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R.I.P. Ford Taurus, 1986-2006

R.I.P. Ford Taurus, 1986-2006

By Marty Padgett's avatar Marty PadgettMarty Padgett October 20th, 2006

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Sometime next week, the Ford Taurus will roll into history. Another instance of Ford dumping a good nameplate, perhaps — and 21 years of history and seven million copies shuffle off into memory with it.

Count me as one of the people double-whammied by the Taurus’ departure. As a former Taurus owner, I have no regrets over the demise of the once most popular four-door in America.

Tauruses had terrible automatic transmission durability, and when we sent ours to its final resting place — CarMax — it was one of the stricken, shifting with great hesitation. But I didn’t have any. The egg-on-wheels tumblehome meant I hit my head every time on the roofline. The seats stank — a weird chemical smell that came from time passing, not from human interaction. The cupholder had long ago broken and a replacement part was worth more than 50 Starbucks visits.

I left the Taurus unenchanted, but it didn’t start that way. In 1991 when I started writing about cars, some would say professionally, the Taurus was being rebaked. That was the model year that the Taurus would become the best-selling car in the U.S., with more than 410,000 copies sold. And it was a decent makeover: a new dash for airbags, a new front end for smoothness, but no sign yet of the over-ovoid silliness that plagued our 1996 model and hundreds of thousands after it. Not until 2000 did Ford correct those bad styling choices executed under Alex Trotman in 1996 — and by then it was too late.

The other stinging blow is to my hometown. When Ford closes up shop next week, it loses a WWII-era plant in Atlanta with one of the company’s highest quality, most productive workforces. Where’s the logic in losing that? It’s a slap that makes no sense to a town that once revolved around its two big employers, Ford and Delta. The plant site might well be absorbed into our behemoth airport, which lies just to its west. Or it could be sold off to real estate developers. But most of us will remember Hapeville as “where Ford used to be.”

Ford’s made plenty of mistakes with the Taurus. It’s still the company’s best-selling passenger car and yet that alone isn’t enough to save it from extinction. Styling killed it with retail buyers. Marketing killed it for them, too. And the Camry and Accord killed it in reliability and progressive image.

But it didn’t have to be this way. Enlarge Photo Sometime next week, the Ford Taurus will roll into history. Another instance of Ford dumping a good nameplate, perhaps — and 21 years of history and seven million copies shuffle off into memory with it. Count me as one of the people double-whammied by the Taurus’ departure. As a former Taurus owner, I have no regrets over the demise of the once most popular four-door in America. Tauruses had terrible automatic transmission durability, and when we sent ours to its final resting place — CarMax — it was one of the stricken, shifting with great hesitation. But I didn’t have any. The egg-on-wheels tumblehome meant I hit my head every time on the roofline. The seats stank — a weird chemical smell that came from time passing, not from human interaction. The cupholder had long ago broken and a replacement part was worth more than 50 Starbucks visits. I left the Taurus unenchanted, but it didn’t start that way. In 1991 when I started writing about cars, some would say professionally, the Taurus was being rebaked. That was the model year that the Taurus would become the best-selling car in the U.S., with more than 410,000 copies sold. And it was a decent makeover: a new dash for airbags, a new front end for smoothness, but no sign yet of the over-ovoid silliness that plagued our 1996 model and hundreds of thousands after it. Not until 2000 did Ford correct those bad styling choices executed under Alex Trotman in 1996 — and by then it was too late. The other stinging blow is to my hometown. When Ford closes up shop next week, it loses a WWII-era plant in Atlanta with one of the company’s highest quality, most productive workforces. Where’s the logic in losing that? It’s a slap that makes no sense to a town that once revolved around its two big employers, Ford and Delta. The plant site might well be absorbed into our behemoth airport, which lies just to its west. Or it could be sold off to real estate developers. But most of us will remember Hapeville as “where Ford used to be.” Ford’s made plenty of mistakes with the Taurus. It’s still the company’s best-selling passenger car and yet that alone isn’t enough to save it from extinction. Styling killed it with retail buyers. Marketing killed it for them, too. And the Camry and Accord killed it in reliability and progressive image. But it didn’t have to be this way.

