Surprisingly upbeat Taurus (X) review on MSN.com

[SVT_MAN]

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21656011/

 

It seems they were very positive about it. My favorite quote is this:

 

On the luxury front, full credit to Ford for the real soft-touch surfaces found throughout the Taurus and the Taurus X. They are in stark contrast to the hard surfaces found in the new Camry and Honda’s Accord, and it contributes to the posh atmosphere in the cabin.

 

Soft touch materials on a Ford? *Gasps from Honda and Toyota drivers*

[suv_guy_19]

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21656011/

 

It seems they were very positive about it. My favorite quote is this:

Soft touch materials on a Ford? *Gasps from Honda and Toyota drivers*

 

Somebody better bring DCK, P_71, and PC over to read this. It may though, cause them some pain.

[P71_CrownVic]

Somebody better bring DCK, P_71, and PC over to read this. It may though, cause them some pain.

Is this not that same news agency that was flamed to death because they said this:

 

The fact that Ford has mortgaged the entire company is worrying, but we also have concerns about their new products,” Lindland said. “They’ve showed us their product line out to 2011, and we have no more confidence in them than we used to — there’s nothing head-turning, exciting or revolutionary. Some brands like Suzuki struggle for name recognition, but not Ford. Their individual models do struggle though because no one knows what they are, so they tend to make their lives more difficult.”

 

So, maybe there is some truth to the quote? If they are 100% right about the Taurus, then surely there is some truth to an unexciting vehicle lineup.

 

And...how well has this soft vinyl helped sales?

[NickF1011]

Is this not that same news agency that was flamed to death because they said this:

 

Same agency, different WRITERS. At least this writer seemed to actually have an original thought. That said, the Taurus still needs help.

[2005Explorer]

Take a few minutes to read the MSNBC user comments and you will see why Ford and all of the Detroit makers are in trouble. It has nothing to do with how good the new Taurus is, it is all perception. A few people called the new Taurus a gas guzzler and recommended the Asian competitors. Others compared their terrible experience with a 1980's something Taurus and claimed the new one would be exactly the same. American's just don't like American stuff anymore. I am not sure how you change perception quickly, heck I don't think you can. No matter whatever news comes out about Toyota's falling quality people still claim that Toyota is perfect and will never break down. I am not sure if GM and Ford have enough time to get people to come back. The fact of the matter is it is almost becoming Anti-American to buy American.

 

Edit...

except for this one post that brought a smile to my face...

"All I can say, is that I was dumb enough to listen to Toyota's propaganda of quality!!! The new Camry's are big P.O.S.!!! The tranny went within 1000 miles along with other little interior imperfections!! Garbage!!! I'm driving an '08 Taurus now. Outstanding vehicle!!! Toyota's days of glory are over!!!!!"

Edited November 14, 2007 by 2005Explorer

[NickF1011]

Take a few minutes to read the MSNBC user comments and you will see why Ford and all of the Detroit makers are in trouble. It has nothing to do with how good the new Taurus is, it is all perception. A few people called the new Taurus a gas guzzler and recommended the Asian competitors. Others compared their terrible experience with a 1980's something Taurus and claimed the new one would be exactly the same. American's just don't like American stuff anymore. I am not sure how you change perception quickly, heck I don't think you can. No matter whatever news comes out about Toyota's falling quality people still claim that Toyota is perfect and will never break down. I am not sure if GM and Ford have enough time to get people to come back. The fact of the matter is it is almost becoming Anti-American to buy American.

 

Plenty of people continued to buy domestics and defend them when their problems started also. It WILL take time to change perception, but it WILL happen if Detroit simply continues building better cars. If Toyota also continues its slip-ups, people WILL eventually take notice and think twice.

[old_fairmont_wagon]

The part I hate the most is NOT being in control of their own destiny. Ford could build sterling silver bank vaults with wheels that got 120 mpg, cornered like a ferrari, and won every quality award to be handed out year after year; it still wouldn't help them. In general, the populace got burned by domestic quality in the 80s and 90s and migrated to the foreign imports that offered good value and good quality. Now, the domestics not only have to build the best cars, but, they also have to count on Toyota building cars with bad transmissions and trucks with bad engines and weak frames, Honda driving up the cost of the Civic and treating the bottom end of the market with an outdated Fit, and all the others to continue to make the mis-steps that they have been making.

