New Ford Taurus

[Vetterin]

Passed one up on the way to work today. Boy have they changed......but I don't know if it's for the better.

 

[krunchykrome]

I think they look very nice - but who's going to buy one?

 

[LTC8K6]

It's $32K for a Limited and about $37K for one with what I want in it.

Can't see paying that price for a Taurus.

 

[brblx]

it's not really a 'taurus' anymore, though. the taurus was basically a mid-sized economy car, whereas the new one (aka 500) is their full-sized semi-upscale car.

if you want the qualities of the old taurus (but with a little more, erm...quality), buy a fusion.

 

[StageLeft]

Too bad they kept the taurus name, that name shoulid be put in a trash heap forever.

 

[LTC8K6]

It looks more like a big old bull now...

 

[Slick5150]

Great looking car, though I agree the price puts it into a different category than the old Taurus. Frankly, I think they'd have been better off swapping names and have the Fusion be the Taurus and the Taurus the Fusion.

Either way, its a nice car though.

 

[ElFenix]

Originally posted by: Skoorb
Too bad they kept the taurus name, that name shoulid be put in a trash heap forever.

unfortunately 500 was about the worst name ever. ford being cute and naming all its cars with 'f' words and SUVs with 'e' words was horrible

 

[exdeath]

I'd seriously consider a SHO if I was in the market for a AWD luxury sport sedan.

It's a little pricey though for an emerging contender just now starting to compete in that segment.

 

[Vetterin]

Originally posted by: LTC8K6
It looks more like a big old bull now...

Actually that's kinda what I was thinking too. It just seems so big and boxy (at least from from the back). I used to be a fan of the SHO but I can't see it going over very well with this model.

 

[HannibalX]

I prefer the Five-Hundred & '08-'09 Taurus styling. The new car is just... odd looking, to me.

Also, I'm not supremely impressed with the Twin Turbo 3.6L V6 either.

 

[SonicIce]

Originally posted by: brblx
it's not really a 'taurus' anymore, though. the taurus was basically a mid-sized economy car, whereas the new one (aka 500) is their full-sized semi-upscale car.

if you want the qualities of the old taurus (but with a little more, erm...quality), buy a fusion.

yea but its still not as big as the crown victoria was. i'm not sure how "full-size" is defined. and the trunk looks tiny. maybe theres more interior room?

 

[HannibalX]

Actually it has more interior space and more trunk space than the Crown Vic. What it doesn't have is a V8 engine or rear wheel drive. The Crown Vic is longer and has a longer wheel base but the Taurus is is wider and has a wider wheel base; it is also taller. The driving position in the Taurus is high compared to the Crown Vic which has a very traditional sedan driving position. The Taurus almost feels like you are driving a small SUV.

 

[HannibalX]

Basically it's already been said. The Fusion is the new Taurus and the Taurus is the new Crown Vic.

 

[Sluggo]

I sat in one this past weekend and really did not like it.

The drivers seat sits aft of the door pillar, so you have to maneuver around that to get into the seat, very awkward. I'm not even sure the seat could be scooted far enough forward to not have to get around the pillar to sit down.

Once in the drivers seat, I could not even see the hood. I would bump into stuff all the time not having any kind of reference as to where the front end might be. There is no way I could stand to drive it. I felt like a tiny child in some huge car.

 

[zerocool84]

Originally posted by: Skoorb
Too bad they kept the taurus name, that name shoulid be put in a trash heap forever.

You obviously have no idea about it then. They brought back the name cus it's a trusted name. The Taurus was at one time the best selling car in America.

 

[Falloutboy]

for that money I rather get a Lacross, or save a bit and get a Malibu

 

[fbrdphreak]

Originally posted by: zerocool84

Originally posted by: Skoorb
Too bad they kept the taurus name, that name shoulid be put in a trash heap forever.

You obviously have no idea about it then. They brought back the name cus it's a trusted name. The Taurus was at one time the best selling car in America.

Then they turned it into one of the shittiest cars in the U.S., which is how most people remember it. And even when it was one of the best selling cars in America, it wasn't a 1980's-equivalent of $40K+.

That's BMW territory. Would you buy a Taurus over a BMW 3 Series?

 

[angry hampster]

Originally posted by: ElFenix

Originally posted by: Skoorb
Too bad they kept the taurus name, that name shoulid be put in a trash heap forever.

unfortunately 500 was about the worst name ever. ford being cute and naming all its cars with 'f' words and SUVs with 'e' words was horrible

...and Mercury with M's. Mountaineer, Montego, Mystique, Monterey, Milan, Marauder, Grand Marquis

 

[HannibalX]

Originally posted by: fbrdphreak

Originally posted by: zerocool84

Originally posted by: Skoorb
Too bad they kept the taurus name, that name shoulid be put in a trash heap forever.

You obviously have no idea about it then. They brought back the name cus it's a trusted name. The Taurus was at one time the best selling car in America.

Then they turned it into one of the shittiest cars in the U.S., which is how most people remember it. And even when it was one of the best selling cars in America, it wasn't a 1980's-equivalent of $40K+.

That's BMW territory. Would you buy a Taurus over a BMW 3 Series?

Most of the people I hear trashing the original Taurus never owned one. I owned two, a '91 GL and a '96 GL Wagon. Both were excellent cars. The '91 went 250k when I sold it to a high school kid for $100 and he drove it three more years, original engine and tranny. I drove the '96 to 150k and gave it to a needy, single mother who didn't have a car. She is still driving it, original engine and trans.

