At a time when Japanese automakers Toyota and Honda are at the top of the mid-size car market in North America, Ford tried to re-invent its mid-size offering to become more competitive. To battle the two leading Japanese manufacturers, Ford introduced a very unique car called the Ford Taurus. It indeed became successful in the first few years, but the Japanese automakers were quick to adapt. With the help of Ford’s wrong decisions for the car brand, the Ford Taurus soon lost its popularity and would soon be replaced by newer Ford models.
The Ford Taurus was introduced by Ford in 1985 as a 1986 model to replace the Ford LTD, which has already been left out in the mid-size car competition. The unique design of the Ford Taurus and its excellent performance gained instant respect from critics and car buyers, which resulted to high sales just on its first year. By 1987, the Ford Taurus became America’s best selling mid-size car and with the introduction of the high-performance SHO trim, sales got even higher.
A minor redesign in 1992 brought life to the second generation of the Ford Taurus. The car was basically the same as the previous generation except for few changes in appearance and styling. A few revisions, though, were made in the succeeding years after the 1992 redesign, which included dropping of some trims and introduction of new trims, as well as the introduction of new engine options.
A 1996 redesign tried to revive the popularity the early Ford Taurus had. But instead of boosting sales, the third generation of the car led to its slow downfall. Although the 1996 Ford Taurus was a better car compared to the previous generations of the said car, it’s body style wasn’t particularly well accepted by car buyers. The third generation Ford Taurus has an aerodynamically designed oval shaped body which did not became popular both for the critics and car buyers. This lead to poor sales until the car was eventually overtaken by Toyota Camry in 1997.
In yet another attempt to bring the Ford Taurus back in its glory days, Ford gave it a minor redesign in 2000. The fourth generation Ford Taurus is basically the same car given a mild appearance redesign to avoid the controversies created by the oval design of the previous generation. The car, however, never regained its reputation and sales. The Ford Taurus is planned to be dropped in 2006 to be replaced by the Ford Five Hundred and the Ford Fusion, although such plan has not been verified yet by Ford.
The Ford Taurus is very capable and nice to drive, put aside its styling woes. If you are the type of person who would go more after a performance car rather than an elegant one, the Ford Taurus may go well with your choice. And you can make it perform even better with high performance and high quality Ford Taurus parts, such that can be found here at Parts Train. Here at Parts Train, we have a complete inventory of Ford Taurus auto parts that can make your car perform at its best (and probably make it look better!!!)
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