Ford Taurus See also a different vehicle, the Ford Taunus 1986 Ford Taurus The Ford Taurus is a car sold by the Ford Motor Company in North America. It was introduced in 1986. As of the 2005 model year, the Taurus will be discontinued in phases in favor of the newer Ford Five Hundred and Fusion models. The Taurus has a Mercury sibling in the Sable, as well as a Lincoln one in the Lincoln Continental before that model's demise. The car had a minor update in 1992 and a major redesign in 1996, followed by another more minor update in 2000. For many of the early years, the Taurus was the best-selling car in the United States, but it lost this status in 2000 (to the Toyota Camry). 1986 1992 Ford Taurus For 1986, the engines ranged from a 100 hp (75 kW) 2.5 L 4-cylinder found in the MT-5 model, to either a 140 hp (104 kW) 3.0 L Vulcan V6 or 3.8 L 140 hp (104 kW) Essex V6, found in the L, GL, and LX models, to a 220 hp (164 kW) 3.0 L DOHC V6 produced by Yamaha in the SHO model (debuting in 1989, with a 5-speed only). The 4-cylinder engine was eventually dropped from the lineup - cars carrying such engines were found to be underpowered. The Taurus was so important to Ford that the company designed new families of engines especially for it: The Vulcan V6, SHO V6, and SHO V8 were designed for the Taurus. The Taurus was also the domestic-market home for the company's popular Duratec V6. A minor cosmetic refresh was performed for the 1992 model year. SHO 1996 Ford Taurus SHO The SHO model changed the dull reputation of the Taurus. When it debuted in 1989 with a sticker around $20,000,it improved the make's performance. With mid-6 second 0 to 60 mph (100 km/h) times, and a top speed around 145 mph (233 km/h), it could keep up with such performance cars as Ford's own Mustang GT, Camaro Z28s, and the Diamond Star Motors cars (Mitsubishi Eclipse, Plymouth Laser, and Eagle Talon) in turbocharged form. It was said to be the most powerful and quickest front wheel drive car ever made when it was introduced. The SHO, however, wasn't the sales success that Ford had hoped. It had little exterior differentiation from lesser Taurus models, only understated ground effects. The interior was very different, giving way to some very comfortable and supportive sports seats, and an 8000 rpm tachometer. The lack of an automatic transmission also hurt sales, a situation Ford recognized in 1993. A 3.2 L version of the Ford SHO V6 engine was introduced for automatic-equipped SHOs, which still had 220 hp (164 kW), but 15 lb-ft (20 Nm) more torque, up from 200 lb-ft (271 Nm). 1996 The 1996 model year brought great change to the Taurus. Ford tried to get back some thunder that the original Taurus had back in 1986, when it introduced a mid-size, smartly styled aerodynamic sedan, which was very different from any other sedans Detroit was producing, and most of the world, except Audi. This radical oval shape of the 1996 Taurus was not well received by the press or the public, and the Taurus lost its top spot from the sales charts. The 1996 and later Taurus was truly a better car than one it replaced—it even took longer to make—but the styling held it back. A 200 hp (149 kW) 3.0 L DOHC Ford Duratec engine became standard with the 1996 redesign, along with a 235 hp (175 kW) 3.4 L DOHC V8 for the SHO model, but the 5-speed was gone, only an automatic survived. The V8 in the SHO model (produced from 1996 to 1999), was very impressive, but lacked the all-out acceleration and top end charge of the previous DOHC 3.0 L V6 5-speed SHO. And the Duratec engines were closing in on power. This model was also exported outside North America to Japan, Australia, and New Zealand, in right hand drive, but this proved unsuccessful. In these right-hand-drive markets, the Taurus possessed an unusual Mercury Sable grille but a Taurus rear. Australians and New Zealanders tended to stay away from the cars due to their price: a well equipped, larger-engined rear-wheel-drive Ford Fairmont cost around the same. While Japan got the station wagon, Australian buyers could only opt for a high-spec sedan with the Taurus Ghia badge. 2000 2000 Ford Taurus For 2000, Ford had a mild restyle from the controversial oval design theme, to a less controversial angular theme. It never reclaimed the top spot in car sales again, and heavily-discounted fleet sales have made up an unhealthy proportion of total sales, with only the (now almost unique) station wagon finding many private first owners. For 2004, the Taurus received minor cosmetic changes to the front and rear fascias, as well as a new instrument cluster and steering wheel. 2006 2005 Ford Taurus The Ford Taurus is scheduled to be replaced by the 2005 Ford Five Hundred (a larger car) and the 2006 Ford Fusion (a smaller one). In order to accommodate fleet sales, production of the Taurus may not come to an end before 2009. Production of the Taurus wagon will be discontinued in January 2005. Awards The Taurus LX was Motor Trend magazine's Car of the Year for 1986. It was also on Car and Driver magazine's annual Ten Best list seven times, from 1986 through 1992. External link See http://www.v6sho.com/ for more information about the SHO models. FAVORITE ARTICLES: History of the World    History of the United States    History of Europe    Ancient History    History    Military History    World War I    Bombing of Dresden    California    US Constitution    Frank Sinatra    Boston    Marbury v. Madison This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License at http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html You may copy and modify it as long as the entire work (including additions) remains under this license. You must provide a link to http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html To view or edit this article at Wikipedia go to http://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_Taurus