Cars are as reliable as the people taking care of them 90% of the time. Sometimes there are engineering defects, like the head gasket issue on the 3.8L Taurus models which was going to break no matter what you did but that's certainly the exception.

I never owned the last "original" generation Taurus but drove several with the 3.0L Duratec which is one of the most reliable sixers on the market and has been since it's introduction. It's such a good engine Jaguar stacked two of them side by side and made their current V12. These engines are still in production in the Fusion/Milan and the Escape/Mariner/Tribute.

Most people bashing FoMoCo products are speaking out of school and are just repeating nonsense they have heard other spout wihtout having actually owned the products. It's funny that I've pretty much been buying Ford products my entire life and haven't experienced the quality and reliability issues that the unwashed masses claim.

 

[StageLeft]

Originally posted by: iFX

Originally posted by: fbrdphreak

Originally posted by: zerocool84

Originally posted by: Skoorb
Too bad they kept the taurus name, that name shoulid be put in a trash heap forever.

You obviously have no idea about it then. They brought back the name cus it's a trusted name. The Taurus was at one time the best selling car in America.

Then they turned it into one of the shittiest cars in the U.S., which is how most people remember it. And even when it was one of the best selling cars in America, it wasn't a 1980's-equivalent of $40K+.

That's BMW territory. Would you buy a Taurus over a BMW 3 Series?

Most of the people I hear trashing the original Taurus never owned one. I owned two, a '91 GL and a '96 GL Wagon. Both were excellent cars. The '91 went 250k when I sold it to a high school kid for $100 and he drove it three more years, original engine and tranny. I drove the '96 to 150k and gave it to a needy, single mother who didn't have a car. She is still driving it, original engine and trans.

Cars are as reliable as the people taking care of them 90% of the time. Sometimes there are engineering defects, like the head gasket issue on the 3.8L Taurus models which was going to break no matter what you did but that's certainly the exception.

I never owned the last "original" generation Taurus but drove several with the 3.0L Duratec which is one of the most reliable sixers on the market and has been since it's introduction. It's such a good engine Jaguar stacked two of them side by side and made their current V12. These engines are still in production in the Fusion/Milan and the Escape/Mariner/Tribute.

Most people bashing FoMoCo products are speaking out of school and are just repeating nonsense they have heard other spout wihtout having actually owned the products. It's funny that I've pretty much been buying Ford products my entire life and haven't experienced the quality and reliability issues that the unwashed masses claim.

I am glad the cars worked well for you, but by your own admission "people trash" them, and to me and i think to many others the taurus is synomymous with a bad car. when i think of a taurus i think of a car i'd rather eat a bullet than buy because i just think of those ugly as sin mid 90's things. ugh. The new taurus might be great, but that name ain't doing it for me.

 

[Pacfanweb]

Originally posted by: fbrdphreak

Originally posted by: zerocool84

Originally posted by: Skoorb
Too bad they kept the taurus name, that name shoulid be put in a trash heap forever.

You obviously have no idea about it then. They brought back the name cus it's a trusted name. The Taurus was at one time the best selling car in America.

Then they turned it into one of the shittiest cars in the U.S., which is how most people remember it. And even when it was one of the best selling cars in America, it wasn't a 1980's-equivalent of $40K+.

That's BMW territory. Would you buy a Taurus over a BMW 3 Series?

Yes. A Taurus will last just as long and be cheaper to maintain than any BMW.

Only reason to buy a BMW is if you simply think you just HAVE to own a car with BMW on it.
They are horribly expensive to maintain, and aren't all that reliable.

 

[Ronstang]

Originally posted by: Pacfanweb

Originally posted by: fbrdphreak

Originally posted by: zerocool84

Originally posted by: Skoorb
Too bad they kept the taurus name, that name shoulid be put in a trash heap forever.

You obviously have no idea about it then. They brought back the name cus it's a trusted name. The Taurus was at one time the best selling car in America.

Then they turned it into one of the shittiest cars in the U.S., which is how most people remember it. And even when it was one of the best selling cars in America, it wasn't a 1980's-equivalent of $40K+.

That's BMW territory. Would you buy a Taurus over a BMW 3 Series?

Yes. A Taurus will last just as long and be cheaper to maintain than any BMW.

Only reason to buy a BMW is if you simply think you just HAVE to own a car with BMW on it.
They are horribly expensive to maintain, and aren't all that reliable.

Thank you, as an automotive professional, for stating what I have been telling people for decades. They simply tell me I don't know what I am talking about. I think it is more that they are badge whores who think they need to convey "success" with an expensive car they may not even be able to comfortably afford. I spend all that extra money on other goodies or save it.

 

[krunchykrome]

Originally posted by: Pacfanweb

Originally posted by: fbrdphreak

Originally posted by: zerocool84

Originally posted by: Skoorb
Too bad they kept the taurus name, that name shoulid be put in a trash heap forever.

You obviously have no idea about it then. They brought back the name cus it's a trusted name. The Taurus was at one time the best selling car in America.

Then they turned it into one of the shittiest cars in the U.S., which is how most people remember it. And even when it was one of the best selling cars in America, it wasn't a 1980's-equivalent of $40K+.

That's BMW territory. Would you buy a Taurus over a BMW 3 Series?

Yes. A Taurus will last just as long and be cheaper to maintain than any BMW.

Only reason to buy a BMW is if you simply think you just HAVE to own a car with BMW on it.
They are horribly expensive to maintain, and aren't all that reliable.

forget BMW....would you buy a Taurus over a Lexus? An Infiniti? Acura?

 

[StageLeft]

I would take a lexus over a taurus but I bet that BMWs in general break down a lot more often than even the badly-respected taurus'.