Ford Finally Gets It Right with The New, New Taurus

Remember Ford Taurus, the jellybean-shaped, mid-sized sedan that revolutionized automotive styling when it was introduced in 1986 -- and then went on to lead U.S. auto sales for the next decade?

Well, along with a renascent Ford, the venerable Taurus brand finally is making a comeback -- a real comeback -- too.

That’s why Conan O’Brien, who infamously owns a 1992 Taurus SHO, recently crawled into the trunk of the new Taurus SHO on The Tonight Show. In an eight-minute sketch that was essentially a glorified product placement, the host bantered with a Ford marketing manager about the old and new Taurus.

Ford got rid of the Taurus that O’Brien originally loved in 2006 because, after several makeovers, it was aging. Meanwhile, Toyota’s Camry had taken away Taurus’s annual U.S. sales crown. But several months later, in 2007, Ford revived the nameplate by slapping “Taurus” on a new vehicle Ford originally had called the Five Hundred, a patently uninspiring sedan.

So the Taurus brand went from moribund to afterthought. Neither did a bland SUV called Taurus X do much to reignite America’s passion with the Taurus they once knew.

But Ford has been making a huge run of late, culminating in its surprise $1-billion profit for the third quarter, which the company reported earlier this week. Ford's vibrant new lineup over the last few years has contributed mightily to the company’s revitalization. Reviving the Taurus brand should add even more momentum.

And when Ford reported October sales on Tuesday, the redesigned Taurus helped lead the way. It sold more than 6,000 units, the most for the nameplate since May, 2008 – and, for the month, second in its segment only to Buick’s redesigned LaCrosse in consideration by new-car shoppers on Edmunds.com. Ford dealers reported that Taurus sales nearly tripled year-earlier levels of the old Taurus.

“Taurus already is going pretty well in a very competitive segment,” said Jessica Caldwell, head of U.S. industry analysis for Santa Monica, Calif.-based Edmunds.

Little wonder. The new Taurus is something Ford can be proud of rather than shun. The company finally got this vehicle right again, with high-tech features including all-wheel-drive, cross-traffic alert, collision warning, blind-spot monitoring and adaptive cruise control.

The high-performance Taurus SHO (Super High Output) model features the new EcoBoost  3.5-liter, V6 engine, which generates 365 horsepower.

And the styling of the new Taurus – while certainly not head-snapping like its curvaceous ancestor of 20 years ago – at least is fresh and contemporary, like the rest of Ford’s new products.