4thStang Posted May 10, 2017 Share Posted May 10, 2017 Saw this posted over on Mustang6g.com, with the order/production dates and noticed that they show the 2018 Taurus having initial order dates of 7/18/17, scheduling 8/31/17 and production start of 10/16/2017?? Thought that 2017 was the last year?? Any ideas? Brian S. 06 Tungsten GT Vert 10 CinnaSHO Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twintornados Posted May 11, 2017 Share Posted May 11, 2017 I think Taurus should migrate to an extended Fusion version. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jasonj80 Posted May 11, 2017 Share Posted May 11, 2017 I think Taurus should migrate to an extended Fusion version. You mean like this? It has, it just won't be sold here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted May 11, 2017 Share Posted May 11, 2017 Nobody said it was being killed, just not updated to the new platform. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Rosadini Posted May 11, 2017 Share Posted May 11, 2017 I forgot how good looking that China car is. What reason do they give for not building it here??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sevensecondsuv Posted May 11, 2017 Share Posted May 11, 2017 Yeah, more back seat room is always welcome. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fuzzymoomoo Posted May 11, 2017 Share Posted May 11, 2017 I forgot how good looking that China car is. What reason do they give for not building it here??? At the time it was to be built at FRAP and they were maxed out on capacity for two shifts. Internal projections indicated that a potential third shift would have been woefully underutilized so the decision was made to continue with the current Taurus as an incremental product at CAP. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpd80 Posted May 11, 2017 Share Posted May 11, 2017 At the time it was to be built at FRAP and they were maxed out on capacity for two shifts. Internal projections indicated that a potential third shift would have been woefully underutilized so the decision was made to continue with the current Taurus as an incremental product at CAP. Was that two eight hour shifts maxed out or two ten hour shifts maxed out? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fuzzymoomoo Posted May 11, 2017 Share Posted May 11, 2017 Was that two eight hour shifts maxed out or two ten hour shifts maxed out? 2 8 hours, though really what's the difference, it's still a 40 hour week Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fuzzymoomoo Posted May 11, 2017 Share Posted May 11, 2017 (edited) This happened while I was working there. At the time we were working 10 hours a shift (5x8 plus 2 hours overtime) and the occasional Saturday scheduled for 10 but would always wind up being 8. The original plan (to the best of my knowledge, details have always been sketchy on the subject) was for the Taurus to launch almost simultaneously as the Continental, with the Lincoln taking priority since it was more critical to the bottom line. Then it bombed in focus groups (which akirby has mentioned several times) on top of the production capacity question, the whole program was dropped for North America. Given what has happened with the sedan market it was probably a good move financially despite the current D4 Taurus already being long in the tooth when the decision to axe the CD4 Taurus was made. Edited May 11, 2017 by fuzzymoomoo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpd80 Posted May 11, 2017 Share Posted May 11, 2017 I wonder if Ford could achieve just as much by say, adding an inch or two to the Fusion's wheelbase Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brucelinc Posted May 11, 2017 Share Posted May 11, 2017 While maybe a bit more spendy than the Chinese Taurus would be, a buyer who is looking for a nice full size car with lots of room and content should just consider the base Continental. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twintornados Posted May 11, 2017 Share Posted May 11, 2017 You mean like this? . No, I mean take the current Fusion, add 3-5 inches to the wheelbase for more rear seat room and give it a unique grille treatment. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ANTAUS Posted May 11, 2017 Share Posted May 11, 2017 The Fusion already needs a good 1-2 inch stretch as it is, sine the complaints usually come in from the rear seat space. They could make it where it's a maxi-midsize and straddle both side groups but it'll keep the Taurus name. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted May 11, 2017 Share Posted May 11, 2017 . No, I mean take the current Fusion, add 3-5 inches to the wheelbase for more rear seat room and give it a unique grille treatment. I've been saying that for years. A stretched Fusion with the same basic styling and interior would do just as well (probably better than the D4 Taurus) and would be a lot cheaper to produce. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sevensecondsuv Posted May 11, 2017 Share Posted May 11, 2017 The other potential issue with the fusion is the rear seat width. Three carseats across gets pretty tight in a midsize. The extra couple inches width of the Taurus makes a big difference. Granted, not very many buyers are worried about three carseats, but it's a consideration for those who have that situation. I've also seen three across in a civic, so it can be done in a small car, but that's just torture at that point. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted May 11, 2017 Share Posted May 11, 2017 You could add a couple of inches width too. Focus should also get larger. But is Taurus really that much wider than Fusion now? