Ford Uses Rental Market to Test Taurus

[ANTAUS]

LINK-Wardsauto.com

[inteller]

here we go again.....

 

they just can't break the fleet addiction.

[SysEng]

here we go again.....

 

they just can't break the fleet addiction.

 

Fleet sales are NOT a bad thing. Money is still money you know ?

 

Now that they have corrected the D3s marketing mistake, they

have three things they need to do.

 

1) They need some new STYLING ... BADLY.

 

 

2) They need to lose about 500lbs at the curb

 

 

3) They need to get a low end V6 priced where a I4 Camry starts.

 

They need #1 done yesterday

[NLPRacing]

3) They need to get a low end V6 priced where a I4 Camry starts.

 

Bring back the Vulcan!

!

[igor]

here we go again.....

 

they just can't break the fleet addiction.

15/20% is hardly an addiction

 

Igor

[ANTAUS]

For years Ford offered a low end V6, the Vulcan. The engine wasn't any more economical then the more powerful Duratec, and it's performance was lackluster..although it was reliable though.

 

I remember in the late 80's and early 90's where the Domestics had the advantage of offering a V6 standard, where the foreign competitors had just 4 cylinders, with a hard to find and costly optional V6 for them. The domestics could brag about offering more performance...now it seems as the tables have turned and the domestics V6's power are lagging in comparison.

[LincolnFan]

Fleet sales are NOT a bad thing. Money is still money you know ?

 

Now that they have corrected the D3s marketing mistake, they

have three things they need to do.

 

1) They need some new STYLING ... BADLY.

2) They need to lose about 500lbs at the curb

3) They need to get a low end V6 priced where a I4 Camry starts.

 

They need #1 done yesterday

 

Lose 500 pounds? what the hell are you smoking? It weights 3600 pounds as is, that's pretty good for what it is. A FULL-SIZE SEDAN.

 

You do know that the Taurus is more like an AVALON competitor than a CAMRY competitor, right?

[silvrsvt]

15/20% is hardly an addiction

 

Igor

 

 

According the ANALyst it is...oh well

 

 

3) They need to get a low end V6 priced where a I4 Camry starts.

 

Guess you never heard of Fusion huh?

[focus05]

According the ANALyst it is...oh well

 

I actually disagree with the analyst here. If Ford's premise is sound and the Taurus rises in popularity over the next 9-12 months as people experience it, then the used car market won't be flooded (because few of the retail units will be on the used market at this point).

 

If rental sales are down to, say 7-10% of a model line by middle of next year with strong retail demand, it shouldn't hurt residuals. Cars coming off the rental lots will have slowed by late next year and by the time retail units start showing up in the used market en masse, extra inventory from rental fleets will be significantly lower.

 

And with estimated volumes around 100k, it will take almost 15-20k cars to get proper coverage in the rental market to make it an effective marketing tool over a 12 month horizon - i.e. butts in the seats before Avis sells the car. The Avalon was at least this high during its first six months on the market.

[Biker16]

Fleet sales are NOT a bad thing. Money is still money you know ?

 

Now that they have corrected the D3s marketing mistake, they

have three things they need to do.

 

1) They need some new STYLING ... BADLY.

2) They need to lose about 500lbs at the curb

3) They need to get a low end V6 priced where a I4 Camry starts.

 

They need #1 done yesterday

wow!! you are basically saying the taurus needs to be the fusion.

[Michael Reynolds]

Here's an idea. A better advertising campagin?

[NickF1011]

Here's an idea. A better advertising campagin?

 

I haven't seen jack on TV about the Taurus, but I really question the effectiveness of TV ads in most cases anyway.

 

I've seen a TON of Taurus billboards and internet ads though. Of course, they're all exactly the freakin same: "Rated the safest full-size car in America. The all-new Ford Taurus." They really need to broaden the range of these ads. There's a LOT more than safety to the Taurus that might make it appeal to buyers. None of these ads make any mention of all-wheel-drive (which I think really needs to be stressed since most people only think front-wheel-drive with the previous Taurus) or the cavernous interior, or perhaps most importantly -- it's excellent fuel economy.

