2pintsplease

Ok first off I think its great that Ford is bringing back the Taurus. I owned two 96's myself and after a bad experience with mitsis and toyotas I'm considering buying a third. The general consensus so far seems to be that Ford is renaming the Five Hundred as the new Taurus to bring it back into the limelight before the all new 2010 Taurus. And yes, the Five Hundred essentially fills the gap left by the departure of the Taurus, being of similar size, price, and even having the same engine. But given the history of the Taurus I don't altogether agree that the Five Hundred would make a worthy Taurus, given its reputation for blandness. Every incarnation of the Taurus (bar the 2000 model, which was not really a "new" taurus) was drastically different to anything that came before it. The Five Hundred just does not seem to fit the bill. Although I must admit the 2008 Taurus is much more attractive than the 2007 Five Hundred. Despite its smaller size, I would have chosen the Fusion as the better bet for the interim Taurus. Sure, the Fusion has built its own reputation that Ford would not want to lose, but by applying the Five Hundred to the Taurus name, Ford is sinking the once-admired Taurus nameplate to new lows. Ok the Fusion is successful enough to keep the Fusion name, but Ford needs to have a similarly admirable car to apply the Taurus name to, rather than slapping it on the Five Hundred. However I have not driven the Five Hundred, and there's always the chance that it could be transformed by the 3.5l engine, but from what I have read it is at best a conservative bet for Ford to reinvest the Taurus name in. That said, I'll have the cash ready in the bank waiting for the 2010, 350hp 3.5l turbocharged V6 Taurus SHO when it comes out. Come on Ford, you can do it! If it's properly thought out, (I remember reading about the hundreds of research polls used to make the original Taurus what it was....some would say perfect) the reincarnated Taurus can reincarnate Ford.

It has its nice bits, but the roof looks like it was straight off a town car and the back's a bit high....like its a pickup with leaf springs or something! I'd like to see someone turn the Interceptor into the modern equivalent (NOT retro) of the 65 continental convertible.

Its out of proportion IMO. The doors need to stretch out a bit and the grill is way OTT. And whats with the wheels?

Do you really think that is possible? Even with the most gutless engine I think it would still use more gas than that because of the weight and the (lack of) aerodynamics. My Taurus was shaped like a bubble, weighed two thirds as much as a F150, and had a 3 liter V6, but still did only 28mpg. I know technology has changed but what your talking about defies the laws of physics. And Ford, please don't take this as a suggestion to build a (cough) hybrid, a truck needs to do work, and in 10 years all the electric bits in a hybrid will break doing a truck's work. The 4.4 TDV8 should be a good balance of performance and economy IMO, but 24mpg would be optimistic, I think. Nice thought though, I agree that 30mpg is a kind of threshold at which you stop caring about getting in the car for a drive; you don't think twice about making any trip.

You'll enjoy driving a Mercury then, which was originally the car that fitted your description. To look back over the past 30 years only is a bad move, considering everything Lincoln has done over that period has lessened the reputation it had before then. Lincoln should reign supreme over every other American car. This cannot be done by sharing most components, as in Town Car. If there is to be any code-sharing it should be between like brands, ie Lincoln sharing chassis and engines with Jaguar. What a pity this never made it to production:

Nice idea with the modular thing, but I don't think it will be necessary. According to the magazines this engine has been developed as a version of the Twin Turbo Diesel V8 in the Range Rover. In the Range Rover it is a 3.6l. Sounds tiny right? Well I went a test drive in one of these things and it just about scared me s**tless. It produces 270BHP at 4000rpm and 472lb. ft at 2000 rpm. I have never known a three ton truck to drive like this before; the only way I can describe the feeling is like flying in a 747 at full whack a few hundred feet off the ground. So I can't see where the new 4.4 would be inadequate, other than some really serious trucking. At the very least it would do everything you can use an F-450 for. I'm not familiar with Super Dutys but the Range Rover, at 2750kg (a bit over 6000lb), must weigh about the same as a F-250 I would imagine. Words fail me on this engine, all I can suggest is that if you want to know what I'm on about, head down to your Land Rover dealer and take a range rover TDV8 for a run.

I completely agree. At any rate no Ford should ever be slapped together, Henry turns in his grave every time one is, but once upon a time Lincoln was the very best car money could buy. It all went wrong after the 60's when Lincoln products gradually became Fords-with-extra-walnut-in-the-dash, rather than LINCOLNS. Just like Henry would turn in his grave if he saw the build quality of some of today's Fords, Edsel would be mortified to see Lincoln, his pet project, being sold as a Ford that's been supersized for 50 cents. Lincoln needs to compete with top European marques as it did way back when. That does not mean Lincoln should copy them; it never has, but should be offering elegant, full size vehicles suited to the American market. That means cars that are priced like Mercedes, but are American in design. America has forgotten that these cars existed, but the best example was probably the first Lincoln Continental. I think Ford is concentrating on Lincoln competing with Cadillac, and in doing so is failing to see the forest from the trees. By realigning Lincoln as an American alternative to BMW, Mercedes etc; rather than as a competitor to Cadillac, it will also allow Mercury to move into broader territory. I am not suggesting that Mercury be the competitor to Cadillac, as Cadillac will need to follow Lincoln's new direction in order to survive, and then Mercury can fill the small market for Lincoln as we know it today. All the best to Ford, its going to be a mission getting back on track.

