Not a big hit…
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The “new” Taurus, or old 500, isn’t the hit Ford was hoping for.
At least not yet.
Here are some numbers:
-3 562 Tauruses sold in September 2007
-6 054 Five Hundreds were sold the same month last year.
So it looks like the name change was not such a great idea. The new engine and the new front end were great improvements, but I wonder what was the cost of that name change .
And I hear most dealers still refer to these cars by their old names.
It seems that everyone who wasn’t working for Ford though it was a stupid idea in the 1st place. Maybe they should listenn to outsiders.
Now they announced they are doing everything they can to sell Jaguar and Land Rover within 2 months..
Another “great” idea…..
LOL! Just what Ford deserves. And it can’t blame anyone but itself.
Just because ford thinks people are stupid is the same reason that they deserve to go bankrupt. This didn’t work in the 90’s and it won’t work now. Ford changes the grille and says hey look stupid , mass public, it’s a Taurus. “We don’t buy dat crap no mo!” Ford Deserves Bankruptcy, and the sooner the better, just put them out of their misery please! William Clay Ford Jr., what kind of a stupid name is that anyway?
I recently attended the Orange county Auto Show and was impressed by GM. I have never owned a GM in my life and my family swears by Toyota. However, you can finally begin to see the investment in design, production quality, and use of better materials in their new products. All of this was lacking from Ford. At best Ford has the soon to be irrelevent Mustang. The 500/Tauraus/Boring exemplifies all that is wrong with Ford. For those who insist on buying American or just want a great car with a good warranty at a good price shop GM.
This is a perfect example of what happens as a result of a botched product launch. Many automakers seem to think it’s okay to launch a less-than-competitive product with the intent on improving upon it later. That’s rarely successful, and you rarely see that happen with brands that are managed properly. The huge amount of marketing money that is allocated only happens with the product launch, not an update. Reviews in major publications are given the front cover with new product launches, not a mild refresh. So if the car stinks when it’s launched, there isn’t going to be the same opportunity again to re-launch it again. There is usually only one opportunity to etch a perception in the consumers mind. Even if the “Taurus” is now a fantastic car, this negative stigma is going to follow it around until this model is replaced.
What if Ford started building really good cars and nobody showed up…..
The Ford 500 is a decent, large car but is a clumsy-looking thing with old Audi overtones. No wonder nobody wants to buy one.
The Taurus name has a favorable history and should have been given to what Ford instead decided to call the “Fusion.”
Ford has had to educate the public on what a Fusion is (as if anyone really cares) when it would have been so much easier and simpler to name their new, mid-sized (Mazda-based) sedan a Taurus. I guess that idea made too much sense for Ford to consider.
Instead, Ford kept the old Taurus too long so they could continue to sell it to fleet buyers.
Ford ultimately demeaned the Taurus name to the point that “Taurus” now lacks credibility when slapped on what was previously called the 500. Talk about a mess!
Ford just hired a new marketing pro from Toyota, and no car company needs a marketing overhaul as much as Ford. Just look at Ford’s product mix and lack of continuity in naming their cars.
Ford continues to improve quality again and again and again. Keep bashing – at one point you are all going to take a more serious look at the brand. And anyone who advocates the bankruptcy of a firm needs their phucking head examined. Wait a minute – why use a good doctor to examine an obviously defective head??????????
Ford might have well just called it Edsel.
Ford,
How much money did you waste having your so called “marketing department” come up with the idea that changing the name of a car will help to sell a lot more of that car? I could have and definetly WOULD have told you that THAT WAS ONE OF THE STUPIDEST IDEAS EVER CREATED PROBABLY IN THE ENTIRE HISTORY OF THE EARTH….and I would have told you that FOR FRREEEEEE!!!!
The new engine…good idea.
The refined suspension…good idea.
I thought the new interior was nice.
But everything else was crap.
Make the car less boring. Even Ford admitted they were WWAAAYYY to conservative on the design. Whats worse is that they did little about it.
I’m not a Ford hater. I’m actually considering buying a Milan in the future. That’s a nice car.
John M.