Ford builts its last Taurus in Chicago.
Question:
> If they were so shitty, then please explain how I got 250 000 miles out > of my first one
The explanation is the same as for the existence of a particular white ‘86 Yugo GV that was still in daily service in Denver the last time I saw it in 2001. Just about any machine can be kept running, no matter how poorly designed or shoddily built, with sufficient money and effort. DS
Response:
> Probably the same reasons that corporate bean counters > make sure attempts from the domestic engineering groups fail as well. (ie > Fiero)
Fiero "sabotaged" by bean counters???… you’re kidding, right? Take my own measley 50 mile commute and first hand view of 2 burning on side of the interstate. And I’ve ridden in them.. definitely a "niche" car, not in a favorable position relative to Miata.
Response:
You mean those great well built cars like the Mercury Capri convertible that Ford imported? LOL mike hunt – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> Its strange, if the Australian cars are so good, why have none of them > that have been imported into the US been hot sellers? There has not > been a falcon in the US since 1965/6 or so. I got to admit the GTO > looks nice. Just tell me where there all at. I have not seen one > on the street yet. GM must be "holden out". > Bob > The fact that you guys don’t import Aussie Fords reflects more on your awful > taste than anything else. The reason we stopping importing the Mustang was > because our local hot Falcons are a much better deal (better quality, better > price, better handling, faster etc). The new Mustang has a 3 link rear end > with a live axle – amazing. > As for the Taurus – if you like a front wheel drive cockroach, fine, the > Taurus might be your thing. > Brett
Response:
>You mean those great well built cars like the Mercury Capri >convertible that Ford imported? LOL
Now how about that Australian GTO that Chevy was smart enough to get. Anything comparable on American roads? — Brandon Sommerville (remove ".gov" to e-mail) A chicken is an egg’s way of making another egg.
Response:
> The fact that you guys don’t import Aussie Fords reflects more on your awful > taste than anything else. The reason we stopping importing the Mustang was > because our local hot Falcons are a much better deal (better quality, better > price, better handling, faster etc). The new Mustang has a 3 link rear end > with a live axle – amazing.
Marketing. There is a segment of mustang buyers that want a live axle. Mostly those interested in drag racing. Ford USA wants people to pay through the nose for anything approching rest-of-the-world standards. So IRS is only on the cobra. Ford could have simply made IRS or the live axle a line item option for all mustangs, the just didn’t because the marketeers couldn’t do their ‘branding’ and other BS that they like to babble about. The cobra isn’t that special of a car IMO, it’s just a better mustang. But Ford like with everything else just creates rarity and makes it a pain to get ahold of one. These marketing practices have totally turned me off towards ford. I’ll sooner do all the mods I need to get what I want out of my existing mustang since the amount of effort to bid against other people for cobra at above-sticker price without even getting a test drive could simply be redirected at turning a wrench.
Response:
> Yep. The contour like almost all such cars that get to USA seem to be > sabotoged from within. The entire sales force seems out to make sure they > fail. I dunno why. Probably the same reasons that corporate bean counters > make sure attempts from the domestic engineering groups fail as well. (ie > Fiero)
The fault with the Contour (in the USA) was that it had less usable space than the Escort yet cost more. In the states the consumer thinks smaller is less expensive.
Response:
The 2005 Ford 500, the new Mercury Montego and the 2006 Lincoln Zephyr will be built at Chicago on a version of a Ford chassis first used by Volvo. They will be available with a twin can V6 and offered in AWD and FWD. The AWD has a CVT tranny and the FWD will come with a 6 speed automatic or the CVT. Fords 2005 crossover SUV and the 2006 Lincoln Aviator are the vehicles that will be built on a version of the FORD chassis, first used on the Mazda. Although the last Taurus was built at Chicago that is not the end of the Taurus, it will still be built at Atlanta for fleets for another year of two. The Sable is gone however. As to the Taurus, you are entitled to you opinion but hardly junk vehicle some have described, based on what we have seen of that vehicle over nearly 20 years it was sold. I have seen thousands in corporate fleet service run up as high as 300K mike hunt – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> > March 22nd, the last Ford Taurus rolled of the the assembly line here in > > Chicago. The Torrence Avenue plant will shut down to retool. Mercury > > Sable production ended in March. > We’re on our second Taurus and don’t have any complaints. > I heard rumors that the 500 will be based on the Mazda 6 platform. Since > that means Japanese that must mean it’s thousands of times better right? > Meanwhile I think the Mercury is going to be a separate car from the 500, > possibly based loosely on the current Taurus / Sable.
