We've been eagerly awaiting the upcoming introduction of the 2010 Ford Taurus since we first laid eyes on the Mondeo-inspired clay mock-up that was leaked across the Internets. Ford already announced that Ecoboost technology would power at least one version of the 2010 model, and with a 350-hp twin-turbo V6 underhood, we're thinking it's finally SHO time again. The scribes over at World Car Fans have supposedly heard otherwise, though, at least when it comes to the name. Word from industry insiders has the nomenclature as Taurus ST. World Car Fans got more than a scoop on names; they got some pics of the sporty Taurus, as well. It looks like Ford designers opened up the lower air dam to help feed the force-fed powerplant. The next generation of the corporate grille is partly visible, too, and it appears as though the bars got thinner and less cartoonish in execution. Headlights visible through the heavy camo appear to be of the LED kind, and they look far more modern than the current Taurus' 1990's design. Massive, MKS-like 20-inch rims help show this undercover Taurus has sporty pretenses, as does the duel exhaust out back. Also evident from the spy pics is the fact that the bulbous roofline from the current Taurus has been replaced with something far more shapely and contemporary. We're still a few months from seeing the 2010 Taurus in the flesh, but it's good to see that the high-performance version is well on its way.
Mercury, after nearly being introduced to oblivion, was rescued from the void because Ford needs a brand that could be devoted to small cars. The Ford brand, still fighting off oblivion itself, has recently been devoted to fresh, new designs that provide consumers the flair and features they've been looking for.
Two of the hitches in those plans are the Mercury Sable and the Taurus X. The Sable, sister of the Ford Taurus, has remained so unloved that even Jill Wagner couldn't save it (through no fault of her own). In these days of the Flex, Edge and Escape, the Taurus X is a conveyance from the Myocene era. To paraphrase Sesame Street, two of these things are not like the other... and so they are being killed, according to The Detroit News.
Ford hasn't confirmed the demise of the two cars. However, sales of both are in decline, they fall outside the missions of their respective brands, and Ford is furiously retooling plants and planning new rollouts. In light of all that, the real question might be: why put off until tomorrow...
The current Ford Taurus is a safe and reliable vehicle with plenty of space for a family of five. The Taurus is also completely invisible in the large car market, due mostly to its vanilla appearance. The Blue Oval is hoping to correct this issue with the next generation Taurus, which is due in 2010. We've already seen a blurry photo of a handsome clay model back in April, and now the future Ford flagship has been spied on the street as well.
Spies have caught a well-camo'd Taurus mule undergoing testing on public roads, with a new grille and modern-looking headlights that are exactly like the model we saw earlier in the year. The test vehicle also displays the same basic shape as the model we showed you back in the spring, which carries a more subdued version of Ford of Europe's Kinetic design theme. Gone is the odd-looking bulbous greenhouse from the current model, giving the future Taurus a more modern appearance.
According to MotorTrend, front- and all-wheel-drive variants will be available, and power will be provided the new EcoBoost engines, with a possible SHO revival packing the same turbocharged mill found in the Lincoln MKR concept.
We heard yesterday from a group of Ford Taurus SHO fans who were questioned in a focus group by Ford employees working on the next Taurus program, so we know that the Blue Oval is at least considering a high performance version of the next Taurus. Combine that with a grainy cell phone pic we posted of what could be a design study for the next Taurus and you've got fertile elements for our friends over at BringBacktheSHO.com who specialize in letting their imaginations run wild. Ryan Pasch who runs the website actually attended the focus group in question earlier this week, so these renderings based off of that grainy camera phone pic may be more accurate than we realize. Pasch calls the car in his renders the BringBacktheSHO Concept V2, and judging from the pics in our gallery below, we're as ready for the SHO's triumphant return as he his.
Being an avid Super High Output fan, any news of a Taurus SHO return gets my imagination going. Should it be FWD, AWD, or RWD? V8-powered or have a twin-turbo V6 underhood? Should it be light and handle well or compensate for its mass with awesome amounts of power? I ask these questions to myself, but last Monday a group of 11 Chicago area SHO fanatics were asked those same questions by members of the Taurus program from Ford.
As told by Don Mallinson on V8Sho.com, the story goes that this band of brothers participated in a focus group and had their brains picked for an evening about what makes a SHO a SHO, and if the much missed name were to be resurrected, what should the car be like today? Mallinson is clear that he and the focus group participants did not see a prototype, sketches of a prototype, or anything else that would confirm development is well on its way. The experience was pretty much a one-way street of questions, but these 11 people may have influenced Ford's decision to bring back the SHO and, if so, in what way. Such an awesome responsibility, I probably couldn't handle it.
Around 2 AM EST on Monday night, one of our readers sent us a tip about a photo making the rounds on two Taurus-specific forums. We followed both links and came across the spy shot you see above – now rumored to be the 2010 Ford Taurus. Big deal, right? It was, but not for the reasons you think. While we like spy pics as much as the next pistonhead, we have a policy against posting photos taken inside an automaker's design studio. Unlike the shots snapped by Frau Priddy and the crew at KGP, our legal department insists that anything taken on automaker property is illegal to distribute. So after the picture began circulating on several smaller sites, we held off on publishing it... until now. With sites like MotorTrend and InsideLine throwing caution to the wind, despite Ford's attempt to quell the photo's circulation, we feel compelled to bring it to you in all its grainy majesty – until FoMoCo's legal department starts pounding on our virtual door.
