Future Looks Good For Taurus
Ford continues to pull the Taurus back from its dark “Five Hundred” depths and towards the favorable glowing light of positive reviews that the Fusion garners. As another example, the 2010 Taurus adopts some very basic elements and even more technological innovations from favorite Ford child: the Fusion.
Ford Fusion Sport
Not that Ford is completely out of the woods yet; either with the Taurus or just economically in general. But in an effort to fend off further economic problems, indications are that the Taurus will shift to the mid-size Fusion sedan platform, and as a consequent, free Ford up to build up to nine sedans and crossovers on a single platform to save money. The Detroit News is reporting that Ford may move the large Ford Taurus sedan from its current D3 platform to the new architecture that will underpin the next-gen Ford Fusion. Ford’s mid-size sedans were already slated to move to a common platform in their successive iterations, but moving the Taurus to that same platform is a new development.
If this happens, Ford’s full-size crossovers, the Ford Flex and Lincoln MKT, which currently ride on a modified version Volvo-designed architecture, will likely be shifted over to the new platform with the Taurus. FINALLY, the Lincoln MKX and MKZ, Mercury Milan and Ford Edge, which share the same Mazda-sourced architecture with the Fusion, could also be moved to the same platform. You can see that the huge numbers of cars that this amounts to would presumably save alot of green by riding on the same setup.
2010 Taurus Interior
In the meantime, the Taurus marches back to the forefront of the Ford front lines by displaying the auto-maker’s commitment to cutting-edge technology (10 of them exclusive to this class), spirited driving dynamics, a return to quality, all with an inherently higher level of value.
Available this summer, the 2010 Taurus will start at $25,995, the same as the 2009 model and with a SHO version that produces 365 horsepower via a much-praised (and possibly Mustang-bound) Twin Turbo EcoBoost V-6 with a paddle-shift six-speed SelectShift Automatic gearbox and AWD. Exclusive technologies in the Taurus not available elsewhere in this class include: Adaptive Cruise Control and Collision Warning with Brake Support, BLIS (Blind Spot Information System) with Cross Traffic Alert, SecuriCode Keyless Entry Keypad, Voice-Activated Navigation with SIRIUS Travel Link, Ford SYNC with Traffic, Directions and Information, Multi-Contour Seats with Active Motion, Easy Fuel Capless Fuel-Filler and Sony Surround Sound System.
Helping the car’s move into a more upscale segment is helped, no doubt, by the emergence of other vehicles in ways that the previous Taurus never had. The Mustang doesn’t suck anymore. The Ford Fusion is a HELL of alot better than the Tempo and let’s be honest, the new Taurus looks a million times better than the Five Hundred which it replaced. No longer does the Taurus have to strain to compete against the Accord, Camry or even Malibu. (The Fusion can hold its own against them). Combine all that with a level of refinement and quality that hasn’t been achieved in quite some time and the recipe for the new Taurus to be successful would appear to be complete.