Response:
> Its strange, if the Australian cars are so good, why have none of them > that have been imported into the US been hot sellers? There has not > been a falcon in the US since 1965/6 or so. I got to admit the GTO > looks nice. Just tell me where there all at. I have not seen one > on the street yet. GM must be "holden out". > Bob
The fact that you guys don’t import Aussie Fords reflects more on your awful taste than anything else. The reason we stopping importing the Mustang was because our local hot Falcons are a much better deal (better quality, better price, better handling, faster etc). The new Mustang has a 3 link rear end with a live axle – amazing. As for the Taurus – if you like a front wheel drive cockroach, fine, the Taurus might be your thing. Brett
Response:
> The main reason why Ford and GM aren’t selling the AUS made *RWD* > Falcon and Commodore is that the companies are US-based, and the > unions have leant on the companies not to import these vehicles, > with the threat that the unions would shut down all US production…
There is no reason that Ford and GM could not design and build similiar cars in the USA. (cept maybe for CAFE) Importation of cars they design and build overseas isn’t really needed. But it is better than offering what they do.
Response:
> The *really* sad thing is that when she went to trade in Taurus #2 I > told her she ought to test drive a Contour as it was a much nicer car > even though it was smaller, and when she mentioned it to the salesman at > the dealership, and she was firmly guided away from the Contour… back > into another Taurus…
Yep. The contour like almost all such cars that get to USA seem to be sabotoged from within. The entire sales force seems out to make sure they fail. I dunno why. Probably the same reasons that corporate bean counters make sure attempts from the domestic engineering groups fail as well. (ie Fiero)
Response:
> If they were so shitty, then please explain how I got 250 000 miles out of my first > one,
Every so often all the tolerances do line up. But it still doesn’t make the taurus as good as the cars ford makes for the rest of the world. > 145 000 miles out of the second one (and that one was the lemon)
145,000 isn’t anything these days. > and my current one has 106 000 miles and still going strong.
I would hope so at 106k. No matter how long a particular taurus survives, it’s still not up to the standards of what even Ford makes for the rest of the world. Once exposed to Ford’s and GM’s rest-of-the-world cars it becomes clear that they simply have decided to feed the US market with crap.
Response:
>> Its strange, if the Australian cars are so good, why have none of them > that have been imported into the US been hot seller > ’cause the good ones are not brought to the US. Their existence in this > market would open North America’s consumers’ eyes to how shitty the > domestic offerings are.
There are a few small issues, such as the fact that the [GM] Holden Commodore 2-door (insultingly called a Monaro in AUS after a late ’60s/early ’70s model, and insultingly called a Pontiac GTO in the US market) required the fuel tank to be relocated and an ugly front bumper and atrocious quality lights fitted to comply with US rules. The main reason why Ford and GM aren’t selling the AUS made *RWD* Falcon and Commodore is that the companies are US-based, and the unions have leant on the companies not to import these vehicles, with the threat that the unions would shut down all US production… IIRC, GM had to negotiate a _lot_ to be allowed to import a small number of GTOs to the US – the union were still unhappy. Otherwise, you’d get essentially the Saudi Arabian spec Chevrolet sedans, the Chev El Camino (current Commodore ute), and quite possibly the new crewman dual-cab ute and a lot more GTOs. You’d also get the Falcon sedan and ute. Not sure about wagons – they don’t seem particularly interested in selling them into the US market, even though they have apparently sold the Falcon wagon but not the sedans in the UK. — Athol <http://cust.idl.com.au/athol> Linux Registered User # 254000 I’m a Libran Engineer. I don’t argue, I discuss.
