Today, The Last American Ford Taurus Was Built.

"Racin'Jason001" (racinjason001)
03/01/2019 at 22:20 • Filed to: Ford, Taurus, Ford Taurus

This generation was produced since 2010. It seems crossovers are the trend (as if I needed to say that). I kinda liked it. Feel free to pay respects.

DISCUSSION (24)

ranwhenparked > Racin'Jason001
03/01/2019 at 22:25

I mean, it wasn’t my cup of tea, but it is kind of a shame to see the end of the Full-size Ford line in North America.

At least China still gets a (rather handsome) version:

Kinja'd!!!

Steve in Manhattan > Racin'Jason001
03/01/2019 at 22:27

This hits hard - last car I had before moving here was a ‘97 SHO. I loved that thing. Comfortable, fast(ish), and virtually trouble free even after 90K miles.

Racin'Jason001 > ranwhenparked
03/01/2019 at 22:30

Indeed. I’m envious America did not get the Chinese Taurus.

Racin'Jason001 > Steve in Manhattan
03/01/2019 at 22:31

The late 90's SHOs were really cool.

ranwhenparked > Racin'Jason001
03/01/2019 at 22:31

Fashions tend to be cyclical, I suppose large cars *could* come back someday. Pending CAFE changes for trucks and a backlash against whatever the next generation’s parents drove.

Racin'Jason001 > ranwhenparked
03/01/2019 at 22:34

Only time will tell.

Chan - Mid-engine with cabin fever > ranwhenparked
03/01/2019 at 22:40

I agree, the sedan will make a comeback someday. It was never the most efficient form factor; the fact that it has endured this long is kind of amazing.

Having a hood and trunk gives the car a profile symmetry that wagons and SUVs can’t match.

Steve in Manhattan > Racin'Jason001
03/01/2019 at 22:40

Looking back on it, I should have ponied up the extra 9 or 10 grand and gotten the hot Supra, but there it is. Shopped the SVX, but they were insisting on sticker (38 grand or so) for a car that would wind up sitting on their lots for 18 months or more. The SHO fit me.

ranwhenparked > Chan - Mid-engine with cabin fever
03/01/2019 at 22:45

Plus, for the longest time, people wanted the cargo and passenger compartments to be separate, that was a driving factor behind why hatchbacks nearly vanished in the US at one time.

There were reasons for that which might get reevaluated over time. I suspect it will coincide with a massive shift away from open plan offices and open concept houses.

Urambo Tauro > Racin'Jason001
03/01/2019 at 22:52

The Taurus making way for “new nameplates”... I wonder what Alan Mulally thinks about that strategy.

(Personally, I ain’t mad, because I never agreed with a fullsize car taking on the nameplate of a midsize one anyway.)

pip bip - choose Corrour > Racin'Jason001
03/01/2019 at 22:58

NKato > ranwhenparked
03/01/2019 at 23:06

“full size"? That was the Panther platform. The Taurus was just tiny compared to my Queen. :v

ranwhenparked > NKato
03/01/2019 at 23:10

I think that’s part of why full-size cars died, they shrank down too close to midsize.

NKato > ranwhenparked
03/01/2019 at 23:11

I agree. Sadly no automaker will test that hypothesis.

ranwhenparked > NKato
03/01/2019 at 23:16

Well, other than Rolls-Royce, Bentley, and the like, anyway.

Steve in Manhattan > Racin'Jason001
03/02/2019 at 01:40

And I noticed that you said the last “American Ford Taurus was built: - will that car continue to be built elsewhere, or do you mean that the car is American and is, in fact, dead?

JMKarstetter > Racin'Jason001
03/02/2019 at 01:49

I own a 2015 Taurus SHO, I like it but I never really have loved it. It’s quick and when tuned a lot more of a good time to drive, but it’s just too big and heavy, bloated and cramped . The rear seat visibility, legroom and headroom are terrible, especially for a car that is bigger than the Continental, but somehow smaller on the inside. The room up front is decent, but could be way better. Only car I regret purchasing honestly. I hope they make them again and I hope they are better.

jimz > Steve in Manhattan
03/02/2019 at 05:09

Taurus will continue in China on the CD4.3 architecture shared with the Continental. It’s a different car almost entirely.

jimz > Urambo Tauro
03/02/2019 at 05:10

Mullaly’s ire was that they ditched a well known nameplate but kept making the same car. Just called “Five Hundred.”

merged-5876237249235911857-hrw8uc > Racin'Jason001
03/02/2019 at 07:25

Isn’t this the second time they’ve retired the Taurus? When they went to the 500?

Racin'Jason001 > Steve in Manhattan
03/02/2019 at 09:57

Actually, the Taurus will live on in the Chinese market with a full redesign.

Kinja'd!!!

Racin'Jason001 > merged-5876237249235911857-hrw8uc
03/02/2019 at 10:00

Yeah, but this time it’ll probably be dead for good, or a long time. Sales numbers were poor, and the overall sales for sedans has slumped.

NojustNo > Steve in Manhattan
03/05/2019 at 17:43

Just bought a silver 98 sho with 180k. motor Runs great but lots of codes th rown and power steering inop. Will keep y'all posted

Steve in Manhattan > NojustNo
03/05/2019 at 20:23

Please ping me as you get used to it ... mine was silver as well. Cloth interior though, so I got it at a great price. steve.reiness@gmail.com