…well sort of. Last year Ford announced it had stopped production of the Ford Taurus (they were still being sold outside the US.) However earlier this week new Ford CEO Alan Mullaly said he was disappointed that Ford had stopped using such a successful name plate. So today they formally announced that the Ford 500 would be renamed the Taurus beginning in 2008. The Mercury version of the 500, currently called the Montego, will get Sable badges.
What is ironic is that the Taurus and Sable were once Ford’s best selling cars, while the 500 and Montego have been pure disappointments - with sale of the 500 dropping from 108,000 in 2005 to just 84,000 in 2006.
Clearly the new CEO thinks bringing back the old names will change consumer perception about the new models. Hard to say, but it will certainly make for an interesting marketing case-study.
[…] This is interesting to folks following the downtrodden automaker that is Ford these days. Just last year, Ford announced that they had decided to kill the Taurus, which went into production over twenty years ago. Since the Taurus had only been gone for about two months before Ford announced it’s return, this might be the strangest case of decision remorse ever seen in an automakers. […]
By Automotive Blogger » Blog Archive » Ford giving away a Taurus and Taurus X on Extreme Makeover. May 19th, 2007 at 7:09 amYou know, I am SO SICK AND TIRED of the biased automotive media and the BRAINWASHED FOOLS who buy Toyotas and Hondas blathering on about “quality” being the reason why they do not like American cars! That is such a LIE! I have been reading car magazines for 19 years, and it is ALWAYS the same crap with them. They HATE any car that is not a tiny, high-revving, featherweight toy that handles like an MG and has 5 hp. That basically excludes, and has ALWAYS excluded MOST of Detroits offerings. “Quality”, “Reliability” MY EYE! I wish they and the brainless drones with their Accords and Camrys would just drop the posturing and pretense, and ADMIT that THAT is the reason they do not like American cars.
As far as Ford, GM, and Chrysler, go, what they need to do is cut out the Japanese/Euro clones and the SUV crap, and get back to building state-of-the-art, well built, rear-drive, body-on-frame, TRUE mid-sized and TRUE full-sized cars in coupe, convertible, sedan, & station wagon body styles avaliable with modern, efficient, big V-6 and V-8 engines. They should keep making big V-8s of 5-liters plus, but they should also make smaller V-8s in 3-4 liter sizes to fight the fuel economy stuff, and for goodness sakes, spend time, research, and money in trying to find high-tech ways to make big V-8s more fuel efficient! THAT is what Detroit needs to do, play up it’s strengths, and STOP playing this ridiculous, futile game that it will NEVER win of trying to please the foreign car-loving media/win over Japanese/European car buyers. And Detroit, pay attention when I say TRUE mid-sized cars, and TRUE full-size cars, because I see evidence of you trying to go back to your roots like I am saying with the Charger and the G8, but they are not good enough! Why? Well, the G8 is TOO SMALL!!!!!!!!!!!! That is NOT a full size car! The Charger is not big enough either. A TRUE mid-sizer is the size of the Charger, and a TRUE full-sizer is Crown Victoria/Caprice sized. Guys, if you want the customrs to replace the now impractical SUVs, you HAVE TO do the cars right to be viable replacements! Come on, you got the engines and layouts right on the Charger and G8 right, but get the size right too! Ford, build a NEW panther platform for your big cars! And DO NOT forget the body-on-frame construction (This is the best configuration for towing, a BIG reason why people buy the SUVs) and the body style variety!
Detroit, you do this, and TRUST ME, all your problems will be solved! BRING BACK the REAL American car!
By SICKANDTIRED. May 5th, 2007 at 12:54 pm[…] Living in Detroit, one hears a great deal about the American automobile industry (indeed, the local news covers little else, with the exception of Michigan firing Tommy Amaker as basketball coach). Car pundits, perhaps in the pay of rental fleets, panned Ford’s decision to discontinue the Taurus sedan / station wagon (as did new CEO Alan Mullaly), noting the wide recognition of the model’s moniker. In addition, this fall I began drinking Tab energy drinks as an alternative to Red Bull, which tastes like cough syrup, and coffee, which tastes like burned motor oil. I had thought that Tab vanished in the early 1980s, when consumers switched to soft drinks that didn’t constantly taste stale. […]
By Info/Law » Trademark Turmoil, Taurus, and Tab. March 19th, 2007 at 11:16 amAnother comment, remeber back in the late 80’s early 90’s, ford was asked why they did not put a bigger engine in the mustang, when it would easily fit, Their answer, the mustang name will always sell the vehicle, we do not need to sell against the camero. Well since the mustang, as underpowered as it is, is still a hot seller.
