2010 Ford Taurus

Everyone reading my blog is familiar with the problems of the auto industry, specifically the American manufacturers. Ford is the only American company not going to the government well for a hand out! Mainly due to the foresight of Alan Mullaly, CEO of Ford, who arranged for lines of credit in 2007 when the capital markets were much better. In addition, Ford quality has improved substantially where they are on a par with the Japanese manufacturers.

Back in 1986 Ford set Ford's sales charts on fire with the new Taurus with a spacey stylish design. I was not a fan of the car in that I thought the styling was unusual and not to my preference. The drive was OK but unexceptional. Over the years the Taurus was downgraded to a rental car status.

Ford purchased Volvo in 1998 and one of the benefits was the Ford 500 which came out in 2005. The Ford 500 was underpowered and connected to a CVT transmission and did not sell well. The Ford 500 was based on the Volvo S80 platform and is one of the safest cars on the road. In 2008, the name was changed to the Ford Taurus and upgraded the powertrains.

I drove a rental 2008 Ford Taurus last summer when I was in New York city. My associate commented that he thought this was the one of the best American cars. It drove smoothly, handled well for a sedan and braked well!

The 2010 Ford Taurus is prime example of the quality car that American manufacturers are capable of producing. It has the 3.5-liter V-6 which makes 264 hp, which is connected to a six-speed automatic.. The Limited model comes with a different six-speed transmission along with paddle shifters.

They are resurrecting the SHO (Super High Output) model which is shown below. The SHO will have a twin-turbo, high output, twin-turbocharged 3.5 liter EcoBoost V-6 with an estimated 350 hp. That is a lot of power for a sedan!