retro-man Posted August 26, 2012 Share Posted August 26, 2012 (edited) But you do forget that the Taurus was a fleet special at that time...the new car sells in lower volumes for far more money then the old car did...I'd say that ATP has gone up from 20k to 30K with the newer Taurus. And there you hit my main issue with the car: It costs $40,000.00 - at least by the time you get out the door. Re. the subsequent discussion reminding us that there was no Fusion at the time the original Taurus came out - well, there was certainly a Tempo, or a Contour, or something. If I had a choice between fewer car lines with greater flexibility of options within them, and more car lines with less choice within each line, I'm going to pick the former every time. The Taurus's styling to me is ok. It's attractive - but a bit fussy, there is nothing particularly remarkable in the quality or fit of the materials, and overall as a styling package it seems rather vulnerable to planned (or unplanned) obsolescence. Which is unforgivable at $40K. That seems to me the reason for the un-Taurus-like sales figures. (That, and The Great Recession.) The 2013 Fusion is a much more attractive proposition to me, and I would describe its styling as "beautiful". Edited August 26, 2012 by retro-man Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silvrsvt Posted August 26, 2012 Share Posted August 26, 2012 And there you hit my main issue with the car: It costs $40,000.00 - at least by the time you get out the door. Re. the subsequent discussion reminding us that there was no Fusion at the time the original Taurus came out - well, there was certainly a Tempo, or a Contour, or something. If I had a choice between fewer car lines with greater flexibility of options within them, and more car lines with less choice within each line, I'm going to pick the former every time. The Taurus's styling to me is ok. It's attractive - but a bit fussy, there is nothing particularly remarkable in the quality or fit of the materials, and overall as a styling package it seems rather vulnerable to planned (or unplanned) obsolescence. Which is unforgivable at $40K. That seems to me the reason for the un-Taurus-like sales figures. (That, and The Great Recession.) The 2013 Fusion is a much more attractive proposition to me, and I would describe its styling as "beautiful". I'm not sure where your getting your numbers from for the Taurus, but there was an earlier post that had most them at around the 35K range. Regarding the Tempo and Contour...I'm sorry but both them where lucky to be compact cars. The Tempo was a puffed up Escort, which at the time was a Subcompact car. The Contour was poorly designed...the Focus had as much interior room up front as it and roughly the same rear interior space. The biggest issue with the Taurus is that its stuck on a legacy platform that has issues with interior packaging (though I wonder why we never heard these complaints on the S80 or other cars based on the same platform?) that was the end result of Ford selling 400K Explorers in the mid 1990s, which lead to no true replacement for its mid-sized or even full sized car. I was the understanding that the Taurus was going to replace the Crown Vic back in the day (it was always slotted larger then what it should have been, esp when the Accord and Camry rose to their positions they have now) but Ford couldn't get rid of the CV because of consumer demand, then I'll assume the inability of them coming to terms till recently that the market wasn't coming back for it. Ford did their best with what they had back in 2004 and the current Taurus will be moving to a modern platform in the next 2-3 years that it will in all likelyhood share with the Fusion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichardJensen Posted August 27, 2012 Share Posted August 27, 2012 it seems rather vulnerable to planned (or unplanned) obsolescence. Which is unforgivable at $40K. That seems to me the reason for the un-Taurus-like sales figures. Well, in fairness, it's all planned obsolescence these days. Also the full size market is not what it once was. It's heavily dominated by fleet purchases of all sorts, and basically, your monthly sales can be whatever you want them to be, as long as you're willing to price properly for fleet buyers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
retro-man Posted August 27, 2012 Share Posted August 27, 2012 (edited) I'm not sure where your getting your numbers from for the Taurus, but there was an earlier post that had most them at around the 35K range. Well, when I picked up my '02 T-Bird in '02 the sticker was $38,500.00. It was basically $48,000.00 by the time I got out the back room. Of course that included a $4k "market adjustment" at the time. (You're welcome to flame me for that purchase - my wife always does. Still. To this day.) The thing about that car (and that price) is I never expected to buy another. Unfortunately, a.) its severely lemonistic tendencies, b.) The Great Recession, and c.) The fact that I'm an Architect not a Hedge Fund Manager - all conspired against my intentions to keep the car forever. The car attracted compliments on its appearance just about every day - I kid you not - for the entire time I owned it - there was no obsolescence built into its styling. Nor was I by any means tired of it - other than the constant and expensive repairs. Had I the means to maintain it, it probably could have lasted me indefinitely. The Taurus, on the other hand, is a commodity car: a consumable (as attested by Richard's mention of its fleet potential) - albeit on the higher end of that category. As such, I find its price - even starting at $35k - to be just a bit rich. If I were of such an income bracket that it wasn't too rich for me, I'd probably be looking at something else - maybe even (despite my history of "buy American" rhetoric) something