The Ford Taurus, which entered the world as a revolutionary new take on the American automobile, exited Friday as a forlorn reminder of things gone wrong with the American auto industry.
As Ford Motor Co. struggles against cutthroat competition from foreign brands and the soaring costs of its labor and manufacturing systems, the car that once rescued it is being tossed out after years of neglect.
It’s a victim, analysts say, of the shift by Ford, along with other American automakers, to more profitable pickup trucks and sport utility vehicles in the mid-1990s. As foreign manufacturers led by Toyota Motor Corp. of Japan continue to grow in the U.S. while Ford and its domestic rivals shrink, the glory days seem distant indeed.
The Taurus, introduced Dec. 26, 1985, was a hit from the start, thanks to a design that stood out as cutting edge by, well, rounding off the edges. With its aerodynamic jellybean shape, which contrasted with the sharp corners typical of other models of the day, the Taurus quickly rose to the top tier of passenger cars.
“You can’t overstate its impact on American car culture,” said Mike Hudson, an analyst at Edmunds.com, a Santa Monica, Calif.-based online automotive information provider. “It was in virtually every other driveway in the late ’80s and early ’90s.”
Ford’s marketers could stand with its designers in taking credit for the car’s quick takeoff in the marketplace, as an innovative lease program made the four-door attainable to anyone who could come up with the $199 monthly payment.
So many Tauruses were built and sold that it’s hard to find an American older than 15 who didn’t have one in the family or have a neighbor who owned one. Ford had sold 6.95 million through September, placing the Taurus second in the U.S. to the original mass-marketed Ford, the Model T, at more than 15 million.
Warren Christensen still has his Taurus, a red 1994 station wagon he bought used in 1996. The 63-year-old Los Angeles resident has put about 225,000 miles on it, many of them logged on camping trips in which the car was transport and shelter for him, his wife and their three sons.
“The best times in our family memory are associated with that car,” said Christensen, a publisher of self-help books for artists. His middle son, Alec, 17, now drives the wagon.
Jobs lost with car
When the last Taurus sedan rolled off the assembly line Friday in Hapeville, Ga., 1,950 jobs went with it. The last Taurus went to Chick-fil-A restaurant chain founder Truett Cathy, who has credited the success of his first restaurant in Hapeville to business from workers at the nearly 60-year-old plant. He will put the car in his company’s museum.
Coming Monday
Herald business editor Mike Benbow has some suggestions for Alan Mulally, the former Boeing executive who is now Ford’s CEO.
Jobs lost with car
When the last Taurus sedan rolled off the assembly line Friday in Hapeville, Ga., 1,950 jobs went with it. The last Taurus went to Chick-fil-A restaurant chain founder Truett Cathy, who has credited the success of his first restaurant in Hapeville to business from workers at the nearly 60-year-old plant. He will put the car in his company’s museum.
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