although it was revamped as well. When folded out, it now rested against the floor instead of the dashboard, and had revamped cupholders and storage areas.
   For 2003 and 2004, the SES model received a "Sport" package, which consisted of different rims, and the Duratec engine standard. In addition, the exterior of the vehicle received Sport badging on the front quarter-panels, the chrome bar on the grille was changed to the body color, the interior received two-toned cloth seats, a two-toned dash applique, special "Sport" floor mats, and a leather covered steering wheel. This model was only offered in four colors.
   The engines were carried over from the previous generation, with the Vulcan being the only available engine on the LX and SE, producing 155 horsepower and 185 Torque, and as the base engine on the SES. The Duratec engine was optional on the SES and standard on the SEL, producing 200 horsepower. For 2005, with the LX and SES models being dropped, the Duratec was only available on the SEL, and in 2006 the Duratec was dropped altogether, with the Vulcan becoming the standard and only engine available on the SEL. All models came with the four speed AX4N transmission, although a few 3.0 litre Vulcan models up until 2003 received the similar AX4S transmission. destined for delivery to S. Truett Cathy, owner of Chick-fil-A. Mr. Cathy's original restaurant was located across from the Ford Atlanta plant. There was no official event or function of any kind to mark the end of production. Rather than investing in an older nameplate, Ford had decided to replace the Taurus with the fullsize Five Hundred and midsize Fusion sedans, as well as replacing the Taurus wagon with the Freestyle crossover SUV.
   The discontinuation of the Taurus was controversial. While many believed that the Taurus was discontinued because it could no longer compete in the growing sedan market, others believed that if Ford wanted to save the car, they could have easily done so. Autoblog went as far as calling the Taurus the biggest fall from grace in history, and even blamed Ford's current financial problems on their failure to keep the Taurus competitive, as well as how they focused nearly all of their development resources and marketing on trucks and SUVs. The Truth About Cars published a review/editorial also showing their disappointment at how Ford neglected the Taurus to the point where it became a "rental car" MSNBC interviewed many Ford workers who felt that Ford unjustly abandoned the car that had done so much to revitalize Ford and the US industry. In an October 25, 2006 USA Today editorial, "How Ford starved its Taurus" it was noted that the Japanese stick with their winners and make them better (such as the Toyota Corolla, which has been in continuous production since the 1960s), while Detroit automakers retires cars or entire division nameplates in search of "the next big thing".
   However, after Alan Mulally took position as Ford's CEO, rumors were rampant that he was interested in reviving the Taurus. These were fueled by the fact that he said in an interview with the Associated Press that he was baffled to find out that the Taurus had been discontinued when taking position as CEO at Ford, as well as stating that he believed that discontinuing the Taurus was a mistake, and that the Five Hundred should have been named "Taurus" from the beginning. The rumors of a possible Taurus revival were confirmed in mid 2007, when the revamped versions of the Five Hundred and Freestyle were unveiled as "Taurus" and "Taurus X" at the 2007 Chicago Auto Show, a decision that was influenced strongly by Mulally.

Fifth generation (2008-present)

As a result, the Ford Five Hundred sedan, as produced for the 2005–2007 model year, was scheduled for a significant styling facelift update and power upgrade for the 2008 model year. Ford decided to redesignate that model the Taurus because of customer recognition and dealer demand. It was determined that Ford's strategy to redesignate new cars in the lineup with new names beginning with the letter F, as in Ford Focus, Ford Fusion, and Ford Freestyle, wasn't a good marketing move, as some of the renamed cars had highly recognizable iconic names. The new F names were not as well known to be associated with Ford in the US, and consumers were confused by the name changes. Mulally believed that the Taurus had an immediately strong brand equity, and that it would take years for consumers to have a similar recognition of the Five Hundred.
   Changes to the new Taurus from the existing Five Hundred include over 500 changes with the most obvious being a newly styled front end and the addition of the 263 hp 3.5 L Duratec 35 V6 which replaces the 203 hp Duratec 30 3.0 L V6. The Five Hundred/Freestyle's ZF-Batavia CVT, which had maximum torque capacity of, is also replaced with a Ford-GM joint venture six-speed automatic capable of withstanding the Duratec 35s additional torque. The Taurus sedan twin, the Mercury Sable nameplate, was revived from the Mercury Montego.
   Ford is currently developing a redesigned Taurus that's to go on sale in 2010. This new Taurus is rumored to contain the same dimensions of this model, and that a SHO version will be offered. Recent pictures have circulated on the internet of a prototype purported to be the 2010 Ford Taurus. These claims were later verified when Ford contemplated legal action against web sites posting the photo up to and including Ford attorneys calling site owners to ask for removal of the photo.
   This generation of the Taurus is sold in the Middle East as the Ford Five Hundred from 2008 onwards.

Use in NASCAR

In 1997, the Taurus started to be used in NASCAR racing, replacing the Thunderbird, which had been discontinued after the 1997 model year, The idea of withdrawing the Thunderbird was risky, as the Thunderbirds had won eighteen races in 1997, the model's second-most wins after the twenty-one wins in 1994. General Motors had already used 2-door versions of their front-wheel drive mid-sizes in NASCAR: the Chevy Lumina and Monte Carlo, Pontiac Grand Prix, Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme and Buick Regal in NASCAR competition. Since Ford no longer manufactured any 2-door mid-size cars, the 4-door Taurus was chosen, although NASCAR racecars were traditionally based upon two door cars.
The NASCAR edition of the Taurus was developed by the Penske Racing South group based in Mooresville, North Carolina. The first one was owned by Don Miller, the co-owner and manager of Penske Racing South.
The Taurus won fifteen races in the introductory season, nine more than the Thunderbird won in its first five seasons. This success helped to put the Taurus at the top of the NASCAR standings in 1999. The Taurus would go on to win over 100 races during its NASCAR career. The Taurus was eventually retired after the 2005 season, and the Ford NASCAR bodies instead became based upon the Fusion.

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