With that out of the way, all of us around the Autoblog offices are split about the design direction this one particular exercise (we're sure there's at least a dozen) is taking. The front end is far more dynamic than the current Taurus, with swept-back headlamps, a pointed fascia and the best application of the three-bar grille we've seen yet -- even if it does ape the last generation Lexus IS. The profile is handsome and distinctly Mondeo, a model that may, or may not, underpin the next Taurus. And if there's an SHO variant packing Ford's new turbocharged, EcoBoost V6, we're sure Mr. Neff will have his dirty little way with it when its officially uncloaked (possibly) in Detroit.
Ford has been very quiet about what it will have onstage at the New York Auto Show tomorrow, but one vehicle we do know that will be under the lights is the Ford Taurus. While there will certainly be a number of Taurus models waxed, polished and placed just so in Ford's display at the Jacob Javits Center, one in particular will be a mess. Ford will display a crash-tested Taurus in New York to show off the big car's five-star rating for frontal and side crash tests from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Unlike the mangled Celica that used to sit outside your highschool at prom time, the crash-tested Taurus on display in New York will be interactive. Show goers will be allowed to sit in the post-crash Taurus to see what a crash test dummy sees after a 35-mph meet up with an offset concrete barrier. Looking at the pic above, it is pretty impressive that the passenger compartment remains untouched after such an event. We're looking forward to our seat time with this one, though any trip to the Autoblog Garage might necessitate a tow truck.
After a quick consult with some tea leaves and a few supplier sources, Jalopnik's Auto Insider is calling it: the Taurus X will be dead after the 2009 model year. While not a revelation to make you run out and stock up on bottled water, this possible early demise of the Taurus X is the latest example of how far off the mark the original Five-Hundred sedan and Freestyle were with consumers, and how Ford was ultimately unable to correct its aim.
The original 2005 Five-Hundred and Freestyle debuted to a slow sales start and were around until 2007, when then virgin CEO Alan Mulally made the decision to resurrect the Taurus nameplate on the refreshened 2008 models. Along with their new names of Taurus and Taurus X, each got corporate faces with three-bar grilles as well as the automaker's new 3.5L V6. Ford must've thought sales would pick up in earnest as the 2008 models were both more interesting to look and more powerful than the vehicles they replaced. But sales didn't pick up and Mulally recently announced another major change for the Taurus: a completely new version for next year that he calls, "the one we should have made originally." According to Jalopnik's informed insider, the Taurus X model is apparently not included in those plans.
It may be sad to see a vehicle cancelled that was supremely competent in most respects, but Ford's CUV lineup is already overflowing with product that overlaps, and soon the seven-passenger Flex will muscle in and demand some marketshare. Ford, of course, has not officially commented on the fate of the Taurus X, but if the tea leaves turn out to be true, we say farewell to the four-year-old CUV from Ford.
At the Automotive News World Congress in Detroit, Ford CEO Alan Mulally revealed that the automaker would be introducing a new Taurus sedan next year to replace the one that has failed to meet sales expectations despite a number of substantial improvements and a new name. Mulally said in his speech, "The new Taurus is the one we should have made originally." He clearly concedes that the current Taurus is not what the market wants, but as to what Ford should have made originally, we can't say with confidence what he's referring to. The current Taurus is a supremely competent sedan wrapped in a supremely ho-hum package, so we expect next year's Ford Taurus to be more stylish inside and out, as well as be made available with a range of turbocharged, direct-inject EcoBoost engines to augment the currently available 3.5L V6.
Mulally also reiterated in his speech Ford's intent to commonize platforms and models that are sold across the pond from one another. He even specifically mentioned the Ford Focus, saying it would eventually be the same as the European Focus. We've been wanting a hard date for when this will happen, as enthusiasts in the U.S. have been wailing with fists for the Euro version of the Focus to be sold in the U.S. since it debuted. While a firm time-table still eludes us, at least we have confirmation that one day our Focus will be as cool as theirs.
Ford has been named by radio station DogCatRadio as the "Pet Friendliest Automaker" in town, a distinction that it earned for a lineup of safe vehicles that are spacious, fuel efficient, affordable and have plenty of "creature comforts"... buh-dump ching. The Ford Taurus X, in particular, was singled out as being the best transporter. We're not really sure what makes a car "pet friendly", as many attributes cited of the Taurus X are also offered by its competitors. And while Ford does have more five-star crash test ratings than any other brand, do the passive and active safety features on its vehicles take into account those that take a shower with their tongues and greet strangers with a friendly butt sniff? We don't know about you, but we've never seen a Dachshund crash test dummy used by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Nevertheless, this radio station based in L.A. thinks that Fords are the pet friendliest, and as a reward we'll feed it some human tonight during dinner.
Source: DogCatRadio.com
