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Review: 2010 Ford Taurus SEL stays big, goes upscale
Filed under: Sedan, Ford, Reviews
In 1985, when few models really stood out from the midsize pack, Ford created one of the most influential vehicles of the late 20th century: the Taurus. Radically styled and intelligently packaged, the Taurus won the hearts and minds of millions of car buyers, and for over a decade, it was a dominant force in the retail car market. Eventually, competition from the Toyota Camry and Honda Accord proved too much for Ford to handle, and the Blue Oval hung its game-changing sedan out to dry. Product development dollars were funneled to trucks and SUVs, and the Zodiac's bull died a pauper's death in 2007 after an achingly long stint as a tattered fleet Queen.
When Alan Mulally took the helm of FoMoCo, the new CEO wondered why the recognizable - if tarnished - Taurus name had been abandoned. So a branding Band-Aid was affixed to the underperforming Five Hundred sedan and, unsurprisingly, consumers saw through the botched rebadging. The "new" Taurus was still the old Five Hundred; a dynamically challenged sedan whose biggest selling point was a really large trunk. In hindsight, the move may have been a way to revive the Taurus in the public's consciousness as Mulally and company went back to the drawing board to create a new world-class sedan capable of taking on the biggest names in the segment. The 2010 Ford Taurus is here... but does it have what it takes?
Gallery: Review: 2010 Ford Taurus SEL
Photos copyright (C)2009 Chris Shunk / Weblogs, Inc.
Continue reading Review: 2010 Ford Taurus SEL stays big, goes upscale
Review: 2010 Ford Taurus SEL stays big, goes upscale originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 29 Sep 2009 11:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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2010 Ford Taurus SEL - Click above for high-res image gallery
In 1985, when few models really stood out from the midsize pack, Ford created one of the most influential vehicles of the late 20th century: the Taurus. Radically styled and intelligently packaged, the Taurus won the hearts and minds of millions of car buyers, and for over a decade, it was a dominant force in the retail car market. Eventually, competition from the Toyota Camry and Honda Accord proved too much for Ford to handle, and the Blue Oval hung its game-changing sedan out to dry. Product development dollars were funneled to trucks and SUVs, and the Zodiac's bull died a pauper's death in 2007 after an achingly long stint as a tattered fleet Queen.
When Alan Mulally took the helm of FoMoCo, the new CEO wondered why the recognizable - if tarnished - Taurus name had been abandoned. So a branding Band-Aid was affixed to the underperforming Five Hundred sedan and, unsurprisingly, consumers saw through the botched rebadging. The "new" Taurus was still the old Five Hundred; a dynamically challenged sedan whose biggest selling point was a really large trunk. In hindsight, the move may have been a way to revive the Taurus in the public's consciousness as Mulally and company went back to the drawing board to create a new world-class sedan capable of taking on the biggest names in the segment. The 2010 Ford Taurus is here... but does it have what it takes?
Gallery: Review: 2010 Ford Taurus SEL
Photos copyright (C)2009 Chris Shunk / Weblogs, Inc.
Continue reading Review: 2010 Ford Taurus SEL stays big, goes upscale
Review: 2010 Ford Taurus SEL stays big, goes upscale originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 29 Sep 2009 11:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | Email this | Comments
More...