Edited August 28, 2007 by NickF1011

[old_fairmont_wagon]

Advertising on many different media to a higher degree and with greater volume then they currently do would go a long way to increase the public's awareness that the Taurus:

 

Isn't the same old tired rental queen it once was.

Isn't this horrible looking ovoid abomination

Let people know that its all new and is better than the Toyota Avalon in many ways while being priced in Camry territory.

 

But, most of all,

 

LET PEOPLE KNOW THAT THE CAR EXISTS, without affecting its resale.

[FordBuyer]

Lose 500 pounds? what the hell are you smoking? It weights 3600 pounds as is, that's pretty good for what it is. A FULL-SIZE SEDAN.

 

You do know that the Taurus is more like an AVALON competitor than a CAMRY competitor, right?

 

The new Honda Accord weighs in at 3,400...not far behind. The present Accord weighs in at 3,197. So the new Taurus only weighs about 200 more pounds than new Accord and still has more interior room. Looks like Accord will need the extra 30 hp to push a bigger vehicle.

[FordBuyer]

Advertising on many different media to a higher degree and with greater volume then they currently do would go a long way to increase the public's awareness that the Taurus:

 

Isn't the same old tired rental queen it once was.

Isn't this horrible looking ovoid abomination

Let people know that its all new and is better than the Toyota Avalon in many ways while being priced in Camry territory.

 

But, most of all,

 

LET PEOPLE KNOW THAT THE CAR EXISTS, without affecting its resale.

 

 

WJR Radio, the 50,000 Watt station in Metro Detroit and can be heard as far away as New York on clear night must play Ford's Taurus commercial 5 times/hour. It's the one where a little girl wonders if her mom will love here when she is a teenager, and then an adult. The commercial promotes the Taurus safety rating and runs incessantly on WJR everyday over and over and over. I'm sure Ford runs this radio commercial on most of the big wattage radio stationa around the country. During the day, most people are stuck in traffic listening to popular radio stations.

[jpd80]

Don't forget Ford made a deliberate move to replace the previous Taurus with two vehicles in the hope of increasing sales

and elimination of Panthers from Retail. Personally, I think the should have made both replacements larger,

that way Fusion would be a true replacement for the old Taurus and a larger/wider D3 Taurus would be a true Panther sized replacement.

A similar strategy with Mercury and Lincoln would see the pieces of the puzzle fall together with their product replacements as well.

Edited August 28, 2007 by jpd80

[suv_guy_19]

Nobody listens to AM radio anymore.

 

 

Where I'm from, the #1 station in a city of 700000 is AM, and there are plenty of FM choices.

[FordBuyer]

Don't forget Ford made a deliberate move to replace the previous Taurus with two vehicles in the hope of increasing sales

and elimination of Panthers from Retail. Personally, I think the should have made both replacements larger,

that way Fusion would be a true replacement for the old Taurus and a larger/wider D3 Taurus would be a true Panther sized replacement.

A similar strategy with Mercury and Lincoln would see the pieces of the puzzle fall together with their product replacements as well.

 

 

Uh, the Taurus has way more room in back than Crown Vic and just as big of trunk if not bigger. The Panthers are big on the outside and relatively small on the inside compared to their outside dimensions. The Taurus is smaller on the outside, but comparatively bigger on the inside including huge trunk. Also, the front and back seats go down on the Taurus giving it much more useable cargo space. The Taurus also has more powerful engine and better gas mileage. There is no comparison between the two vehicles as the Taurus is better in just about every way as it should be as it's modern 21st Century vehicle and Panther is vehicle from the 80's.

[Michael Reynolds]

Nobody listens to AM radio anymore.

 

That's really neither here nor there, because even if people did listen to AM radio they still don't see the friggin thing.

 

Ford needs to dispell the tarnished image of the Taurus previous to. Selling more of them to rental agencies only perpetuates that stigma, rather it's true or not. If I didn't know any better, I'd frown at Hertz if they were pushing a Taurus on me as a rental......because I'd have the image of the model discontinued a year ago.

