HEMI6point1
Nitro Member
Earlier this week FoMoCo announced it will be renaming it's slow-selling sedans to old nameplates - Taurus (formally Five Hundred) and Sable (formally Montego).
It's easy to see why they're doing this. They want to help sell these cars by putting on names that people are familiar with. Now, to be honest with you the reason why these cars are slow selling is NOT because they are bad. It's because they are underpowered and overpriced. A base-model Five Hundred is 24K as opposed to 19K for a Camry. Plus, the 3.0L V6 found in the Five Hundred is considered to be no more powerful to a Camry's base I4, despite a 41hp difference (201 vs 160). Can't blame the engine, though (I have a '98 sable with the same V6 and it is pretty fast): the large Five Hundred is just too heavy for the 3.0L V6. However, at the time Ford needed an engine and the 3.5L was just starting development.
So now, we have a "new"
rolleyes Taurus and Sable, and guess what will happen? Not much! Although these cars are actually tons better than the '00-'05 cars, they will still lag behind in sales. First off, you can't make a mid-size family sedan off a luxury platform (Volvo S80) and sell it cheap. Ain't gonna happen. Secondly, the new and only engine will be the 3.5L V6 with 260hp. The reason why Ford is not putting a lower-end I4 engine in these cars is because they are too heavy for a 4 banger and an engine like that will have to work harder and probably deliver no better fuel economy than the V6.
Frankly, I like that this is the only engine. However, most general consumers don't see it that way. They see "4 cylinder" and immediately think "great on gas," even though it doesn't make since other than cost. Why do you think most of the Camrys and Accords are sold with I4s? The previous Taurus' and Sables sold well because they had 2 engines available - the 3.0L "duratec" and the 3.0L "Vulcan," which had better gas mileage (and also pretty much banished you to the slow lane).
Am I hating on these cars? No. The lame names are gone and the biggest issue has been resolved (engine power) save for the price, it needs to be lower by 2K at least. It's just that Ford is not fooling anybody, except maybe the clueless car buyers that don't do an ounce of research (ie: "Oh, cool the Taurus is back!"). As they say, if it walks like a duck, quacks like a duck....
One thing I would like from Ford now: You're already using the platform for pete's sake, borrow the 4.4L V8 from the S80 and give us a Taurus SHO!
It's easy to see why they're doing this. They want to help sell these cars by putting on names that people are familiar with. Now, to be honest with you the reason why these cars are slow selling is NOT because they are bad. It's because they are underpowered and overpriced. A base-model Five Hundred is 24K as opposed to 19K for a Camry. Plus, the 3.0L V6 found in the Five Hundred is considered to be no more powerful to a Camry's base I4, despite a 41hp difference (201 vs 160). Can't blame the engine, though (I have a '98 sable with the same V6 and it is pretty fast): the large Five Hundred is just too heavy for the 3.0L V6. However, at the time Ford needed an engine and the 3.5L was just starting development.
So now, we have a "new"
rolleyes Taurus and Sable, and guess what will happen? Not much! Although these cars are actually tons better than the '00-'05 cars, they will still lag behind in sales. First off, you can't make a mid-size family sedan off a luxury platform (Volvo S80) and sell it cheap. Ain't gonna happen. Secondly, the new and only engine will be the 3.5L V6 with 260hp. The reason why Ford is not putting a lower-end I4 engine in these cars is because they are too heavy for a 4 banger and an engine like that will have to work harder and probably deliver no better fuel economy than the V6.Frankly, I like that this is the only engine. However, most general consumers don't see it that way. They see "4 cylinder" and immediately think "great on gas," even though it doesn't make since other than cost. Why do you think most of the Camrys and Accords are sold with I4s? The previous Taurus' and Sables sold well because they had 2 engines available - the 3.0L "duratec" and the 3.0L "Vulcan," which had better gas mileage (and also pretty much banished you to the slow lane).
Am I hating on these cars? No. The lame names are gone and the biggest issue has been resolved (engine power) save for the price, it needs to be lower by 2K at least. It's just that Ford is not fooling anybody, except maybe the clueless car buyers that don't do an ounce of research (ie: "Oh, cool the Taurus is back!"). As they say, if it walks like a duck, quacks like a duck....
One thing I would like from Ford now: You're already using the platform for pete's sake, borrow the 4.4L V8 from the S80 and give us a Taurus SHO!
