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2016 MKS/Taurus Mule


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If anything, the Taurus & MKS will share suspension components with the Fusion/MKZ, not with the Edge/Explorer/Lincoln variants.

 

Ford is not going to use a CUV platform to underpin a sedan again.

 

So with that thinking, is the 2015 Fusion (Edge) and Focus (Escape) using CUV platform?

 

Of course the suspension is going to be different...Although the current Taurus is on CUV platform (sort of) I bet it doesn't share any suspension parts with the Explorer

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I doubt that very much. These products aren't being bootstrapped off China revenue, and I doubt that China is going to produce a significant amount of revenue for Ford from these products, given the JV structure of Chinese ops.

Can we agree that Ford is looking to share costs and get as much scale of economy as possible,

It just seems strange that Ford is announcing Taurus in China shortly but hasn't confirmed anything for the US.

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So with that thinking, is the 2015 Fusion (Edge) and Focus (Escape) using CUV platform?

 

Of course the suspension is going to be different...Although the current Taurus is on CUV platform (sort of) I bet it doesn't share any suspension parts with the Explorer

 

The current Taurus & Explorer share significant suspension componentry:

http://www.automotix.net/usedautoparts/2013-ford-taurus-rear_lower_control_arm-product-g63583474i.html?gclid=CPH-pbjQm78CFa9r7AodPSoA-Q

http://www.automotix.net/usedautoparts/2013-ford-explorer-rear_lower_control_arm-product-g63583474i.html?gclid=CNWskr7Qm78CFTJn7AodNQ8A7w

 

The Edge and Explorer will probably share much with the Taurus from the 2nd row of seats forward, but from the 2nd row backwards, the rear suspension, I expect will be quite a bit different, in order to enable better packaging of the 3rd row on the Explorer.

 

The analogy would be that of the Honda Accord and the Pilot, which have fairly similar front subframes and very different rear subframes.

Edited by RichardJensen
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Can we agree that Ford is looking to share costs and get as much scale of economy as possible,

It just seems strange that Ford is announcing Taurus in China shortly but hasn't confirmed anything for the US.

 

Ford hasn't officially confirmed anything for China either. Go back and review the sources for the Chinese launch story.

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Hmm, I don't know whether it's a language thing but the article spoke with a lot of

"will be" which normally clues us into it being a strong leak for a Ford official..

 

Am I and others reading too much into an article that simply uses too many absolutes?

 

Ford Taurus will be manufactured in China from 2015

LINK

The Ford Taurus will be manufactured in China from 2015 at the Changan-Ford joint venture. The Ford Taurus will have its China-debut on the April 2015 Shanghai Auto Show. Price will range from 300.000 yuan to 450.000 yuan ($50.000 – $75.000). The Taurus will be powered by a 2.0 four-cylinder with 240hp, a 3.5 liter V6 with 365hp, and a new China-only 2.5 liter four-cylinder which will be positioned between the 2.0 and the 3.5.

The Taurus will be the largest China-made Ford sedan so far. The current largest sedan is the Ford Mondeo which is priced from 179.800 yuan to 265.800 yuan. Ford is on a roll in China with sales up 53% in January alone. Ford plans to launch 15 new cars on the Chinese market by 2015, under a master plan creatively called ’1515′.

 

Edited by jpd80
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Hmm I was looking up shocks on Fordparts.com and they didn't share shocks, though the PN where somewhat similar

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Hmm I was looking up shocks on Fordparts.com and they didn't share shocks, though the PN where somewhat similar

 

I don't think the suspensions are 100% shared--the Explorer may have stiffer shocks because it's heavier--but there's more commonality between this Taurus & Explorer than I'd expect from the next Taurus & Explorer.

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There's no Ford Motor Company source in that article.

 

That's true to the extend of that particular article but Ford's plans are already filed with the Chinese Govt in order to obtain the construction permit for the new plants, and as part of the restructuring of Chang'an Ford Mazda into two separate companies. As part of Ford's $5 billion investment announced in 2012, they have committed to introducing new products to local assembly, including Taurus, Edge as well as Escort, Ka/Icon, Everest, and as yet unknown "indigenous" branded cars and some type of EV.

 

The new Hangzhou plant (Chang'an Ford plant #5) is earmarked for Taurus and Edge (and likely MKS and MKX) in early 2015.

 

The new Chongqing #3 plant (Chang'an Ford plant #4) will begin production of Escort in late 2014.

 

And the new Nanchang #2 plant (Jiangling Ford plant #2) will be used to expand Transit and add Everest in 2015.

Edited by bzcat
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My point is that there's no meaningful distinction to be drawn between Ford's plans for the Taurus in China and their plans for the Taurus in the US, on the basis of published reports.

 

You can't look at a report drawn from filings w/the Chinese government (apparently) and conclude that Ford is more committed to the Taurus in China than they are in the US.

Edited by RichardJensen
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My point is that there's no meaningful distinction to be drawn between Ford's plans for the Taurus in China and their plans for the Taurus in the US, on the basis of published reports.

 

You can't look at a report drawn from filings w/the Chinese government (apparently) and conclude that Ford is more committed to the Taurus in China than they are in the US.

 

That is true... we can't draw any conclusion yet on what Taurus will be like in the US or in China. All we know is Ford will be assembling a large sedan in Hangzhou, China in 2015.

 

And as far as development is concerned, we know the car is being developed in the US. While it is a reasonable guess that Ford will eventually sell more Taurus in China than the US, that is probably also true of any number of Ford models.

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  • 2 months later...

I have it on good authority that the original CD4 Taurus/MKS development was given to Ford Asia Pacific but

for some reason, the project was handed back to Ford Nth America, even though FAPA and China

have developed different styling pucks tht carry different identification to the Nth American counterparts.

 

I have no further info beyond that intel which is now quite dated. the only conclusion I can draw is that the

China release comes fiirst because that market is funding the bulk of development costs and in order for

that to to be true, China and its market gets exclusive launch next year, with Nth America following after.

Edited by jpd80
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