We owned a Taurus, too. It was the best handling mid-size car for the money at the time I bought it (1987). It rusted too fast for me, but we didn’t need to put much into it. Nothing really expensive went wrong by the time we sold it after 10 years. If someone had success with a Taurus, why wouldn’t they consider a new one?
gsragtop,
I think your response nailed it on the head.
Our family no longer needs a Taurus size sedan. But if it did, my good experience with my 1991 would at least rate it a place among the initial candidates if I was looking to another. Although the Taurus was not a perfect vehicle, I think many people had a positive experience. When you also consider the name recognition, I agree that dropping the name was a bone head move. Resurrecting it is their best move now.
Perhaps Ford will do what Toyota and Honda have been doing for years now with their Camry and Accord. Keep the name but continue to remodel and improve the car. There is nothing wrong with that. A Camry, Accord and now a Taurus will indicate a defined class of car. GM has been doing this with their Malibu for a while too. There are others.
There are likely opposing forces within marketing departments. One side wants a new name to go with a new car that may have improved quality and they want the old name gone with whatever problems may be associated with the old name. Another point of view wants to keep the old name to retain the market’s familiarity with that name to eliminate customer confusion.
I liked the “500” name, plus it looked really good written out on the trunk. Taurus is an ok name too, all the baggage that comes with it.
But styling wise, fords are finally starting to look good. The Taurus’s chrome lines around the side windows are right off the Passat, which looks pretty hot to me.
Naming it the Ford 500 was an attempt to capture a few sales off the the retro craze. Ford 500 is a name from the past. At the time they brought out the new Ford 500, sales of Taurus were were slipping badly. While the Taurus was a good car for its time, especially (as it turned out) as a fleet vehicle, it was a design past its prime. The 500 never caught on and sales have been poor. I maintain that changing the name to the Taurus will do nothing. They need to focus on a new product design that will compel customers to want to try the product.
While the name Taurus will not magically make people go out and buy the car, name recognition is a factor. There are pluses and minus with name recognition, however. If the reputation of a car is poor, the name could drag down an otherwise good car, which is why some car’s names are changed.
Camry and Accord have proved that you don’t have to keep changing names to sell cars. Overall quality and reliability mean more than names.
I don’t see why you are so excited about this. Ford and all other manufacturers build cars that they think will sell to a certain segment of the populace. It appears that they didn’t build the 500 for you. So what? They didn’t build it for me, either, and I’m not the slightest bit offended.
Yes, it is REAL SIMPLE, BUY A TOYOTA!
The most modern Hybrid technology (licensed their previous generation hybrid technology to every other car maker), best quality and reliability, lowest depreciation rates leading to best long term value . . .
Toyota now has over 150 models, something for everyone . . . Ford is warmed over obsolete technology, and uncertain quality . . . designed to begin failing as soon as the factory warranty runs out . . . Toyota designs and TESTS every part on their cars and trucks to have a 10 year lifetime, at least!!!
Don’t they copyright or trademark these names, and wouldn’t you think it would be an added expense to do another? I’ve always wondered why companies like Ford would re-use names they had used in the past. I’d bet it is a $$ decision in addition to a marketing one. Rocketman
Actually, I don’t understand why domestic companies assign random names (instead of alfa-numeric designators) to autos. These names always seemed meaningless to me, they don’t tell you anything about the vehicle. The fact that ford spells out “five hundred” on their cars is pretty weird. I know americans are bad at math, but they should be able to read numbers.
This is nothing new. Manufacturers have been doing that for years.
Anyone remember the 80’s LaMans…or the 80’s Dodge Charger. They were NOTHING like their previous cars. The Chevy Manza…Renamed Vega. How about the AMC Concord…or the Dodge Aspen.
so buy a Montego.
If they wanted retro, they probably should have called the engine the “Cammer”.
The Ford Fairlane 500 preceded the Galaxy 500, I think. It is a venerable Ford moniker, but it means nothing to young buyers which is something that was apparently overlooked. I believe that some of the Galaxy 500s had close to 400 HP.
Ugly old men buy lots of cars and this one is probably for them and for others including families that don’t want a (another) minivan. It is roomy, practical vehicle and will probably prove to be pretty trouble-free. It is also reasonably priced and has great crash testing results. I am betting that it will sell big. The main thing I see wrong with it is that it is only available in wrong-wheel drive and all-wheel drive instead of rear-wheel drive. With 260 HP and a six-speed, it should be pretty fast.
Yes, it is still the same platform (same as the Volvo S80), but there were LOTS of changes to the car.