2010 Taurus : Ford design process

By Ford Motor Company,

Sunday, September 06, 2009

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Press release
Source: Ford(USA)

Curb appeal – that first and lasting impression – is key to selling a house. Ford designers realize a car also has curb appeal.

Malcolm Gladwell's best-seller "Blink" showed the power of snap judgments in decision-making. In 2005, as designers set out to rethink the 2010 Ford Taurus, they engaged more than 1,000 consumers to provide input during various stages of the design. They found that people form lasting opinions – the kinds of opinions that lead to a purchase – in the first moments they see a vehicle.

Some call it the "5x5x5" concept:
-In the first five seconds, people notice a vehicle's lines, stance and roofline and look for those to convey a sense of motion and dynamism.
-In the next five seconds, they form an impression of the paint, the shape of the head- and taillamps, the height of the wheels and how they all fit together.
-In the last time segment, from five seconds to five minutes or more, consumers notice the details – from the shape of the door handles to the smooth touch of the coating to all the interior features – and form impressions about quality and craftsmanship.

A case in point: The Taurus' predecessor, the Ford Five Hundred, was judged by automotive critics as a solid, capable vehicle. Its shortcoming was a lack of head-snapping curb appeal. While Five Hundred owners generally loved the car, convincing consumers to give it a try proved challenging. So as a first step to re-inventing the Five Hundred as the 2010 Ford Taurus, the company conducted research deep into those first impressions – curb appeal.

Researchers listened, talked and even sketched with potential customers to find out what they notice, what matters and what influences their purchase decisions. The result is a car that melds art and science, blending design intuition and customer research to create a full-size sedan that grabs customers at first sight.