I'm sitting in the stands waiting for the start of Ford Press Conference at the
2007 Chicago Auto Show with some colleagues. We're talking about Ford's products and about how some of them have simply missed their mark; namely, the
Five Hundred and Freestyle. Although they were decent vehicles to drive, they lacked more than "je ne sais quoi".
|
| My Limited fetched a tad more than $50,000. (Photo: Matthieu Lambert/Auto123.com) |
Roughly three minutes into the presentation, Francisco Codina, then Group Vice-President, North American Marketing, Sales and Service, now retired, announced the return of the Taurus and Sable and the introduction of a new (kind of) crossover, the Taurus X. In actuality, the "new" Taurus was in fact a rebadged and grilled Five Hundred. Introduced for the 2005 model year, the 500 never picked up where the Taurus left off.
I was surprised, but the return of the famed Taurus name was, in hindsight, a genial idea as the current generation of Ford's ex-best-selling car could not have carried any other nameplate.
Lots to love
From the word "Go!", Ford made sure that the Taurus would not go unnoticed as did the previous Five Hundred. Bland and boring would no longer apply in this car's case. Launched in 2009 as a 2010 model, the Taurus featured big boldness and brash bad-ass-ness, especially in the case of the
SHO.
What was once personally a highly critic-able aspect, the Taurus' design has grown on me. My tester was draped in White Platinum with chrome and I was actually into it. Honestly, the numerous styling cues scattered around the car such as the Interceptor concept-inspired taillights and thin highly-profiled headlamps do wonders to make this ginormous car look fast and sleek.
Want another example? Carefully inspect the rear quarter panels and you'll notice a short crease that is actually the continuation of the bodyline that began ahead of the front door. Walk around towards the rear and you'll also see how that line ties nicely into the chrome trim that links the taillights. Speaking of chrome, my Limited car was shod with 19" chromies doing a beautiful job of filling the large wheel-wells.
 |
| Padded plastics, tasteful materials, fair to good fit and finish all come together to make this cabin nearly as opulent as that found in the Lincoln MKS. (Photo: Matthieu Lambert/Auto123.com) |
