1996 Ford Taurus Mercury Sable Test Drive
In 1986, Ford made a bold move when it launched the first Taurus and Sable models. They were common sights across North America since then, but at the time they were a radical departure from the usual aesthetics and handling for American sedans and wagons. But their stylized lines and European type handling won over buyers of all ages and types. Ford must have been very happy with the outcome since its future depended to a large extent on the success of a multi-billion dollar wager.
When the first Taurus was unveiled, the builder had taken another risk by adopting, for the first time ever, a synchronous development approach inspired by the methods of Japanese manufacturers.
For 1996, Ford was in an entirely different situation. Supported by a solid financial foundation, several of its models were very successful and now the corporation more or less openly wanted to take the world leadership role from its eternal rival: General Motors. And when its launch was over, Ford hoped to manufacture 600,000 units per year of the newest Taurus/Sable series. The cars were marketed in 78 countries. And it saw the DN101 series as a cautious step towards the ‘world car’ which was the result of the Ford 2000 program. While Ford had exported only 50,000 Taurus models since the first generation was introduced, it hoped to ship up to 44,000 in 1996 alone.
Ford obviously had lofty ambitions and higher hopes for its bestseller. Its bold style, imaginative design features put these twin models at the head of the class, but their two v6 engines didn’t have the expected punch and their drive trains generally didn’t have the refinement found on their best rivals. Ford claimed that it aimed to match the quality and reliability of Camry. Well…….
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I was in Canada on vacation when this generation of the Taurus debuted. I was divided on whether I liked the ovoid-themed styling or whether it was overwrought. You still see a few of them on the roads here, mostly used as taxis.
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