Tags: Industry, Shoppers

Posted in: 2008, Ford, Taurus



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Responses (17 total)

  1. 1
  2. 2

  1. By  Gary T #1, Posted: 10/20/2006

    I owned four Taurus/Sables over the years and they were all excellent cars. I had not troubles with any of them. I still have a 01 Taurus SEL and it's still giving me great service on bad weather days when I don't want to drive my Jaguar. I'm sad to see it go. Ford Motor Company, please don't sell Jaguar!

  2. By gg #2, Posted: 10/20/2006

    Then why did you buy one????????

  3. By Ed #3, Posted: 10/20/2006

    Ford had a good car and a good seller in the Taurus. Why not upgrade it every year instead of discontinuing?

  4. By Mike Davis #4, Posted: 10/20/2006

    Truer words were never written, and this is coming from an insider.

  5. By Perry van wagenen #5, Posted: 10/20/2006

    Ford has a habit of tripping over its own feet perodically, due ,probably, to myopic management. They created a highly successful brand with the Taurus, then ignored it to death, rather than upgrade the quality, and keep the design fresh. Strange management at Ford.

  6. By Ray Franks #6, Posted: 10/21/2006

    Marty- I just read your obit on the Taurus. I have to agree, that going down in flames didn't have to happen to what once was the shining star on the horizon of the American sedan. I had an '89 LX, which up until that time was the nicest car we'd ever had. But the 3.8 head gaskets got it. By the time I found it, the motor was toast. Unfortunately, I replaced it with a '93 Sable, as my daughter's car. I soon found out that all the 3.8 head gaskets will fail, but this time we saved the motor, to the tune of a $2200 rebuild. But thereafter, it ran great, finally getting traded last month, at over 160K. What replaced it? A Subaru. American built, but just not the same, not a Big Three product. This is our second Japanese car, our second Subie. And when my Cherokee thunders off into the sunset, I cannot in good conscience replace it with anything designed here, not with the horror stories you can read in many places, including this site. And besides, how many car brands have websites devoted to high mileage examples of a marque? I can think of only one, and it's not an American manufacturer. Please, for all that is good and holy, WAKE UP AMERICA!!!!!

  7. By Larry Hoskinson #7, Posted: 10/24/2006

    Where has Ford been the last 10 years? All that company had to do was just look out their corporate windows and see what the people were driving and why. Some time back it seems that Ford gave up the idea of developing autos that the people wanted and needed, some fool got it into his mind to build and advertise nothing but pickups and that is what they went with. Its not to late yet, but somebody had best get their heads out and go back to building what the buyers want.

  8. By  Dan Topping #8, Posted: 10/24/2006

    Another sad chapter in Ford annals of mistakes, such as messing up the Thunderbird, flopping out on the Fairlane and Shelbys, Mustang languished for years in the late 70's and 1980's, thumbed their noses at Iococca when he wanted to build the minivan back in the mid 1970's, which he took with him when reviving Chrysler in the early 1980's, took 30 years to change ancient 1960 suspension under the F-150, built Explorers with Ranger suspensions. Ford has squandered more opportunities than most companies would have have in several Edsel lifetimes. Henry has polished the inside of his coffin nicely by now I'm sure. And I haven't even scratched the surface. Hopefully with their back against the wall, they may see the light, if not, better companies will rise from the ashes. R.I.P., indeed.

  9. By  Dan Topping #9, Posted: 10/24/2006

    OOPs, I neglected the exploding Pintos, and the sagging Mavericks from rusting in two. I'll stop now.

  10. By Everett Rupert #10, Posted: 10/24/2006

    I don't know why it is all the rage to criticize American cars, relenting only when you mentioned that the Tarus' demise causes a Ford plant to be shuttered in your home town.

    Have you ever considered, in more lucid moments, that the 20 year long media pile on on American cars has contributed to loss of jobs among other things?

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