German or Japanese. Granted, a new Audi or Lexus will probably be a couple of tens of grand more. The Taurus is stuck mid-market in a country that has decided it doesn't need a middle class anymore. That's a tough place to be. It shares that space with the 300, and other cars like the Buick LaCrosse. Actually, the discontinued Lucerne might be a better comparison. And it was discontinued. Edited August 27, 2012 by retro-man Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpd80 Posted August 27, 2012 Share Posted August 27, 2012 On cars.com: Dealer inventory is 5774 Ford Taurus models Price Up to $5,000 (1) $20,001-$30,000 (1039) $30,001-$40,000 (3075) $40,001-$50,000 (1133) $50,001-$75,000 (6) Not Priced (520) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silvrsvt Posted August 27, 2012 Share Posted August 27, 2012 The Taurus, on the other hand, is a commodity car: a consumable (as attested by Richard's mention of its fleet potential) - albeit on the higher end of that category. As such, I find its price - even starting at $35k - to be just a bit rich. Well the pricing problem is an "issue" no matter what you buy, unless your "settle" for a stripper. A loaded out Fusion Titanium is 38K, a Focus Titanium is $27K....I believe the average cost of a new car is around 26-28K...and that was a few years ago. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LoveTaurus Posted August 28, 2012 Share Posted August 28, 2012 (edited) I visited the Princeton University today. Their security force is using a fleet of the Ford Taurus. But I forgot to look, are they 2013s'. I had an impression that they were before the 2013 facelift... Still, looking very sharp, in white! Edited August 28, 2012 by LoveTaurus Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silvrsvt Posted August 28, 2012 Share Posted August 28, 2012 I visited the Princeton University today. Their security force is using a fleet of the Ford Taurus. But I forgot to look, are they 2013s'. I had an impression that they were before the 2013 facelift... Still, looking very sharp, in white! Most likely Police Interceptors...did they have steel/black rims? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LoveTaurus Posted August 28, 2012 Share Posted August 28, 2012 Most likely Police Interceptors...did they have steel/black rims? Thank you for your reply! It was a rainy day. Later on, the rain stopped and sun came out. We were at the Princeton campus for the first time taking in the view, taking photos of the historical buildings. I noticed the Tauruses, and was observing at the beautiful lines and the cleanliness of the body. Sorry, I did not notice whether they have steel or black rims. I was waiting for a chance to take a photos of the vehicle, but there were always an officer in the vehicle. By the end of the visit, I did not see any security vehicles anywhere, so no photos. I was trying to find photos on the internet, but came out zero. I don't know are they Police Interceptors. They don't have to catch speeders on the highway. They are just patrolling the side roads on campus at low speed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted August 28, 2012 Share Posted August 28, 2012 I don't know are they Police Interceptors. They don't have to catch speeders on the highway. They are just patrolling the side roads on campus at low speed. Did they have bars on the front and lights on the roof? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LoveTaurus Posted August 29, 2012 Share Posted August 29, 2012 Did they have bars on the front and lights on the roof? Flash lights on the roof, yes. But I could not remember the bull bars until I confirm it by seeing a photo. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silvrsvt Posted August 29, 2012 Share Posted August 29, 2012 Flash lights on the roof, yes. But I could not remember the bull bars until I confirm it by seeing a photo. Look like this? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LoveTaurus Posted August 29, 2012 Share Posted August 29, 2012 Look like this? It is getting a little embarrassing. I don't remember. I have not choice but to say yes, until I have proof to confirm it. May be I should go take a picture. Nowadays, on campuses across the country, pointing a camera at a security guard could trigger unwanted attentions... Thanks guys! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NickF1011 Posted August 29, 2012 Share Posted August 29, 2012 Did they have bars on the front and lights on the roof? Eh that doesn't really prove much if it did. A few PD's around here had Five Hundreds with bars and lights on them too and there was never a PI version of that available. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LoveTaurus Posted September 5, 2012 Share Posted September 5, 2012 After days of searching on the internet, I finally found 2 photos of the Princeton University Public Security Ford Taurus. Included in the fleet are more likely not the Interceptors. First photo was taken in 2010. Second photo was taken in 2012. 2010 2012 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichardJensen Posted September 5, 2012 Share Posted September 5, 2012 No interceptor model in 2010 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted September 5, 2012 Share Posted September 5, 2012 Eh that doesn't really prove much if it did. A few PD's around here had Five Hundreds with bars and lights on them too and there was never a PI version of that available. Not definitively but Ford didn't offer a police package five hundred from the factory either. If you wanted a Taurus outfitted with light bars and push bars then it wouldn't make sense to take a regular Taurus (new) and convert it when you could just buy one already made. That was my point. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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