Ford Marks End of Taurus Production
03-03-19 | 02:28 PM
#1
Ford Marks End of Taurus Production
CHICAGO, March 1, 2019 – The last Ford Taurus sedan rolled off the line at Chicago Assembly Plant today, marking the end of U.S. production of the historic and pioneering nameplate.
More than 8 million Taurus passenger cars were built at Ford’s Chicago Assembly Plant over 34 years of near continuous production.
“Taurus broke new ground at its start and we’re thankful for its role in our portfolio,” said Mark LaNeve, Ford vice president, U.S. marketing, sales and service. “Those same kinds of innovations will continue for today’s customers with Ford Explorer and the rest of our lineup.”
When introduced at the 1985 Los Angeles Auto Show, Taurus represented the latest in Ford engineering and design, developed to meet shifting consumer needs. Its sleek looks were a departure from the boxy sedan shapes of the time, setting a new bar in passenger cars. Its 140-horsepower 3.0-liter V6 engine featured multi-port fuel injection.
Taurus continued to evolve with the addition of the SHO model in 1989, which came equipped with a 220-horsepower high-performance V6.
By 1992, Taurus had become America’s best-selling car.
Taurus went on to become a staple in American stock car racing when it entered NASCAR in 1998. The Taurus NASCAR was the vehicle of choice for numerous race teams and it delivered many championships for them and for Ford Motor Company.
The nameplate briefly ended in 2006 before it was revived as an all-new car in 2008.
Although Taurus production is ending in Chicago, Ford is investing $1 billion into its Chicago Assembly Plant and Chicago Stamping Plant, and adding 500 jobs to expand capacity to build the all-new 2020 Ford Explorer and Ford Police Interceptor Utility, which will continue the Taurus legacy of innovation, along with the all-new Lincoln Aviator.
Ford aims to replace 75 percent of its U.S. lineup, including Escape, Explorer and F-150, by the end of 2020, building on its strengths in trucks, utilities, commercial and performance vehicles and investing in new propulsion and technology.
Like the original Taurus met changing consumer preferences, Ford is also expanding its lineup with new and returning nameplates tailored to today’s consumers, including the all-new Ranger, all-new Bronco, a yet-to-be-named rugged off-road small utility, a Mustang-inspired fully-electric performance utility and more still to come.
More than 8 million Taurus passenger cars were built at Ford’s Chicago Assembly Plant over 34 years of near continuous production.
“Taurus broke new ground at its start and we’re thankful for its role in our portfolio,” said Mark LaNeve, Ford vice president, U.S. marketing, sales and service. “Those same kinds of innovations will continue for today’s customers with Ford Explorer and the rest of our lineup.”
When introduced at the 1985 Los Angeles Auto Show, Taurus represented the latest in Ford engineering and design, developed to meet shifting consumer needs. Its sleek looks were a departure from the boxy sedan shapes of the time, setting a new bar in passenger cars. Its 140-horsepower 3.0-liter V6 engine featured multi-port fuel injection.
Taurus continued to evolve with the addition of the SHO model in 1989, which came equipped with a 220-horsepower high-performance V6.
By 1992, Taurus had become America’s best-selling car.
Taurus went on to become a staple in American stock car racing when it entered NASCAR in 1998. The Taurus NASCAR was the vehicle of choice for numerous race teams and it delivered many championships for them and for Ford Motor Company.
The nameplate briefly ended in 2006 before it was revived as an all-new car in 2008.
Although Taurus production is ending in Chicago, Ford is investing $1 billion into its Chicago Assembly Plant and Chicago Stamping Plant, and adding 500 jobs to expand capacity to build the all-new 2020 Ford Explorer and Ford Police Interceptor Utility, which will continue the Taurus legacy of innovation, along with the all-new Lincoln Aviator.
Ford aims to replace 75 percent of its U.S. lineup, including Escape, Explorer and F-150, by the end of 2020, building on its strengths in trucks, utilities, commercial and performance vehicles and investing in new propulsion and technology.
