The 2010 Taurus: A classic redesign, or the same old bull?
by Jeffery Racheff
If you were alive during the ’90s, there’s a pretty good chance you rode in a Ford Taurus. Haters called it a “Flying Jelly Bean” when it debuted in 1986 because of its bulbous, bug-eyed appearance, yet car buyers embraced it wholeheartedly. From 1992 to 1996, it was the best selling car in America, parking itself in almost half a million driveways in that first year alone.
Then, America’s favorite sedan fell by the wayside. By ’96 designers began sculpting increasingly oblong shapes that made them look like futuristic potatoes (apparently a fashionable automotive look of the time), and consumers responded by drifting towards smaller, cheaper, more intelligent-looking Japanese automobiles. Meanwhile, the Taurus itself faded into a weird rental car oblivion. It became virtually inseparable from airport pickups and repair shop replacements, a reputation that may have boded well for sales to Avis and Enterprise, but to the average consumer it was quite the turn-off. So the Taurus struggled in rental fleet purgatory until plans came down to retire it in 2007.
But now, under the direction of new CEO Alan Mulally, the model has been reinstated, revamped and reintroduced for the 2010 lineup. So what, you might ask, could the new Taurus possibly offer, and who in their right mind would bring it back? Well, it appears Mullaly is attempting to take cues from the Japanese playbook. They don’t let their winners die out. The Toyota Corolla, for example, has been in continuous production since the 1960s.
The only difference, however, is that the Corolla has been continuously successful. Perhaps Ford thinks the Taurus name will bring a nostalgia for the ’90s, a recollection of a time when wallets weren’t so tight and a gallon of gas wasn’t so close to minimum wage. After all, for many people the decade was marked by a culture of comfort, even abundance. World markets were anything but recessive, and most folks were feeling prosperous.
But has enough time passed that we actually want it to come back? I mean, this isn’t like Volkswagen re-releasing the beetle. That car has a definite “glory days” feel, with hippies and flowers and free love written all over it. You see a love-bug and you’re instantly transported back to the patchouli-scented ’70s. But what is a wobbly, teenaged Taurus from the ’90s supposed to remind me of? The unchecked proliferation of pantsuits?
Maybe the manufacturers should just acknowledge what they’re trying to do and complete the homage to the decade. New models could come equipped with flannel seat coverings and complimentary copies of Pearl Jam records and Seinfeld DVDs. They could give out “Vote for Perot” bumper stickers.
What’s more is the fact that Ford is marketing the new Taurus SHO as a virtual modern marvel of technological design. A series of commercials claim it comes with a new EcoBoost engine that reportedly has “the thirst of a V6, with the thrust of a V8.” But whether or not it has advanced performance is beside the point if consumers still think it’s the same old Bull. The car actually looks pretty cool. The question then becomes: if Ford wants to make it clear this vehicle is an upgrade over its mediocre predecessor, why not upgrade the name as well?
Of course, Ford might just have the momentum to try something risky. The company has gained decent press lately for weathering the economic recession without a highly publicized government bailout, a feat rivals GM and Chrysler were unable to do. These handouts have led many consumers to turn away from Ford’s rivals, and some have even suggested boycotts. Conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt, for example, gave GM a new name: “Government Motors.”
This controversy has played surprisingly well for Ford. In a recent survey by AutoPacific, an automotive research firm, 43 percent of potential buyers said they were “likely” or “very likely” to consider a Ford product. By contrast, only 15 percent said the same for GM, and 7 per cent for Chrysler.
So only time will tell if the new Taurus successfully lifts Ford into the black by reworking a ’90s standard. But if this thing somehow manages to bring back belly-button rings, it may be time to panic.