Response:
>> Those dumb asses actually tried to sell tauri next to a real car like > the falcon? > Believe it or not! They went to all the effort and expense of designing > real lights and signals, real seatbelts, sideview mirrors that don’t tear > a chunk out of a pedestrian’s side before breaking off, and all the rest > of the stuff cars have to have outside North America, introduced it with > much fanfare in Australia,
Yep. The road tests at the time pretty much said that it was overpriced crap. That was ignoring the el cheapo FWD drivetrain and just comparing the T’arse Ghia to a Fairmont Ghia (luxury variant of Falcon) as family cars… > and, well, the rest is a sick punchline to a > sick joke. Ironically, the modifications made to the car to make it > compliant with rest-of-world safety regs made it a somewhat nicer-looking > car, not nearly so fish-mouthed with the front signals mounted in the > bumper at the extreme outboard edges of the car.
Still a seriously ugly car. The AU Falcon and current Mitsu Magna have tried hard to be as ugly, but have generally only succeeded in small areas of the vehicle instead of the whole vehicle. :-) — Athol <http://cust.idl.com.au/athol> Linux Registered User # 254000 I’m a Libran Engineer. I don’t argue, I discuss.
Response:
- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text ->March 22nd, the last Ford Taurus rolled of the the assembly line here in >Chicago. The Torrence Avenue plant will shut down to retool. Mercury >Sable production ended in March. > Hallelujah; thus ends 18 model years of shitty vehicles millions of > Americans were foolish enough to buy. Ford was laughed out of the > European, Japanese and Australian markets with this sorry vehicle after > one or two model years’ attempts in each. The laughter was particularly > loud in Australia, where the local Falcon is a comparably-sized car of > vastly better build quality, reliability, utility and driveability. >meanwhile the Ford 500 and Mercury Montego will begin production once >the plant has changed over. > And as likely as not, Ford won’t have learnt a thing. But then, why should > they? It’s only human to make a mistake, but there are plenty of people > dumb enough to buy two and three Tauruses or Sables, so I’m certain Ford > will sell plenty of 500s and Montegos regardless of how ineffably average > they are. > DS
You’re so right. I used to date a girl whose grandfather had worked for Ford. Her mother had *three* Tauri in a row, despite the fact that each was a bigger piece of shite than the last. I guess that couple hundred bucks discount made up for the fact that it was in the shop all the time. It was odd, she bitched and moaned about how my old beater ‘84 VW was "loud," "small" and didn’t have A/C but guess who was always running her to the dealership. Same thing with the ‘67 Valiant I found for her daughter. I’d like to say that she finally broke the cycle but sadly I never found out, because her daughter and I stopped dating some five years ago… The *really* sad thing is that when she went to trade in Taurus #2 I told her she ought to test drive a Contour as it was a much nicer car even though it was smaller, and when she mentioned it to the salesman at the dealership, and she was firmly guided away from the Contour… back into another Taurus… nate — go dry to reply. http://www.toad.net/~njnagel
Response:
> Hallelujah; thus ends 18 model years of shitty vehicles millions of > Americans were foolish enough to buy. Ford was laughed out of the > European, Japanese and Australian markets with this sorry vehicle after > one or two model years’ attempts in each. The laughter was particularly > loud in Australia, where the local Falcon is a comparably-sized car of > vastly better build quality, reliability, utility and driveability.
If they were so shitty, then please explain how I got 250 000 miles out of my first one, 145 000 miles out of the second one (and that one was the lemon) and my current one has 106 000 miles and still going strong. > meanwhile the Ford 500 and Mercury Montego will begin production once > the plant has changed over.
Another great car line killed in favor of an over sized piece of crap suv in a car’s clothing and their piece of crap owners. 
