the great car from Ford Taurus 2008

By Jim McCraw, NewCarTestDrive.com
Introduction

Ford had little success with its large, front-drive family sedan called the Ford Five Hundred since its introduction two years ago. So, for 2008, Ford dumped the Five Hundred name and went back to the name of a clear market winner, renaming this car the 2008 Ford Taurus.

Likewise, the Mercury Montego has been renamed Mercury Sable, and the Ford Freestyle has been renamed Taurus X, the X for crossover SUV.

Along the way, Ford has made some 500 changes to the new Taurus, changes that were already scheduled for the mid-cycle freshening of the Five Hundred. The general body shape of the new Taurus is the same as that of the previous Five Hundred, a large, front-wheel-drive family sedan, but almost everything else has changed for the better.

This family of vehicles, loosely based on the same architecture as the Volvo S80 luxury sedans with some detail changes to the suspension systems, also uses the same Swedish Haldex all-wheel-drive system as the Volvo when it is ordered as an option.

The weak 3.0-liter V6 engine has been dropped in favor of a new 3.5-liter, 24-valve V6 engine that makes a full 30 percent more power. It's the same engine that powers the larger and heavier Ford Edge and Lincoln MKX crossovers and MKZ luxury cars. Likewise, the CVT transmission has been replaced by a new 6F six-speed automatic.

This new powertrain makes the Taurus a whole lot more fun to drive than the ill-conceived Five Hundred was. Its 0-60 mph acceleration performance has been reduced by more than a second and a half, from 9.2 seconds down to 7.6 seconds, which is a huge chunk of performance. The new engine not only makes more power, it gets 10 percent better fuel economy, even after adjusting for the new, stricter testing procedures EPA has mandated for 2008 models. On the open road, we found the Taurus to be very quiet and smooth.

Taurus competes directly against other larger sedans on the market, chief among them the Toyota Avalon, the Chevrolet Impala, and the Chrysler 300. Against that competitive set, the Taurus is the largest car in the group, and carries four five-star safety ratings for front, rear, side and rollover crashworthiness. The big kicker in all of this is that, with all the new styling, interior, engine, transmission and standard features upgrades, the price hovers only about $250 above comparably equipped versions of last year's bland, slow Five Hundred.

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Ford Edge Goes Sporty At Chicago Auto Show

Submitted by AnthonyF

Ford Motor Co. intends to put personalization a topmost priority. As such, it will be giving customers a say in what they want on their vehicles. At the Chicago Auto Show, the Dearborn-based automaker launched its very first factory-customized model – the Edge Sport.

The launch of the Edge Sport aims to appeal to the escalating personalization trend in the auto industry. The vehicle enhances the already outstanding sales record in the automaker’s crossover sport utility segment in the previous year.

Aside from keeping up with customers’ personalization needs, the new trim is also aimed at industry shows such as the Specialty Equipment Market Association Show in Las Vegas.

The turbocharged Sport trim features 22-inch polished aluminum wheels, the first size on a crossover, or 20-inch premium painted wheels with Sport-branded black center hubs. To complete the rugged and aggressive appearance of the vehicle, engineers at Ford give it low-profile tires.

What’s more, the vehicle’s design and features like VistaRoof™ and SYNC helped make Ford Edge the best-selling crossover in the nation.

According to the automaker, the eight-piece Edge Sport body kit includes a unique front air dam, side skirts, lower door caps and a rear skirt, all finished in body color, instead of the dark lower on other Edge models. Additionally, the front air dam features and integrated fog lamps.

The Dearborn automaker also offered perky details such as the custom Sport badging, "foundry gray", smoked headlamp and tail lamp lenses, and polished dual exhaust tips emerging from openings in the rear skirt.

"While custom-made to appeal to customers, Edge Sport is smart business," said Mark Fields, president for The Americas. "The aftermarket industry has grown to a $40 billion annual business, and crossovers are the fastest-growing vehicle segment in the U.S. We want customers who crave something special to know that Ford can 'customize' their Edge - right at the factory."

The Sport trim, which joins the SE, SEL and Limited models in the Edge range, makes it the very first vehicle in the crossover segment to offer customization.

Edge Sport will be available in Sport Blue, Brilliant Silver, Ebony and Redfire. Inside, dark gray leather seats feature unique suede-feel patterned inserts in a combination of light and dark gray, with contrasting stitching for premium appeal. The vehicle is scheduled to roll out into dealerships this fall.

Furthermore, Ford Canada was earlier quoted as saying that a hybrid version of the Edge will be introduced for the model year 2010. The said version will feature a new hybrid system mated to a V6 engine.

Truly, the Edge Sport is a solid proof that the automaker’s vehicles are evolving with time; they are far from the likes of Ford Bronco and other previous models.

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