Is Ford Dropping the Taurus?

[ehaase]

http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2013/03/chart-of-the-day-full-size-sedan-freefall/#more-481933

 

"Speaking of the Taurus, another rumor making the rounds right now is that the Taurus won’t be back after this generation. Poor margins and difficulties during the development process meant that the Taurus has been scrapped part way through the development process, and Ford is content with the Fusion acting as its flagship sedan. If this situation holds true, that leaves Chevrolet and Chrysler as the vanguards of the large American sedan."

[Joe771476]

So what will happen to the Interceptor? Will they do like the Crown Vic and only make it for Police use?

[2005Explorer]

This would not be a complete surprise, however you would think that a V6 might be added to the Fusion as an option if the Taurus were to be dropped after this cycle. I have not compared the new Fusion to the current Taurus, but is there really that much difference in interior room between the two? I can see where CUVs like the Edge and Explorer are likely to pull in a lot of the full size sedan shoppers and the ones left wanting an actual sedan are going for the Fusion.

 

I think regardless what happens to the consumer model the Interceptor will continue on for several years with minimal changes. It just recently came out and the shelf life for a fleet only vehicle should be much longer then a consumer vehicle.

[FordBuyer]

This would not be a complete surprise, however you would think that a V6 might be added to the Fusion as an option if the Taurus were to be dropped after this cycle. I have not compared the new Fusion to the current Taurus, but is there really that much difference in interior room between the two? I can see where CUVs like the Edge and Explorer are likely to pull in a lot of the full size sedan shoppers and the ones left wanting an actual sedan are going for the Fusion.

 

I think regardless what happens to the consumer model the Interceptor will continue on for several years with minimal changes. It just recently came out and the shelf life for a fleet only vehicle should be much longer then a consumer vehicle.

 

So what happens to the MKS with no platform to share? I wouldn't put it past Ford to end the Taurus. Ford seems to be getting out of more segments than entering them. Guess the MKZ will be Lincoln's flagship with rest sport utilities and maybe a RWD sport sedan.

[2005Explorer]

So what happens to the MKS with no platform to share? I wouldn't put it past Ford to end the Taurus. Ford seems to be getting out of more segments than entering them. Guess the MKZ will be Lincoln's flagship with rest sport utilities and maybe a RWD sport sedan.

 

Maybe the MKS is not needed if they are considering slotting a RWD sport sedan above the MKZ.

[timmm55]

I thought the next Taurus was a tweaked and stretched Fusion/Mondeo?

And it's TTAC.....they seldom know anything! Taurus has been pretty consistent since 2007. And since it's structure is shared with so many other vehicles it's not that expensive to produce.

Edited March 21, 2013 by timmm55

[Moosetang]

TTAC is slightly, slightly, better since mr. crazypants left to run gun and birther websites, but I'd still like a better source before readying my Taurus eulogy.

[mustang84isu]

http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2013/03/chart-of-the-day-full-size-sedan-freefall/#more-481933

 

"Speaking of the Taurus, another rumor making the rounds right now is that the Taurus won’t be back after this generation. Poor margins and difficulties during the development process meant that the Taurus has been scrapped part way through the development process, and Ford is content with the Fusion acting as its flagship sedan. If this situation holds true, that leaves Chevrolet and Chrysler as the vanguards of the large American sedan."

 

After Mulally went through all the trouble of having the Taurus nameplate brought back and all the Ford internal studies about how the Taurus nameplate still resonates with buyers? Last year was the best sales year since heavily fleeted '06 model, and so far the first two months of this year have been very strong.

 

Meh, I'll believe it when I see it.

[Stentgraft95]

I just can't see Ford hanging up the full size sedan market. What about the new PI, isn't it just getting up to stride. Without doubt we're downscaling here in the states but it sure seems like too much, too soon to scrap the full size sedan.

[Biker16]

Ford Should develop the Taurus to be sold globally, just like the mustang.

 

In comparison the Taurus + interceptor sold 74,000 unit in 2012 compared to the mustang 82,000 in 2012.

 

Buut.....

 

 

The Taurus shares It platform with 211,000 other platform mates, and the Mustang doesn't. So how does this make the mustang a better investment than the Taurus?

[FordBuyer]

Hmmm....Chevy comes out wtih new Impala, Chrysler updates 300, Dodge updates Charger, Toyota comes out with new Avalon and hybrid, and Nissan has the Maxima, there is Azera, and Ford just updated Taurus and sales are up year over year. Why would Ford be only one to abandon this segment? If Ford did abandon the Taurus, I would hope they would at least do new Thunderbird and share platform with Lincoln. I really don't think V6 is history in sedans let alone V8. There is still some life left in them, and not just in utilities and trucks.