Like the original Taurus met changing consumer preferences, Ford is also expanding its lineup with new and returning nameplates tailored to today’s consumers, including the all-new Ranger, all-new Bronco, a yet-to-be-named rugged off-road small utility, a Mustang-inspired fully-electric performance utility and more still to come.
After Ford dumping the Crown Vics and making them get used to the Taurus police-cruisers, now they will have to learn to get used to something else....maybe Chargers?
03-03-19 | 06:08 PM
#3
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03-03-19 | 06:12 PM
#4
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Yes, there are some police-spec Explorers in my area, too, and Explorers are fine for routine day-to-day police work, but, in most cases, their center of gravity is too high for safe high-speed-pursuit and sharp maneuvers. The Chargers, SRT Hemis, and SRT suspension would be much better suited for that.
03-03-19 | 06:15 PM
#5
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Taurus went on to become a staple in American stock car racing when it entered NASCAR in 1998. The Taurus NASCAR was the vehicle of choice for numerous race teams and it delivered many championships for them and for Ford Motor Company
03-03-19 | 06:17 PM
#7
Yes, there are some police-spec Explorers in my area, too, and Explorers are fine for routine day-to-day police work, but, in most cases, their center of gravity is too high for safe high-speed-pursuit and sharp maneuvers. The Chargers, SRT Hemis, and SRT suspension would be much better suited for that.
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03-03-19 | 06:21 PM
#8
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Regulations or not, high speed pursuits still happen quite frequently in this area, though not the classic long-range, super-high-speed ones you see, for instance, in L.A. with the CHP. I witnessed one myself not long ago.
03-03-19 | 07:11 PM
#9
The Explorers will do just fine even in a high speed pursuits which is a small part of the requirements for agencies and they have met those requirements and excelled in other requirements better than sedans.
03-03-19 | 07:37 PM
#10
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Yes, there are some police-spec Explorers in my area, too, and Explorers are fine for routine day-to-day police work, but, in most cases, their center of gravity is too high for safe high-speed-pursuit and sharp maneuvers. The Chargers, SRT Hemis, and SRT suspension would be much better suited for that.
As for handling high speed/handling situations, fortunately crossovers handle far better than body on frame SUVs. That's why they were rarely used until the Explorer went unibody.
03-03-19 | 07:40 PM
#11
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Not such a bad outcome. The Taurus was too small for a RWD sedan and too big for a FWDer. This is a fleet vehicle so law enforcement had to deal with it, but most police departments would rather have a heavy duty RWD platform. Ford should have kept the really nice Euro Mondeo/ Fusion around. Now that's a nice looking car and a nice driving car.
Explorer is going to be a proper rear driver now, so the big fleet sales aren't going to miss a Taurus on stilts.
Explorer is going to be a proper rear driver now, so the big fleet sales aren't going to miss a Taurus on stilts.
By today's standards, the Taurus is considered a full-size sedan.
03-03-19 | 08:01 PM
#13
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Except it's in a declining segment. People want more room and they went to the SUV class for their "big" room interiors. You have to remember that the full size sedan was a Crown Vic, not a Taurus. The main thing IMO with the Taurus was that it seemed to be competing with itself. Why buy a Taurus if you had the excellent Fusion which gave you some nice ride/handling and Euro style going on?
03-03-19 | 08:34 PM
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Except it's in a declining segment. People want more room and they went to the SUV class for their "big" room interiors. You have to remember that the full size sedan was a Crown Vic, not a Taurus. The main thing IMO with the Taurus was that it seemed to be competing with itself. Why buy a Taurus if you had the excellent Fusion which gave you some nice ride/handling and Euro style going on?
Last edited by -J-P-L-; 03-03-19 at 09:09 PM.
03-03-19 | 08:47 PM
#15
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The main thing IMO with the Taurus was that it seemed to be competing with itself. Why buy a Taurus if you had the excellent Fusion which gave you some nice ride/handling and Euro style going on?