End of Ford Taurus Closes Era
Posted 4/19/05 10:40 a.m. CDT
Once a best-seller, the 2005 Ford Taurus is on pace to record just under 187,000 sales for the year.

Once a best-seller, the 2005 Ford Taurus is on pace to record just under 187,000 sales for the year.

The last Ford Taurus will roll off the assembly line in the first three months of 2006, ending a 21-year run that has racked up nearly 6.7 million total U.S. sales. The news was relayed to employees at Ford Motor Co.'s Atlanta plant in an April newsletter distributed by United Auto Workers Local 882.

With its jellybean shape, the debut 1986 model helped revolutionize American car design and pull Ford out of a financial tailspin. By 1992, it was the country's best-selling car — a title it held for five consecutive years.

But in recent years, as sales have waned, Ford has been pushing the Taurus out of its retail lineup and into the fleets of rental car companies. It is being replaced in dealer showrooms by the Ford Fusion, which debuts this fall.

Ford would not confirm when Taurus production will end.

News that the Taurus era is nearing an end was met by mixed reaction.

"It was a good car," said Mike Sereni, general manager of Jorgensen Ford in Detroit. "It still is. People still like it."

While most units are sold to rental car companies, it remains available as a retail offering. More streamlined than its predecessors, the 2005 model is on pace to record just under 187,000 sales for the year.

Where will Taurus buyers go? Sereni said they will migrate to the Fusion, while Taurus owners who are looking to move upscale are more likely to buy the larger Five Hundred.

"We'll be able to satisfy both ends of the market," he said.

The Fusion will share its underpinnings with two other 2006 products — the Mercury Milan and Lincoln Zephyr. All three will be built in Mexico.

The original Taurus, with its rounded corners, was a stark contrast to the sharp-edged designs of competitive products. Workers at Ford's assembly plant in Chicago were so shocked they thought their jobs were in jeopardy.

"I remember when that came out," said Bryon Fitzpatrick, chairman of transportation design at Detroit's College for Creative Studies. "It was a real departure for an American car with all that oval shaping. I found it annoying."

But the look captured the public's imagination and Ford humbled competitors such as Toyota Motor Corp. and Honda Motor Co. The Japanese automakers had begun to dominate the midsize car segment.

"In some respects, you could almost characterize it as a car that helped save the company," said Joe Phillippi, principal of New Jersey-based Auto Trends Consulting Inc. "It was certainly considered revolutionary at the time. It was exactly what Ford needed."

In 1989, Ford spiced things up by launching the Taurus SHO — short for Super High Output.

"In the glory days, it had quite a loyal following," said Brent Kanon, owner of Denver-based Pro Street Performance — formerly I'll SHO U Performance.

Few people will remember Taurus fondly, said Kanon and Fitzpatrick. But Sereni disagrees, adding the car has numbers on its side.

"There will always be a sense of nostalgia about that car because there have been so many generations of buyers," he said.