The view from behind the windshield of the car that will turn around Ford Motor Company is enticing. The large glass panoramic view displays before you a maze of pavement that is begging you to stand on the accelerator, and for the first time in a long time, driving the all-new Ford Taurus is as exciting as anything the company can offer you. The spokeswoman in the backseat lists of a wide assortment of technological gadgets – from collision warning to blind spot sensors – but her words are drowned out by your desire to blip the car into 3rd with the flick of a paddle shifter, and put the 2010 Taurus SHO’s 365 horses to work. The car shoots from one gear to the next before your finger even lifts off the paddle.
The car doesn’t get up to much speed – 365 horsepower is more than enough for the stoplight racing provided by Wilshire Boulevard – but the potential is there, and it’s enough to make you want to try to open up the throttle anyway. The car is wickedly fast from a standstill, classic Ford low-end torque from the V6 engine combining with a nasty kick from its turbocharger. This engine, the EcoBoost, is the one that will carry both the SHO and Ford as a whole into the hearts of American buyers once again.
While the more-than-competent Turbo V6 will bring shoppers in for a test drive, Ford’s newly raised standards for build quality and finish will ultimately seal the deal. The interior’s wrapped in a variety of luxurious materials – gone are the cheapo plastic panels – and every inch of the striking design simultaneously screams muscle and class.
“Ooooh, it looks like a BMW,” coos an inquisitive woman who strolls by the parked car as myself and another photographer snap away. Her comment brings a visible smile to the spokeswoman accompanying us; Ford is counting on the attractive design and finish – even the paint looks like a world of improvement – to convince buyers that the Taurus is on par with higher-priced European contemporaries. A reflex endorsement from L.A.’s most finicky district is music to the company’s ears.
“We are very committed to leading the industry in quality, we are very committed to leading the industry in fuel economy,” said Mark Fields, Ford president of the Americas, to a roomful of journalists and Southern California Ford dealers during a special presentation of the 2010 Taurus at the renowned Petersen Automotive Museum on Wilshire & La Brea. The Taurus, he says, while signaling a shift in Ford’s philosophical focus – from regional to global – was designed with Southern California specifically in mind. Hence the EcoBoost engine, which provides V8 power and V6 fuel economy. Know anywhere else you can find 365 horsepower with 18/28 fuel mileage?
“California is very important to us, because it’s the biggest market in the country,” Fields told me after his presentation. “Trends start here and make their way across the country. Design, technology and fuel economy are very important to California.”
If the Taurus is important to Ford Motor Company, it’s exponentially more important to Ford dealerships across the country. Pacific Ford in Long Beach is no exception. The row of dealerships that line Pacific Avenue on the northside of the 405 freeway has lost a few businesses in the last year, and while Pacific Ford has had a rough go of it, they’re still standing – which is a victory in itself; Don Kott Ford just up the freeway closed its doors earlier this year.
In a sense, that’s good news for Pacific Ford. Customers have flocked to the dealership lately to take advantage of the Cash For Clunkers program, which Fleet Manager Alan Rich says has helped the dealership sell about 80 cars in the past four weeks. Even better, customers come in because of Cash For Clunkers but are surprised by what they find on the showroom floor. Ford’s new lineup – the company’s highest product and drivetrain rollout in history – is intriguing to customers who weren’t yet keen to the fresh stock of affordable, economic, quality vehicles. That new customer interest, along with a positive public perception since Ford did not accept a federal taxpayer bailout, is energizing those Ford dealerships that are still standing.
“What’s fun is that the quality of the vehicles has improved dramatically,” says Rich, who confesses that there was once a time that he didn’t believe the dealership’s sales would ever dip below 100 cars per month. For a few months in 2009, sales hovered around 50. But Pacific Ford’s sales in August are on pace to double June’s numbers, which tells Rich that customers are taking notice of the new Ford gameplan.
“I think there’s a halo around Ford Motor Company from the public’s perception. It won’t be there forever, but it is right now.”
The thing that may set Ford apart from the other major American makers is the fact that they’ve debuted brand new models during the recession rather than waiting for the market to pick back up. So if a potential buyer’s finances improve and they decide to take a look at new cars, Ford has a brand new line ready and waiting.
The Taurus comes in four designations, from the base SE and similar SEL and Limited models to the fully-loaded SHO. The SE, SEL and Limited sport the 263-horsepower V6 engine, while the SHO gets the EcoBoost Turbo V6. A standard Taurus clocks in at $25,175 and the Limited is tagged at $31,170. The SHO, whose adrenaline-pumping capabilities are previously described in this article, is not only the star Taurus but the flagship model for the entire Ford Motor Company, priced at $37,170. A shiny black model sits proudly at Pacific Ford this very second for $39,995, with dealer markup.
This is the car that Ford is putting forward as the face of its new business plan, as they try to move away from the perception as a Mustang and SUV factory. In the SHO, you’ll get a car with more horsepower and better fuel economy than a Mustang GT. Let me reiterate: both more horsepower and better fuel economy than a Mustang GT. The SHO’s turbo engine provides world-class performance for a $35-40k sedan, while the V6 eases your carbon footprint.
The Taurus is not going to save the world, or the car industry. But it does signal a shift in the thinking of American automakers: affordable vehicles can be produced without sacrificing finish, performance or fuel economy. It can be done, and there’s probably much more to come (the surprisingly good Flex and the upcoming Fusion hybrid are proof). For the first time in a long time, there’s energy on a Ford showroom floor. It just might draw back American buyers who nearly left for good. It just might save America’s hope in domestic automobiles.