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fuzzymoomoo Posted May 11, 2017 Share Posted May 11, 2017 The other potential issue with the fusion is the rear seat width. Three carseats across gets pretty tight in a midsize. The extra couple inches width of the Taurus makes a big difference. Granted, not very many buyers are worried about three carseats, but it's a consideration for those who have that situation. I've also seen three across in a civic, so it can be done in a small car, but that's just torture at that point. I've seen two booster seats and a car seat in the middle in the back of a Focus. Talk about cramped! I can't fit in the backseat of our Focus since we put the car seat in, and I'm average size. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silvrsvt Posted May 11, 2017 Share Posted May 11, 2017 You could add a couple of inches width too. Focus should also get larger. But is Taurus really that much wider than Fusion now? The difference in width is 76.2 vs 72.9 on the Fusion. I have a Fusion Hybrid this week as a rental (I actually requested a Ford on the travel site we use and was shocked I got one!) and the interior space utilization on the Fusion is a ALOT better then the Taurus, at least from the front seat. The seating position is a lot better too. The interior materials I'm not 100% sure about...but it could be the lower end non touch screen that is throwing me off...my wifes Escape SE seems nicer then the Fusion SE Hybrid interior material wise. I'm not a fan of the rotary shifter though. I keep accidently putting it into park. I wonder why the CD4 Taurus bombed in focus groups...I thought that was discounted already? Normally a focus group would help make changes to the product before it was released. I'd find it more believable that Ford decided that investing in the large sedan market wasn't worth the effort more so than the car bombing out in focus groups. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted May 11, 2017 Share Posted May 11, 2017 I wonder why the CD4 Taurus bombed in focus groups...I thought that was discounted already? Normally a focus group would help make changes to the product before it was released. I'd find it more believable that Ford decided that investing in the large sedan market wasn't worth the effort more so than the car bombing out in focus groups. I think it was both along with other platform/factory plans (CD6/FRAP/Model E/etc.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fuzzymoomoo Posted May 11, 2017 Share Posted May 11, 2017 I wonder why the CD4 Taurus bombed in focus groups...I thought that was discounted already? Normally a focus group would help make changes to the product before it was released. I'd find it more believable that Ford decided that investing in the large sedan market wasn't worth the effort more so than the car bombing out in focus groups. They probably figured they had a decent enough large sedan that could at least hold steady in sales for much less investment than reworking the CD4 Taurus to satisfy American tastes on top of what akirby said with their manufacturing plans. And if memory serves that was right around the time Ford started saying they expected the market to start plateauing soon so I'm sure that played a part in the decision too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grbeck Posted May 11, 2017 Share Posted May 11, 2017 (edited) As someone with two small children who socializes a lot with other families, from what I've witnessed, people with three (or more) children have zero interest in any full-size passenger car. If they have a third child, they go right to either a minivan or a larger crossover. If they have the money, they buy or lease a brand-new one. If they don't have much money, they look for a used one. A wider Taurus isn't going to attract that type of customer. Edited May 11, 2017 by grbeck 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fordmantpw Posted May 11, 2017 Share Posted May 11, 2017 As someone with two small children who socializes a lot with other families, from what I've witnessed, people with three (or more) children have zero interest in any full-size passenger car. If they have a third child, they go right to either a minivan or a larger crossover. If they have the money, they buy or lease a brand-new one. If they don't have much money, they look for a used one. A wider Taurus isn't going to attract that type of customer. Agreed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StangBang Posted May 11, 2017 Share Posted May 11, 2017 Time to start saying goodbye to Taurus. It's in a shrinking full sized car market with sales going to SUVs. The best that can be hoped for is an improved Fusion in the future with more interior room. The Fusion itself is endangered if the preference for SUVs continues. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silvrsvt Posted May 11, 2017 Share Posted May 11, 2017 (edited) Time to start saying goodbye to Taurus. It's in a shrinking full sized car market with sales going to SUVs. The best that can be hoped for is an improved Fusion in the future with more interior room. The Fusion itself is endangered if the preference for SUVs continues. The Sedan market isn't going to go away, just that market tastes at the moment perfer CUV's. If gas spikes up to $4/5 a gallon again, you'll see people returning to sedans. I don't think we will ever see CUV's making up 70-80% of the market. I think they'll top out at 60-65% Not everyone can afford a CUV or even wants one. There is a significant price difference between the two..for Example, just looking at Fusion SE vs Edge SE, there is about an average of $5K between them, which works out to about an extra $100 a month (48 months) between the two with similar down payments and APRs Edited May 11, 2017 by silvrsvt 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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