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TaurusX, Taurus Inventory Mixed


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Being the originator of this thread, Automotive News stated that Taurus X inventory dropped more than any other vehicle on market over last month. It went from I believe an 104 day supply to about 60 day supply. I forget how many there are total in inventory. The Taurus went up from something like 60 day to 80 day. And I believe Ford has over 12,000 in its inventory. The Sable went up the most to over 100 day supply. Therefore, Ford is running special lease deals and advertising them around here at least for Limited loaded for $264/month. So Ford is trying to bring down the inventory for Taurus/Sable and so far is doing nothing for Taurus X as so far it needs no help.

 

Yeah, I think it's too early to draw conclusions on Taurus sales. But at the same time I don't like what I see with inventories going up and sales actually dropping from July to August. Hopefully, Sept. can be a much better month. So far, the dealers around me in Western Wayne County are pretty busy and I see quite a few Taurus and Fusions going out the door. The Fusion with Sports Appearance package seems to be especially popular. I noticed about 6-7 being prepped at Bill Brown Ford for customers.

 

What bothers me most about Taurus is price of Limited of around $30,000 list and lack of SEL's in its product mix so far. At dealers around me all you see are Limiteds with the chrome package. I'm finally starting to see Limiteds without chrome package and sun roof and they are stickering for about $27,000. I don't think Blackwell or Bill Brown Ford has ONE SEL on lot. The SEL should sticker for about $23,500, and I think that will get more looks than $30,000 Taurus. Right now if you want a lower cost SEL which is perfectly nice vehicle, you pretty much have to order and wait as there is nothing in dealer stock to choose from. Out of over 12,000 sitting somewhere, you would think dealers would be smart enough to order more SEL's.

 

I bought my 2002 Taurus SES Sport and it stickered for $24,200 and with all the rebates and Z plan price I could have bought it for about $19,500. Instead I got a great lease deal and bought it outright at end of lease. Now fast forward to 2007 and Taurus now costs you in excess of $30,000. Sure, it's a much better car with more equipement, but you know how people get sticker shock. Kind of like Tempp and Contour. So anyway, Ford needs to get more SEL's to dealers with more of a "Taurus price" people are used to that bought Taurus previously. Right now the mix is 90% loaded Limited and 10% more modest Limited. It should be 40% modest Limited, 20% fully loaded Limited, and 40% SEL. You can always change the mix as needed. But don't shock the hell out of prospective Taurus buyers with sticker shock.

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I bought my 2002 Taurus SES Sport and it stickered for $24,200 and with all the rebates and Z plan price I could have bought it for about $19,500. Instead I got a great lease deal and bought it outright at end of lease. Now fast forward to 2007 and Taurus now costs you in excess of $30,000. Sure, it's a much better car with more equipement, but you know how people get sticker shock. Kind of like Tempp and Contour. So anyway, Ford needs to get more SEL's to dealers with more of a "Taurus price" people are used to that bought Taurus previously. Right now the mix is 90% loaded Limited and 10% more modest Limited. It should be 40% modest Limited, 20% fully loaded Limited, and 40% SEL. You can always change the mix as needed. But don't shock the hell out of prospective Taurus buyers with sticker shock.

 

Um thats why there is a Fusion

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Being the originator of this thread, Automotive News stated that Taurus X inventory dropped more than any other vehicle on market over last month. It went from I believe an 104 day supply to about 60 day supply. I forget how many there are total in inventory. The Taurus went up from something like 60 day to 80 day. And I believe Ford has over 12,000 in its inventory. The Sable went up the most to over 100 day supply. Therefore, Ford is running special lease deals and advertising them around here at least for Limited loaded for $264/month. So Ford is trying to bring down the inventory for Taurus/Sable and so far is doing nothing for Taurus X as so far it needs no help.