[papilgee4evaeva]

Yeah, I rather doubt this report of a rumor.

[ausrutherford]

The only Taurus that was killed was the RHD version.

[jniffen]

By the looks of the chart, the Taraus dropped with the economy but has increasing slightly.

 

I'm taking this as another writer just appealing to his audience and not giving real facts.

 

The conclusion of the article was CUV and been replacing the family sedans.

That's too bad, because all of them, especially the Edge and MKX remind me of the AMC Pacer.

Too short and too wide.

[silvrsvt]

The Taurus shares It platform with 211,000 other platform mates, and the Mustang doesn't. So how does this make the mustang a better investment than the Taurus?

 

Um maybe because the Mustang is one of most important nameplates in its History? Outside of the F-series, the Mustang has the most name recognition....its Ford's Halo car...and the Mustang pays its own way with chassis development and shares its powertrains with the F-150.

[92LX302]

Is the Falcon closer in size to the Taurus or Fusion? Or between the two?

[BORG]

It's always interesting to see how much company interest there is in a market segment which is weak or retracting. I just assumed the margins were healthy on them to be worth continued investment. And remember that MKS and Taurus are tied together which further justifies each other's existence. But going forward, with Crossovers taking over most of those customers, it doesn't really make sense to continue. And before you know it, the Midsize will be bigger than the Taurus being dropped. I also see a time when Crossovers begin taking over the midsize segment, at some point the 3-box car concept is going to be too obsolete.

 

In the end I would be surprised if Taurus is pulled considering the need for an MKS at Lincoln. But...even Caddy doesn't have a large flagship sedan that isn't a Chevy platform mate, and Lincoln has publicly stated that they are not interested in flagship sedans...so perhaps there is no need for the MKS after-all. But what kind of car is Lincoln going to sell? An MKZ and the rest crossovers?

 

The other problem here is that the Taurus is not a global product, and never has the potential to be, no large sedan does.

Edited March 22, 2013 by BORG

[jpd80]

And then there was Falcon......And Territory..

 

 

But seriously,

if Ford gets rid of D3 and puts Taurus and Explorer on CD4, the scales of economy will make it viable.

CD4 would then take on the mantle of super platform, something Ford has needed for the past ten years..

Edited March 22, 2013 by jpd80

[mettech]

The 800 lb gorilla in the room is the CAFE.

[silvrsvt]

The 800 lb gorilla in the room is the CAFE.

 

But Taurus with the 2L Ecoboost gets 22/32 mpg vs 22/33 in the Fusion with the same engine.

 

The current Taurus is a bit on the piggy side and I'm sure they can lop off at least 300-500 moving it to an extend CD4 platform.

[PREMiERdrum]

But seriously,

if Ford gets rid of D3 and puts Taurus and Explorer on CD4, the scales of economy will make it viable.

CD4 would then take on the mantle of super platform, something Ford has needed for the past ten years..

 

This is the route Taurus is going, though D4 lives on a bit longer for Explorer/PI/PIU. The long-term plan for those three is not yet set in stone.

[twmalonehunter]

The 800 lb gorilla in the room is the CAFE.

 

Exactly. The EPA won't be satisfied until we are all driving around in Fiat 500 sized cars. I dread what the automotive industry landscape will look like in 10 or 15 years.

[Biker16]

Um maybe because the Mustang is one of most important nameplates in its History? Outside of the F-series, the Mustang has the most name recognition....its Ford's Halo car...and the Mustang pays its own way with chassis development and shares its powertrains with the F-150.

 

the name and the legacy cannot make up for a bad business decision.

[kstwister]

the name and the legacy cannot make up for a bad business decision.

So you are saying building the Mustang is a bad idea? Interesting point of view.....

[silvrsvt]

the name and the legacy cannot make up for a bad business decision.

 

 

But the potential customer backlash will....

 

Guess your too young to remember what happened 25 years ago or so with the Probe almost becoming the Mustang.

 

With that mindset, the Corvette (it is GM we are talking about here, so moot point) or other performance cars wouldn't be worthwhile.

 

The problem your completely ignoring is the Mustang was the first platform that was designed to be profitable at sales numbers of 100K units or so..and the first couple years it sold well over that...it doesn't sell close to those numbers these days, but at the same time auto sales have dropped significantly since 2005 also. Car sales in 2012 where roughly 2 million less then they where in 2006.

 

The price of the Mustang has risen since its introduction also. A loaded GT in 2006 was right around 31K with an automatic. A 2013 GT with all the options nearly $47K with an automatic. Yes there are more options on the 2013, but a 16K difference in price is pretty significant. You could drop down to a V6 Mustang GT which has nearly the same performance as the first Gen S197 GTs and they go for $36K fully loaded....its not like Ford is losing money on the Mustang now.