By nohsp4u. March 16th, 2007 at 6:04 pmFord has made bad mistakes in all our opions, but they are not made overseas, adn tey don’t have a bowtie. I say hail to Ford. I love ‘em long time.
By nohsp4u. March 16th, 2007 at 5:59 pmDown here in Oz we keep on hearing rumours that the new falcon will be heading your way. Any truth to the matter? I think you would like the one currently on sale.
By ben. March 12th, 2007 at 6:40 amChrysler is on the verge of going bankrupt, and Ford is trying to sell to queers and steers, I have an Idea they will be done for also.
By Dan. March 3rd, 2007 at 7:08 pmmaybe ford should bring back the galaxie 500,some of the best fords ever made,since they seem to be going for an older crowd with the 500.i know i loved my old galaxies.
By roger womack. February 17th, 2007 at 4:05 pmMy Ford Five Hundred has plenty to offer. SAFETY, comfort, and great handling (not to mention a very large trunk.) No, it’s not flashy, but if I wanted a vehicle that turns heads, I’d go out and buy a 60s muscle car. I’ve driven 4WD vehicles for years now, and this car handles the Minnesota snow and ice just fine. You won’t catch me doing any ’snowdrift bashing’ with it, but, you’ve gotta grow up sometime…
By Dawn. February 16th, 2007 at 11:57 amI drive a 2005 Sport Trak and bought my wife a 2006 Five Hundred (not 500). She loves it. It has enough power, gets 31 MPH on the road, averages 24 road and town, has more interior room than a Crown Vic, more trunk room than anything, the best entry/ exit of any vehicle, 5 star crash rating, Volvo chassis, and the styling isn’t a box. All that for $24K (LTD model). If I want to go fast, I get out my ‘69 Torino GT. But then I am an old man in my late 50’s.
Ford has spent almost nothing on advertising the Five Hundred. You never see it in Ford ads. Most people just know what they read about it, which is almost always negative. If it didn’t cross an ocean to get here, the automotive press is not impressed.
By LRE in Texas. February 15th, 2007 at 12:47 pmPersonally I think Ford totally dropped the ball on the Taurus, in my opinion I think it was a very good looking car, they just quit pushing the car and…….. in the end it was finally fixed of all it’s problems and they let it go. As for the 500 renamed I don’t think it’s going to fly. The styling is off, And I think it could use better lines and maybe give it some performance too.
By Mike Pliego. February 14th, 2007 at 5:29 pmThe airplane guy actually has some good ideas, like cutting down on how many different prop rods the ford lineups have. I know it sounds funny, but if they did that for more parts they would save a lot of money per unit. Look at how much of the falcon parts bin ended up on the mustang in 1964. The mustang was and still is a sucess. Now they need to do it on more of their cars. It also helps in 15 years when you are trying to find a new door handle in the junkyard for your fusion and 5-6 other vehicles had the same handle.
By 19mach69. February 11th, 2007 at 4:06 pmFord pays the airplane CEO millions for that idea ! How Lame is that.
By Bob. February 11th, 2007 at 5:28 amI think it’s a hoot that Ford thinks changing the nameplate will significantly impact the 500’s sales figures. The use of the Taurus name may have had brand equity years ago but at the end it was no longer the segment leader. Calling the 500 a Taurus now - my pediction is they won’t get very much mileage out of that. I don’t know if I’d extoll the virtues of the Taurus SHO either. That vehicle was motivated with a Yamaha engine. If the 500 had been released with the 3.5 it was supposed to have originally, that would have been a much more valid comparison. I’ve got a 500 for a company car. It’s got plenty of zip. The handling is crisp and will bury that of the Taurus, which I’ve also had as a company vehicle. A great old man’s car it is not. It is a well designed full size Ford four door vehicle that is far removed from a crude Taurus. It’s not even a close comparison. And let’s not forget that the Taurus of yesterday was a top “seller” because most units were sold to government and rental car fleets. When they released the 500, Ford indicated they weren’t going to market it to fleets. From a pure salespoint, they have definitely paid the price. But not everything is about how many you can sell, regardless of what the bean-
By Larry. February 10th, 2007 at 9:43 pmcounters think. Ford’s renaming attempt will fail, that is
my summation.
“anyone who had troubles with a taurus and they were legion will never buy a rebadged 500.which i think is a handsome car,with a geat interior.”
With so many Taurus’ with 200K on the road there are bound be troubles at some point. But I would imagine that expereience would bring them back! The upcoming Taurus will be leaps and bounds better then any other Taurus produced to date. It will be even better then a 500.