My family owned a 76 Sovereign when I was younger. It was a gorgeous car. I like your idea about reigniting Daimler as the limousine nameplate. It would allow Jaguar to regain the youthful image that left with the E-type 30 years ago, without losing out on the "limousine class" sales. The current Daimler already exists - as the Jaguar Super V8. It would be a simple rebadging exercise, perhaps also adding an extra dash of exclusivity. However I don't know whether the S-type has anything left in it. A lack of marketing and Jeremy Clarkson's cynicism seem to have taken away all its "retro-cool" appeal. And the S-type does live on - in the Lincoln LS.

I love this car. Its great to see that Ford has made a love it or hate it car again. Better to not have some people buy it because they hate it than to have them not buy it because it is boring. Ford have taken a copied silhouette that was distinctively Chrysler and turned it into something instantly identifiable as a Ford. Personally I like the brutish front-end, and just imagine it actually parked next to a Super Chief in your garage. Possibly the best matched cars ever...if you think that there are another two cars that go more hand-in-hand I'd love to know. I'm not sure if I like it quite as much as the Continental, but that doesn't really matter as this could very easily become the next Continental if it is put into production as a Lincoln. It certainly wouldn't take a lot of work to turn it into a retro version of the 65 Continental, which was an epic car. Hell, if Ford brought back the suicide-door Continental Convertible, it could be the pin up needed to get Ford back into shape. Just a warning: I know a fair bit about the Aussie Falcon, but my experience of American cars extends only as far as I have read, so bear with me if I don't get every fact right. The 6-speed manual is most likely pure fantasy, although the Australian Falcon does have an optional one. I just don't see it happening in America. It seems that the majority of Americans have always chosen automatics over manuals. And it makes sense that they do. Even a skilled driver can't make a manual gearshift any faster than an automatic can these days, and anybody who tries will end up having big repair bills for clutches and eventually the gearbox. Automatics seem to be the American way, and at any rate they suit the cars. Now I heard somewhere (I don't remember where) that it is going to share the 2008 (Thats 2009 in US model years) Falcon Orion platform. This is likely seeing as it has a very similar track and wheelbase as the Falcon, with only slightly longer overhangs, as is the American way. Theres no word on the new falcon V8 yet, but it is definitely getting the 3.5 268hp Duratec V6. I think that based on this I can make a fair assumption that if the Falcon and Interceptor share platforms, then the latter will also get the 3.5 Duratec, which sounds like its going to be a great engine. I owned a Taurus with the old 3.0 Duratec, and really enjoyed it. From the on-paper figures, this version promises to be equally good compared to current engines. While the 4.0 straight 6 engine has great torque and can last for 900,000km, it is heavy on the gas and runs out of steam around 6000rpm. The Duratec is more powerful than the larger, less economical 4.0 Aussie in the non-turbo form. The Falcon XR6 Turbo has been wildly popular, so you can count on the Duratec getting turbo'd, at least downunder. The mustang V6 is such an antique it won't be likely to make any new models. There's nothing flash about the 4.6, but I can see the 5.0 making a comeback. With those power figures it sits right in alongside General Motors' Holden's flagship, so the demand is threefold: Interceptor/Crown Victoria replacement; Mustang; and Aussie Falcon. The 5.4 V8 currently in the falcon has been coaxed to 391hp, but thats only 25 more than the top 4.0 Turbo, which has plenty more potential. More to the point is the low revving nature of the engine. This is great if you want to tow Titanic around on a trailer all day, but for a sports-sedan it is uninspiring. This is part of the reason behind the huge demand for the 4.0 Turbo in this part of the world. So I'm going to go against the grain and say that there is a good chance that the 5.0 Cammer will make it to production. It will be nice to see the 302 make a comeback, considering Fords long history with this displacement. One last thing: Bring back the fullsize station wagons! They may only be a niche but people have forgotten how practical these things actually are! Unlike SUVs you have acres of luggage space, you can reach the roofrack, and they don't roll over easily. On the falcon they are being phased out bit by bit but its time for a comeback! And an XR6 Turbo wagon would be the ultimate surf car....

OOPS did an accidental cut and paste so this made no sense before: I really love the Taurus, and I have owned two of them. I have only just traded my second 96 model for a Mitsubishi. I have an unforgiving driving style so found myself spending $2500 on repairs within a month. It was only then that I realized how phenomenally good the Taurus was. It was comfortable, powerful, handled well, and above all was well built. Ford used to be known for this, but cheap parts seem to have driven the trend towards trusting japanese cars. The only downfall of the Taurus was the AX4N transmission, which was rubbish for speed and longevity. It could also have used a bit of spare space in the engine compartment. It was bad marketing that saw the end of the Taurus, not being a bad car. The styling may be laughed at now, but it was no more out of the ordinary than the 300C when it was released. The difference was that Chrysler marketed the 300C properly and it became an "it" car. I think Ford should return to Taurus for its next mid-size entry, with the full size Interceptor as a sub-model of the next Crown Victoria/Fairlane, much like the 300C is part of the 300 range. Crown Victoria could become the LWB model, for limousines and taxis and the like. I will buy another Taurus as soon as I can sell my Mitsubishi.