 

Yeah, I think it's too early to draw conclusions on Taurus sales. But at the same time I don't like what I see with inventories going up and sales actually dropping from July to August. Hopefully, Sept. can be a much better month. So far, the dealers around me in Western Wayne County are pretty busy and I see quite a few Taurus and Fusions going out the door. The Fusion with Sports Appearance package seems to be especially popular. I noticed about 6-7 being prepped at Bill Brown Ford for customers.

 

What bothers me most about Taurus is price of Limited of around $30,000 list and lack of SEL's in its product mix so far. At dealers around me all you see are Limiteds with the chrome package. I'm finally starting to see Limiteds without chrome package and sun roof and they are stickering for about $27,000. I don't think Blackwell or Bill Brown Ford has ONE SEL on lot. The SEL should sticker for about $23,500, and I think that will get more looks than $30,000 Taurus. Right now if you want a lower cost SEL which is perfectly nice vehicle, you pretty much have to order and wait as there is nothing in dealer stock to choose from. Out of over 12,000 sitting somewhere, you would think dealers would be smart enough to order more SEL's.

 

I bought my 2002 Taurus SES Sport and it stickered for $24,200 and with all the rebates and Z plan price I could have bought it for about $19,500. Instead I got a great lease deal and bought it outright at end of lease. Now fast forward to 2007 and Taurus now costs you in excess of $30,000. Sure, it's a much better car with more equipement, but you know how people get sticker shock. Kind of like Tempp and Contour. So anyway, Ford needs to get more SEL's to dealers with more of a "Taurus price" people are used to that bought Taurus previously. Right now the mix is 90% loaded Limited and 10% more modest Limited. It should be 40% modest Limited, 20% fully loaded Limited, and 40% SEL. You can always change the mix as needed. But don't shock the hell out of prospective Taurus buyers with sticker shock.

 

The reason that you are seeing more Limited's around Metro Detroit is that they have an extra $750 RCL rebate on them that make them more attractive on a lease. A Limited is only about $10 dollars more vs an SEL on a lease which is about 80% of our sales in this Metro market. An X plan customer does not get this rebate, so an SEL would be better for them. In our economy, a lot of people are buying a payment not the car of their dreams. The closer you are to Dearborn, the more Limiteds you are going to see.

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The Taurus is plain and ugly. Let's not expect a huge sales success story. Absolutely nothing to get excited over. It's the new crown vic, no wonder 60+ Mullaly is so crazy for it. I haven't seen a person younger than 55 driving this car...It has none of the 'I want this car' look. And what's up with the fake fender scoop? So bad....

 

The X is better looking, if I needed a family hauler to replace my current one, I would consider it. The front grille somehow looks much better on the X, than on the T.

 

Have you even seen a new Taurus in person? They look great. Especially in black.

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there's alot of 'know it alls' taht assume what they think is what everyone thinks, so the 'i never seen anyone under 55...' Who care what you think? Some say you will be 55, trendy one, so get over yourself.

 

Anyway, it looks way better, and dealers seem to promote it around here better. Before it was like 'whats this car doing here?'

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I went to Dallas this past week on business and needed to rent a car for three days. When I got to Hertz at DFW, they had a ton of the new Tauri (and a GT-H as well...beautiful car).

 

When I got up to the counter and gave my reservation info, the gentleman asked if I minded having a Taurus. I said "No problem!". I was finally going to be able to drive one of these!

 

Figures, I got a last-gen Taurus. Nice and solid...but a bit mushy in the ride. Oh well, maybe next trip.

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The X is better looking, if I needed a family hauler to replace my current one, I would consider it. The front grille somehow looks much better on the X, than on the T.

 

It's better looking than the 500 and a better name, though I have to admit, the car is far nicer on the inside (how it feels sitting in it and actual useable size vs. its dimensions) than it is on the outside. And yes for some reason, those minor tweaks on the front of the Taurus X make a world of difference, I still haven't seen a Taurus X in person, but in the pics it looks much better.

 

Which is interesting, to me at least, because I liked the 500 front better than the Freestyle front.

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