Ford 500 and Ford Freestyle, talk about too little too late. . .

[archcommus]

Originally posted by: Pacfanweb

Originally posted by: archcommus
You are wrong. They never did anything but minor changes from 86-95. Same car the whole time.
And regardless of how many they sold, they still were crap compared to the 96-present body style.
Far, far, far more problems. This is not even a debatable fact.

Actually you are wrong, there were two generations between 86-95. That is fact.

Learn to read. There was ONE body style from 86-95. Don't try to argue with someone who worked at a freaking Ford dealership for 16 years.
Here is a quote from the link YOU PROVIDED:

The car was given a cosmetic facelift in 1992 and a major redesign in 1996

"Cosmetic Makeover" means they spiffed the SAME BODY STYLE up a bit. Not a major change.
Dash, head lights and tail lights, mostly.
They did not change the actual body style until 1996.
You can put a 1986 and a 1995 next to each other and you can see they are basically the same car. Lots of interchangeable parts. Very little interchanges with the 96-present models and the 95-down.
Sorry, but you asked for it.

[/quote]
Well I somewhat stand corrected. True, it is the same basic body style from 86-95, you are right about that. However, in the 92 update EVERY body panel was replaced except for the roof, and of course the entire interior was redesigned. That is why I said you were wrong, I was referring to your statement of "they never did anything but minor changes from 86-95." Personally I consider those more than minor changes. And then I proceeded to say that there were two generations during that time period, which is still true.

 

[Pacfanweb]

Originally posted by: archcommus
Well I somewhat stand corrected. True, it is the same basic body style from 86-95, you are right about that. However, in the 92 update EVERY body panel was replaced except for the roof, and of course the entire interior was redesigned. That is why I said you were wrong, I was referring to your statement of "they never did anything but minor changes from 86-95." Personally I consider those more than minor changes. And then I proceeded to say that there were two generations during that time period, which is still true.

No, there were not two generations. Wikipedia is not the authority on cars by any means.
So Wiki saying it doesn't mean there were two generations.
There were two generations of the Taurus, period. 86-95, and 96-06.
Quote from that article again:

While the design was basically the same, every body panel except for the roof was changed.

So sure, they changed the styling a bit, but that's all. Same basic car, there was no major overhaul or change until 1996, which was a totally different car.
They just freshened the style up in 1992. Bought a bit more time until it was time for a complete change, basically.
And the original Taurus actually lived on even after 1995, in a way: The Windstar was based on the 1995 Taurus design...the first Windstars actually shared some front end parts, (headlight housings, etc.) with the 1995 Taurus.

Here are other examples of cars that changed a bit through the years but were still considered the same "generation":
70-81 Firebird/Camaro
73-87 GMC/Chevy Trucks
66-79 Ford Bronco
88-04 Chevy/GMC Trucks
97-03 F-150's

Note that there were lots of cosmetic changes during the runs of these vehicles, but like the 86-95 Taurus, they were all the same basic design the whole time.
Just look at a 1970 Firebird Trans Am compared to a 1981. Looks different, but really, they are the same car underneath.
Same with all the rest.

edited: couple of typos, hope I got 'em all.