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The Ford Taurus, once the flagship in Ford’s range, apparently has fallen on hard times.
Sales are down 28 percent through July, it hasn’t done much to outrun its perception as a perennial fleet queen and police fleet buyers are picking the Explorer-based Interceptor over the sedan. Automotive News details the fall and rise and fall again of the Ford Taurus (thanks mostly to former Ford CEO Alan Mulally) and throws in a little tidbit in the middle:
If sales keep falling, analysts speculate Ford could eliminate U.S. production of it and … import the small volume it needs here from China …
Oh boy.
It’s clear that Ford will have to make a decision about the Taurus soon. The current Taurus was last redesigned in 2009 and slightly updated in 2012. In April, Ford announced it would redesign the Taurus, but only in China.
Sales of the full-size Taurus peaked only a couple years ago, but the Taurus is on pace to sell 45,000 cars this year — including police cars — it’s lowest total ever.
In fact, the move to a full-size sedan — something Mulally pressed for early on in his tenure — may be what is killing the Taurus. By comparison, the Ford Fusion outsells the Taurus nearly four to one and is about $5,000 less for roughly the same car.
All that may be contributing to the tough time the Taurus is having in the States, and there’s always the Lincoln Continental right around the corner too.
So could the Taurus be Ford’s first import from China?
The post Could the Ford Taurus be Imported From China? appeared first on The Truth About Cars.
