Ford Taurus Comeback Is Off to a Modest Start

The Ford Taurus so far is making a only a modest comeback, but that's OK with Ford.

Ford sold 5,077 Taurus units in September. That's a big increase over the previous couple of months, and a 60-percent increase over the year-ago month, according to AutoData Corp.

However, that's a pale shadow of the Ford Taurus in its heyday, from the mid-1980s to the mid-1990s, when the Taurus was the nation's biggest-selling car. Since then, the Toyota Camry has been the perennial best-selling car, followed by the Honda Accord.

The old Taurus sank so low that Ford demoted the Taurus to be sold exclusively to fleet customers. Ford even killed the name entirely for a few months in 2006, replacing the Taurus with the forgettable Ford 500 model.

The all-new 2010 Ford Taurus bears no resemblance to the original Ford Taurus. In fact, it's so different that while it was still in development, there was a debate within Ford whether to call it a Taurus or give it a different name.

The original 1980s Taurus had futuristic styling for the time, with an aerodynamic, "jellybean" shape. The new Taurus is bigger, edgier and much more distinctive than the model it replaced. It also has a new generation of high-tech features.

However, at its present sales rate, the new Taurus isn't even in the Top 20 best-selling vehicles, according to AutoData. The Ford F-Series pickup was No. 1 in September, at 33,877, followed by the Toyota Camry at 25,745. Ford's best-selling car in September was the smaller Ford Fusion, at 10,834, followed by the Ford Focus and the Ford Escape.

Ford officials have said they expect smaller, more fuel-efficient vehicles like the Ford Focus to stay at or near the top of the best-sellers list.

There's no grand scheme to get the Ford Taurus back to its old No. 1 spot, said George Pipas, U.S. sales analysis manager for Ford. "We don't expect it to be in the Top 20, or probably 40 or 60," he said. Rather than market share for its own sake, Ford is aiming at higher margins.

"Our whole business plan is building products people want to buy. And how do you know they want to buy them? They pay for them," Pipas said in a phone interview today. He said most Taurus buyers are buying the more expensive variants, with upscale trim and equipment.

Therefore, the new Taurus may never break into the Top 20, but from Ford's point of view it's moving in the right direction.