 

What Ford needs to do is advertise the damn thing. Advertise the fact that the car has 260+ hp on regular unleaded, that it gets decent fuel economy, its roomy safe and that it is a capable alternative to the Maxima and Avalon.

 

Why is it that Ford's marketing campagins have SUCKED FOREVER?

[jpd80]

Uh, the Taurus has way more room in back than Crown Vic and just as big of trunk if not bigger. The Panthers are big on the outside and relatively small on the inside compared to their outside dimensions. The Taurus is smaller on the outside, but comparatively bigger on the inside including huge trunk. Also, the front and back seats go down on the Taurus giving it much more useable cargo space. The Taurus also has more powerful engine and better gas mileage. There is no comparison between the two vehicles as the Taurus is better in just about every way as it should be as it's modern 21st Century vehicle and Panther is vehicle from the 80's.

Of course, The Aussie Falcon is the same internal dimensions as the CV but it's seen as too small.

It seems like size matters to Americans, you know what you see.......

 

I'm being sarcasic and bitter by the way, before every Taurus and Panther fan descends on me.

Our Aussie Fairlane was bigger than both internally but sadly unwanted in North America.

Edited August 28, 2007 by jpd80

[StevenCaylor]

Nobody listens to AM radio anymore.

 

We always listen to AM news that gives traffic information for the comute home. I will agree that very few listen to AM for entertainment anymore. AM stereo is just about non-exsistent nowadays.

 

As far as Taurus rentals, I remember back in the 80's, we drove the Taurus when it was new as a rental. Even with the base rental model, we were so impressed. A V6 engine, 4 speed automatic, comfortable seats and good handling. Other rentals cars of the time had 4 bangers, 3 speed autos and uncomfortable seats. A friend was so impressed, he ordered a fully loaded Sable (loved the light bar).

Edited August 28, 2007 by StevenCaylor

[Roadrunner]

I knew this would happen -- everybody placed high promise on the Taurus and now that its a couple months old it's OH MAN WE NEED BETTER STYLING THAN THIS

 

.....errrrr....

[silvrsvt]

For you lacking reading comperetion, at the end of the article:

 

Advertising for the Taurus, which to this point has been minimal, will pick up later this year and into first-quarter 2008, Pipas says.

 

Heavy advertising now, he notes, would get lost in the shuffle of the end-of-year marketing blitz currently under way, as auto makers seek to clear out ’07 models to prepare for the ’08 arrivals.

 

Kinda of a lame excuse, but at least Ford isn't totally asleep at the wheel

[armadamaster]

There is no comparison between the two vehicles as the Taurus is better in just about every way as it should be as it's modern 21st Century vehicle and Panther is vehicle from the 80's.

 

I'm sorry...show me a Taurus with decades of proven durability or even one with 400+ thousand miles on it and a 75+ MPH rear end crash test rating?

 

Aside from the fugly factor with the (new) Taurus, Ford has not advertised the car. And along with the jumbo sizing it's received over the previous model, I'll venture to say Ford is already Crown Vic-ing it. Whether they know it or not, with virtually NO advertising to thwart this, they're turning it into the "too big" car, which therefore will carry the stigma of bad MPG, and potentially blanded it into a conceived old people's car. Only difference, old folks would buy the Crown Vic, they won't the Taurus. Too early to know for sure, and no I can't back it up with facts, that's just the road I see it going down currently.

[rmc523]

I'm sorry...show me a Taurus with decades of proven durability or even one with 400+ thousand miles on it and a 75+ MPH rear end crash test rating?

 

Aside from the fugly factor with the (new) Taurus, Ford has not advertised the car. And along with the jumbo sizing it's received over the previous model, I'll venture to say Ford is already Crown Vic-ing it. Whether they know it or not, with virtually NO advertising to thwart this, they're turning it into the "too big" car, which therefore will carry the stigma of bad MPG, and potentially blanded it into a conceived old people's car. Only difference, old folks would buy the Crown Vic, they won't the Taurus. Too early to know for sure, and no I can't back it up with facts, that's just the road I see it going down currently.

 

I don't find the new Taurus ugly. It looks much better in person. I saw a black Limited model (i assume w/ most options) in a parking lot near me, it looked really good.