By Bob Storck
(Culpepper, VA) Here among rolling fields where once the forces of the North and South hashed out their differences, clashes are taking place that affect the outcome of the sales battles between East and West. Where once battles were fought with cavalry and cannon, American and Japanese auto companies are marshalling their forces to gain sales advantages. This is the home of the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety’s car crash test facility: not the most important in terms of objective testing, but with their publicity efforts they are the best known to the US public.
For more than a decade, the battle for the best selling passenger car has been fought out between Ford Taurus, Honda Accord and Toyota Camry. The nineties have also been the decade of safety awareness, with the public focusing on airbags, drunk drivers, road rage and now trunk latches. Ford has been a leader in the safety field for over fifty years, and now is eager to have their efforts recognized.
When NASCAR Driver "Awesome Bill" Elliott drove the first 2000-model Ford Taurus off the line at Ford’s Atlanta Assembly Plant he was calling attention to the unique blend of safety, durability and performance needed to exist in the stock car racing arena. These are qualities that also are paramount to mid-size car buyers, and Taurus is a leader there
as well.
Ford has made the Taurus more than their flagship sedan, with bold departures of design and styling getting launched with new models. They were the first high volume sedan to adopt lines that emphasized aerodynamics over traditional styling. While the public took a while to get used to the ‘jelly bean’ cars, they soon saw all other brands adopting the more efficient packaging and Taurus sales boomed. In the last rework, Taurus designers may have gone too far with their interior and exterior emphasis of oval styling cues, but those have been moderated with this revision. What is left focuses on safety, quality, comfort, and convenience.
Comfort and convenience also were also top priorities. The new styling was largely dictated by the desire to improve front and rear headroom, increase trunk space, and a new layout for audio and climate-control system controls. "Our goal was to build on the car's segment-leading five-star safety rating and add even more safety enhancements and features. We also took into account customer expectations in the mid-size family sedan segment and worked to improve Taurus' interior roominess, comfort, trunk space, powertrain performance, ride and handling, as well as quality and durability." Mike Zevalkink, Vehicle Line Director, Ford Large and Luxury Vehicle Center.
From the front the new Taurus is identified by larger headlamps and wider air inlet that gives the front end a more substantial look.
Ironically, it now uses a larger grille opening and has a more prominent horizontal chrome bar, the same configuration as its Chevrolet competitors. A higher, wider decklid creates more trunk room and new, larger tail lamps give more stopping warning.
Only the windshield, side glass and doors are carried over. All other exterior panels and features are new, including a major revision of the rear portion of the roof, that provides nearly a two-inches of improvement in rear headroom.
Where once there were four or five models, now Ford has adopted a simplified strategy. There is just the entry level LX, an affordable SE, the high value SE Special Value Group (SVG), and the SE Comfort. Most buyers are likely to choose the Special Value Group SE that features ABS, power driver seat, 60/40 split fold rear seat and driver and passenger secondary visors with illuminated vanity mirrors in a value priced package.
The heart of Ford’s safety system is a well planned structure that will protect occupants in impacts from any direction, but is also enhanced with a large variety of features. Standard are dual stage airbags, child seat tether anchors, belt minder warning system, and an emergency inside trunk release. Less obvious are crash severity sensors, seatbelt usage sensors, driver seat position sensors, energy-absorbing trim panels and seatbelt pretensioners.
Additional safety can be obtained by ordering the side impact airbags, anti-lock brakes, traction control, or the Ford unique power adjustable pedals. The power adjustable accelerator and brake pedals can be horizontally adjusted up to three inches toward the driver and allow a variety of statures to be accommodated easily and safely. Shorter people have been at risk when forced to sit close to the steering wheel, and this makes all the difference.
While Ford has offered adjustable pedals in some sport utilities, this is the first application in a sedan. Pat Seashore was responsible for engineering the feature, and noticed that the smaller folks who used the rearward positions had smaller feet and thus angled the pedal track to adapt to all of their physical differences. Look for Pat and her family on a current Mercury Sable ad.
Taurus is the only mid size car to offer not only both the five- and six-passenger configurations but a station wagon version as well. The six-passenger flip/fold console folds flat to the floor, allowing better access to the lower part of the Integrated Control Panel (ICP). The five-passenger full-length floor console has a larger armrest and a larger storage area and an adjustable cup holder.
The new audio and climate control ICP has rounded square control buttons arranged in a linear grid fashion for more intuitive use. They are designed both for ease to locate and press without fumbling or broken fingernails.
Stowage and convenience features include: Cargo hooks for plastic grocery bags in the larger trunk; Molded map pockets in all four doors; Seatback map pockets on the driver and passenger seats; Second power point; Open storage bin in the center stack of the new Integrated Control Panel; Adjustable cupholders on the five-passenger configuration; and Rear cupholders. The five-passenger sedan also relocates the optional six-disc CD changer from the trunk to the console and a MACH* 80-watt Audiophile Sound System with six speakers is also available.
Bill Elliott is probably most interested in the handling of his Taurus while most buyers will be concerned about the ride. Engineers looked at steering gear valving for a better on-center feel, and more precise turn-in and reworked the rear suspension for smoother ride and improved handling. This is helped by larger than usual 16" wheels and tires. Aluminum wheels are standard on SE, SE SVG and SE versions.
Ford has chosen to forgo the less popular but sticker reducing four cylinder engines, and offers two V6 versions. The less pricey two-valve V-6 Vulcan 3.0-liter has increased to 155 horsepower and is available in gasoline or flexible-fuel versions while the four-valve V-6 Duratec has increased to 200 horsepower. Both engines meet federal Low Emission Vehicle (LEV) standards.
More than four million customers have purchased Taurus since its 1985 introduction. The 1999 Harbour Report ranked the Atlanta plant tops in productivity in the mid-size car segment when measured by hours-per-vehicle. The Harbour Report is a widely recognized and quoted analysis of manufacturing productivity in the North American auto industry. In addition to Atlanta, Ford Taurus and Mercury Sable are built at Ford Motor Company's Chicago.
Price Range - $17,695 - 26,000
Bob welcomes comments or questions at bstorck@sprynet.com
Walkaround: Ford has made the Taurus more than their flagship sedan, with bold departures of design and styling getting launched with new models. They were the first high volume sedan to adopt lines that emphasized aerodynamics over traditional styling. While the public took a while to get used to the ‘jelly bean’ cars, they soon saw all other brands adopting the more efficient packaging and Taurus sales boomed. In the last rework, Taurus designers may have gone too far with their interior and exterior emphasis of oval styling cues, but those have been moderated with this revision. What is left focuses on safety, quality, comfort, and convenience.
Comfort and convenience also were also top priorities. The new styling was largely dictated by the desire to improve front and rear headroom, increase trunk space, and a new layout for audio and climate-control system controls. "Our goal was to build on the car's segment-leading five-star safety rating and add even more safety enhancements and features. We also took into account customer expectations in the mid-size family sedan segment and worked to improve Taurus' interior roominess, comfort, trunk space, powertrain performance, ride and handling, as well as quality and durability." Mike Zevalkink, Vehicle Line Director, Ford Large and Luxury Vehicle Center.
Provided by CarTrackers.com
