Say It Ain’t So, Joe!
Nobody asked me, but . . .
The press release I received today (see below) regarding Ford and the Taurus name really has my blood boiling. Why in God’s name—or anybody’s name for that matter—would Ford place such an honored and respected name on such an average car? Does Ford really think renaming the car is going to change consumers’ opinions?
I’ve been watching with positive vibes, the changes that Alan Mulally has been making at Ford, but this is certainly not one of his better ideas. Why not hold off making the change until a much improved Five Hund . . . oops . . . T****s worthy of the name is introduced? Until this happens, I'll consider the car a Fraud Taurus.
Let me guess. The Mercury Montego version is going to be rebadged as the Merkur!
NEW YORK (Reuters) -- Ford Motor Co. is planning to announce that its Five Hundred sedan will be renamed the Taurus, Dow Jones Newswires reported.
The news wire said Ford executives would announce the plan on Wednesday, Feb. 7, at the Chicago auto show.
No Ford spokesman was immediately available to comment.
The Taurus nameplate is a Ford icon. It first appeared in December 1985 as a 1986 model and fueled a sales revival at the automaker. The Taurus reigned as the top-selling car in the United States from 1992 through 1996, but gave up that title to the Toyota Camry. Sales continued to fall in following years. In 2006, Ford built the Taurus solely for use in fleets. Production was ended in October.
The press release I received today (see below) regarding Ford and the Taurus name really has my blood boiling. Why in God’s name—or anybody’s name for that matter—would Ford place such an honored and respected name on such an average car? Does Ford really think renaming the car is going to change consumers’ opinions?
I’ve been watching with positive vibes, the changes that Alan Mulally has been making at Ford, but this is certainly not one of his better ideas. Why not hold off making the change until a much improved Five Hund . . . oops . . . T****s worthy of the name is introduced? Until this happens, I'll consider the car a Fraud Taurus.
Let me guess. The Mercury Montego version is going to be rebadged as the Merkur!
NEW YORK (Reuters) -- Ford Motor Co. is planning to announce that its Five Hundred sedan will be renamed the Taurus, Dow Jones Newswires reported.
The news wire said Ford executives would announce the plan on Wednesday, Feb. 7, at the Chicago auto show.
No Ford spokesman was immediately available to comment.
The Taurus nameplate is a Ford icon. It first appeared in December 1985 as a 1986 model and fueled a sales revival at the automaker. The Taurus reigned as the top-selling car in the United States from 1992 through 1996, but gave up that title to the Toyota Camry. Sales continued to fall in following years. In 2006, Ford built the Taurus solely for use in fleets. Production was ended in October.
posted by The Carmudgeon at
8:24 PM
2 Comments:
Right on target, John. It's a shame. They would have been so much smarter to preview an updated Taurus and then re-launch in '08. My daughter has an '05 and while its target demo is not college kids, she still loves it; it gives a good, solid ride; is safe and reasonable to run. A re-skinned or perhaps even...a hybrid Taurus, I feel, would have been a winner for Ford.
By
Anonymous, at 12:14 AM
Dear Anonymous,
You're right. The Five CNotes is good wheels: solid ride, safe . . . you said it. But it would be like putting the Mustang name on a Pinto!
Oops, forget that Pinto comment. Ford did that once too.
The Carmudgeon
By
Anonymous, at 1:34 PM
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