 

A lot of this could be fixed with an effective marketing campaign that focused on the quality of the products over the past few years and the value they offer the buyer. While they won't be able to out American the Camry with the Fusion, they can certainly do it with the Taurus to appeal to any sense of patriotism that may be remaining in people. But, Ford continues to have what I feel is the single most inefective marketing approach of the big 2.25.

[laserred02]

the two problems I have with the MSNBC article are the fact that they list the wrong fuel economy and they list the wrong base price. Then they say the car is not fuel efficient. They should have 18/28, but instead they have 18/24 which is AWD territory, but they don't mention that they are talking about the AWD model, the do the same for the base price. Overall the review was positive, but the gas mileage and price are what people will ultimately look at, and with both wrong it makes a poor impression.

[RichardJensen]

It's a positive article, but not fact checked very well.

 

There's the mentioned gaffe in fuel economy.

 

The Taurus was not the best selling car in the U.S. from 1987 to 1992.

 

Ford has not seen an uptick in sales since relaunching the Taurus name, but market share has grown.

 

Ford didn't pull the plug on the Taurus in 2005 either. There were 2007 Tauruses built, ergo Ford didn't even drop the model name for a full year.

 

Mulally didn't revive the Taurus name as 'one of his first moves' either.

 

Also there's persistence in misunderstanding the difference between Ford's adaptive shift algorithms and GM's software.

 

----

 

Comments on driving are fair, as well as interior fitments and space; however, the whole article needs a rewrite for accuracy and style.

[silvrsvt]

My parents just got an 08 Sable yesterday, I'll give it a test drive tomorrow when I stop over for dinner

[twintornados]

My parents just got an 08 Sable yesterday, I'll give it a test drive tomorrow when I stop over for dinner

 

Your gonna love it!!! :happy feet:

[BORG]

Drr, the Taurus X shifted smoother huh? I wonder which one had more miles on it Ford really needs to make it clear that the Transmission adapts to the driver.

[SVT_MAN]

It's a positive article, but not fact checked very well.

 

There's the mentioned gaffe in fuel economy.

 

The Taurus was not the best selling car in the U.S. from 1987 to 1992.

 

Ford has not seen an uptick in sales since relaunching the Taurus name, but market share has grown.

 

Ford didn't pull the plug on the Taurus in 2005 either. There were 2007 Tauruses built, ergo Ford didn't even drop the model name for a full year.

 

Mulally didn't revive the Taurus name as 'one of his first moves' either.

 

Also there's persistence in misunderstanding the difference between Ford's adaptive shift algorithms and GM's software.

 

----

 

Comments on driving are fair, as well as interior fitments and space; however, the whole article needs a rewrite for accuracy and style.

 

All true. I did notice the thing about the sales uptick and the error about the years, but the rest of it I did not. Good finds. Irresponsible author though .. if you don't get the facts right, that can ruin your credibility unless no one else bothers to check.

[EMDEE]

As people go on making disparaging comments here about the Taurus, I have to wonder how many have actually spent a significant amount of time driving one. I travel weekly on my job and frequently have to rent cars. I go out of my way to drive interesting or at least popular cars, and my recent rentals include the Camry, the Avalon, Grand Prix V8, Pontiac G6, Hyundai Azera, Cadillac CTS (07), and the 08 Taurus. The Taurus had over 10,000 miles on so it was well broken in. I put around 200 miles on most of these, often on ragged urban freeways and suburban toll roads. My conclusion: anyone who thinks the current Taurus in any way lags behind the Toyotas or Hyundai is poorly informed. The Taurus is more solid than any of them, more luxurious than all but the Avalon, just as well put together as any and with just as good materials. And roomier than any of them. While not the very fastest car of the bunch (that'd be the Camry V6 and the Grand Prix V8), it has a very satisfying level of power and less torque steer than any of the front drivers (my rental Taurus was also a front driver). Overall, I found it to have the best suspension balance of the bunch, and the smoothest idle. The two Pontiacs clearly felt like relics of a bygone era with bad torque steer, and G6 had the worst ride I'd felt in any car in a decade. Maybe somethign was wrong with it. The Azera had a nice interior, but not much else to recommend it. It too rode much harder than need be, with no payoff in handling. The CTS had a nice engine, but otherwise was in great need of the upgrade it has just gotten. I notice no real distinction in gas mileage between any of these cars, as my mileage generally reflects my driving style more than the engine under the hood.

