| The 2006 model year will end the heralded Taurus | | | | something similar in size with the Taurus and at that |
| name and for this writer it's a bittersweet time as Ford | | | | point Saturn had a lease deal that could not be beat. In |
| retires what once the top selling automobile in all of | | | | addition, I wasn't impressed with the Taurus which I felt |
| America. | | | | had been out-engineered by other automobiles in its |
| When Ford introduced the Taurus together with its | | | | class. So, I took home the Saturn and donated my |
| cousin the Mercury Sable in the mid 1980s the vehicle | | | | Taurus to the Kidney Foundation. |
| represented a radical departure from the standard | | | | The 2005 model year represented the final year that |
| American auto of the day. Reasonably huge, front | | | | Ford would offer the Taurus through dealers; for 2006 |
| wheel drive, and terribly aerodynamic, the Taurus | | | | the Taurus is only as a fleet car and it is unchanged |
| quickly rose to the height of the American car sales | | | | from the previous year's model. The slow selling Sable |
| charts and was the top selling auto for many years in | | | | was mercifully put to rest one year earlier. |
| a row. A much delayed "reskinning" did not occur until | | | | For Ford, concentrating on wagons and SUVs meant |
| 1996, some a decade after the Taurus and Sable | | | | neglecting much of their car line up, including the |
| were first released. The new style, perceived by some | | | | Taurus. Bigger and stronger SUVs, including the |
| to be ugly, quickly cost Ford sales as newer and more | | | | Expedition and Excursion, were introduced as |
| modern Toyota Camrys and Honda Accords out | | | | America's tastes continued to shift from passenger |
| gained the line. Tiny changes in style incorporated with | | | | autos to SUVs. In addition, the ever popular F Series |
| the 2k model year took some of the edge off, but by | | | | pick up trucks went through regular style and |
| that point the Taurus was said to be too wrinkled and | | | | engineering changes every four years or so as did the |
| outmatched by the competition. | | | | Explorer, Ford's midsized SUV. |
| I bought an all new 1994 Taurus and kept the vehicle | | | | Higher gas prices and changing tastes are once more |
| for 7 years, notching up 117,000 miles before deciding it | | | | impacting Fords' line up. The beefy Excursion is gone |
| was time to trade in the vehicle for something newer. I | | | | and new automobiles including the 5 Hundred and |
| found the ride to be comfortable, the inside room to be | | | | Fusion are now part of the line up. These two new |
| expansive, and I enjoyed the overall style of the | | | | models represent a fresh change for Ford and a |
| automobile. I was also one of the first folk to purchase | | | | promise that the attention once given to the Taurus |
| a Taurus in the then new Hunter Green color, an | | | | would be given to the new models. For that, I am glad. |
| engaging deep green that was admired by many. | | | | To read more about cars and see some of the most |
| When 2001 rolled around, I elected to lease a Saturn L | | | | expensive cars in the world, visit thesupercars.org and |
| series rather than going with the Taurus. I required | | | | along the way, have a look at used Fairlane. |