Fords product line up is solid. Its just that too many people read into MotorTrend etc. WAY to much. Lets not even talk about consumers report.
By Wildo. February 10th, 2007 at 7:12 pmanyone who had troubles with a taurus and they were legion will never buy a rebadged 500.which i think is a handsome car,with a geat interior.
By roger womack. February 10th, 2007 at 3:26 pmanyone who had troubles with a taurus and they were legion will never buy arebadged 500.which i think is a handsome car,with a geat interior.
By roger womack. February 10th, 2007 at 3:21 pmMichael D. is spot on. Ford makes some great cars, but for the Mustang and Fusion they’re uninspired looking. They’ve also leaned a bit too heavily on the SUV/crossover market at the expense of passenger cars. I drive for a Ford store and have driven everything in the past year but a GT. If you want very affordable peformance, try out a Fusion with a V6/5 speed stick. These little turkeys will rumble, handle like they’re on rails, ride great and aren’t bad looking.
As for trucks, we sell the heck out of F-150s and travel up to 500-800 miles away to find the customer exactly what he or she wants. Ford has no equal in pickups and we prove that by our sales!
By Jan. February 10th, 2007 at 1:18 pmGREAT Comments Mr.Dunlap and 71hotrodpinto!!
By Wildo. February 10th, 2007 at 4:49 amIf Ford wants a successful car, then they should look no further than to their next door neighbors, Diamler-Chrysler. Their LX platform (Magnum, Charger, and 300C) are some of the best selling cars. It shows that the public doesn’t want our car companies to just copy what the Japanese have, but just the opposite, to remain all American. Like with the LX, you can’t get more American than RWD and a Hemi and it’s paying off for them. Also, with the pick-ups, the Japanese will never take a commanding position for the same reason since they just do it the same. What Ford is doing is great, but the problem is that they need to follow their roots and leave Japanese crap w/ the Japanese and follow Chrysler’s example. Also, the F-150 is overdue for an engine that can compete w/ the Hemi and 6.0 Vortec since as it stands, Ford has the weakest V8. It would also be nice to make the truck back into a truck by including a manual trans w/ the V8 (something the other two US makers do and none of the Japanese).
By bassman97. February 9th, 2007 at 10:21 pmFord has been making great use of their engineering capabilties. What some call a boring car depends on your point of view. Nowhere can you find such space and safety at the price of the Five Hundred/08 Taurus. If it was called a Passat, many would marvel at its style.
The Fusion is noted by many as the better handling, braking and best built of the mid-size market. Yet, many will not be won over because they want to believe that foreign is better, while domestichave street cred.
The new Chevy Silverado is a nice redo of their old truck. They are trumpeting a power rear window, a better frame, a tailgate torsion spring, all in the F-150 since Fall of 2003.
Ford has much to be proud of and they need to continue making the product and quality improvements that they now are exhibiting.
It should be noted the number of quality issues that plague Toyota. Maybe the press will put it on the the same front page that they detail all GM and Ford problems.
It might be noted that the Yen is kept low by Japan’s monetary policy, and the American built foreign cars don’t have the retirement costs that Ford, GM and Chrysler have. Their are many issues and I have faith in what strides Ford and GM are making.
By Michael Dunlap. February 9th, 2007 at 7:04 pmYou should rethink your brand loyalty. Go buy a toyota.
By 71hotrodpinto. February 9th, 2007 at 5:57 pmAt least youd be following the trend for no other reason other than because “well, my neighbor bought one.”
People like you are part of the problem not part of the solution….
Ford has really been making me sad lately. They used to make good cars and pickups. But lately, every rig they make seems to be a case study in cheapness. Their 500 looks so bland, and it’s hard to say I’m a Ford guy with all the crap that Ford makes these days. Slapping Taurus on a 500 will most likely not make it sell better, but who knows?
By Ranchero66. February 9th, 2007 at 5:55 pmPerhaps Ford should stop trying to peddle crap cars and start selling cars worth the money you buy them for again.
I predict that Ford will go bankrupt, and be like AMC… non existent. Kinda makes me wanna rethink my brand loyalty.
By Matt. February 9th, 2007 at 4:03 pmThe Ford 500 is a zero car, It has nothing to offer. I’ve had three Taurus wagons in the past, they were good utility vehicles, with front wheel drive. If the transmissions were any good I’d still like to have one. The Ford 500s have no style, no Pazaaz. The Taurus had the SHO model,The 500s have nothing to offer in the way of performance. They are comfortable,and make a great old mans car, but who wants to admit to being an old man?
By allen goldberg. February 9th, 2007 at 3:55 pm