 

If the new Lincoln MKS offers substantial improvement over the Taurus, FoMoCo will be on the way to serious success in the near future. The 08 Taurus is superior overall to any domestic with $10K I can think of, and was easily more desirable than the Japanese alternatives. The Camry isn't remotely in the same class (previous generation Camry's were better), and the latest reliability ratings on the Avalon are an embarassment. The only car I haven't had a chance to compare is the new Accord, which sounds great in the ads. But, sooner or later, we'll see about that. Ford's "Euro" blood is already present in the suspension, refinement and body strength of their cars, if not yet obvious in the designs.

[P71_CrownVic]

The Taurus had over 10,000 miles on so it was well broken in. I put around 200 miles on most of these, often on ragged urban freeways and suburban toll roads. My conclusion: anyone who thinks the current Taurus in any way lags behind the Toyotas or Hyundai is poorly informed..

 

It probably is a better car...but sales are what matter and since Ford is too buys advertising for Microsoft, you don't see ads for actual Ford vehicles. Right now, I think the Taurus' only problem is lack of advertising.

[NickF1011]

It probably is a better car...but sales are what matter and since Ford is too buys advertising for Microsoft, you don't see ads for actual Ford vehicles. Right now, I think the Taurus' only problem is lack of advertising.

 

Sales are NOT what matter. PROFITS are what matter. If Ford can make money not selling 25,000 Tauruses a month, who cares? I do agree they need to advertise the freakin thing though.

[Michael Reynolds]

Sales are NOT what matter. PROFITS are what matter. If Ford can make money not selling 25,000 Tauruses a month, who cares? I do agree they need to advertise the freakin thing though.

 

What's a Taurus?

[P71_CrownVic]

Sales are NOT what matter. PROFITS are what matter. If Ford can make money not selling 25,000 Tauruses a month, who cares? I do agree they need to advertise the freakin thing though.

Well, without sales you have no profit.

[NickF1011]

Well, without sales you have no profit.

 

It's not like they are selling zero of them. Even at the low volumes it's at now, it's likely a lot closer to break-even than we realize. A few thousand more a month and it'll probably be quite a profitable line of vehicles. My point was, it doesn't need to sell a SHITLOAD to make money. It needs to do better, but not anywhere close to what it was doing in the 90's.

[RichardJensen]

On Ford, torque steer and the Europeans......

 

Ford NA spent a lot of time working on the torque steer issue with the original Taurus.

 

They probably have a better handle on the issue than any other mfr.

 

Key is getting both half shafts to deform at the same rate. It's easy to do with RWD cars as both half shafts are the same length and made out of the same material, thus, no torque steer with RWD cars (if one half shaft warped under load more than another, you'd get RWD torque steer, the car would push itself out of shape).

 

IIRC, the original Taurus had half shafts that were the same length, or very close to the same length, but that's my memory of a book I read in high school or college about the Taurus, so I could be wrong.

 

Anyway, I think Ford has also experimented with different materials for each half shaft, in an effort to eliminate an unequal application of torque to the drive wheels. It's a very fascinating subject.

 

 

 

If you're a nerd.

[P71_CrownVic]

IIRC, the original Taurus had half shafts that were the same length, or very close to the same length, but that's my memory of a book I read in high school or college about the Taurus, so I could be wrong.

I know the 1989 Taurus SHO did.

[Noah Harbinger]

On Ford, torque steer and the Europeans......

 

Ford NA spent a lot of time working on the torque steer issue with the original Taurus.

 

They probably have a better handle on the issue than any other mfr.

 

Key is getting both half shafts to deform at the same rate. It's easy to do with RWD cars as both half shafts are the same length and made out of the same material, thus, no torque steer with RWD cars (if one half shaft warped under load more than another, you'd get RWD torque steer, the car would push itself out of shape).

 

IIRC, the original Taurus had half shafts that were the same length, or very close to the same length, but that's my memory of a book I read in high school or college about the Taurus, so I could be wrong.

 

Anyway, I think Ford has also experimented with different materials for each half shaft, in an effort to eliminate an unequal application of torque to the drive wheels. It's a very fascinating subject.

If you're a nerd.

 

Fortunately I am a nerd, and it sounds awesome!