Rest In Peace Camaro, Firebird, Taurus, Sable, Caprice Classic > And as likely as not, Ford won’t have learnt a thing. But then, why should > they? It’s only human to make a mistake, but there are plenty of people > dumb enough to buy two and three Tauruses or Sables, so I’m certain Ford > will sell plenty of 500s and Montegos regardless of how ineffably average > they are.
Not to me they won’t. I want a car and not an overblown car on steroids POS suv disguised as a car. — Paul If nominated, I will not run. If elected, I will not serve.
Response:
> Any personal experience with more than one taurus?
Unfortunately, yes. I used to get stuck with nice, new, low-mielage Taurus/Sables all the time when renting cars. They all had noisy fuel pumps and that bizarre "Glub! GlubGlub! Glub!" sound upon startup, their headlamps all sucked, their A/Cs all smelled like dead fish, and they were all average-to-poor in most ergonomic and driveability respects. > Don’t know were you got the bit that all trannie failures are melt > downs.
From several accomplished-to-talented trans techs over the years. > They had problems with the forward clutch piston.
Amongst many other things… > My wife crashed two of them [...] the cars gave their life but she did > not
Here’s a thought for you to chew on: Cars with good enough suspension, steering and brake systems that the crash doesn’t happen in the first place. > Ford built some boners, and its just not taurus models.
Very true. Ford has also forgotten how to build intake manifolds, has never been able to make an alternator or a starter worth a damn, put ten model years’ worth of spontaneously-combusting ignition switches in virtually all their vehicles (Whoopsie!), had an inch-thick stack of recalls for recent Focus and Cougar models (wheels falling off, jolly stuff like that), emissions systems that don’t meet Federal standards,radiator fans flying apart and impaling nearby people, transmissions jumping out of park, alternator connectors catching fire, modular cylinder heads leaking water into combustion chambers…you’re right, the list just goes on and on. > I suppose you could go to a mid size GM and get bit by the intake > manifold leaking dexcool and breaking you cam shaft in half on the > 3.1/3.4 if the ford is that bad. Or a bad head gasket on a 2.2 (like my > S10 had before i bought it)
I don’t recall claiming GM’s cars were grand, great or groovy. > Its strange, if the Australian cars are so good, why have none of them > that have been imported into the US been hot seller
’cause the good ones are not brought to the US. Their existence in this market would open North America’s consumers’ eyes to how shitty the domestic offerings are. DS
Response:
> > Hallelujah; thus ends 18 model years of shitty vehicles millions of > Americans were foolish enough to buy. Ford was laughed out of the > European, Japanese and Australian markets with this sorry vehicle > after one or two model years’ attempts in each. The laughter was > particularly loud in Australia, where the local Falcon is a > comparably-sized car of vastly better build quality, reliability, > utility and drivability. > We’re on our second Taurus and don’t have any complaints.
Ford counts on people like you. > Once they got the > AXOD under control
Pfft. They still haven’t got the AXOD under control. > like anyone else has ever continuously continued to manufacture a shitty > transmission, that made its way into almost the entire > lineup*cough*A604*cough*
When the A604 breaks, it stops working. When the AXOD breaks, it essentially burns down — not a damn thing reusable inside the housing, and sometimes the housing has to go in the trash, too. > I heard rumors that the 500 will be based on the Mazda 6 platform. Since > that means Japanese that must mean it’s thousands of times better right?
You’re asking me? I wouldn’t know. Every time I think it might be a good idea to look at getting a Japanese-designed car, my investigations and test drives tell me I haven’t really missed anything by not owning one. DS
Response:
- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text ->>Hallelujah; thus ends 18 model years of shitty vehicles millions of >>Americans were foolish enough to buy. Ford was laughed out of the >>European, Japanese and Australian markets with this sorry vehicle >>after one or two model years’ attempts in each. The laughter was >>particularly loud in Australia, where the local Falcon is a >>comparably-sized car of vastly better build quality, reliability, >>utility and drivability. >We’re on our second Taurus and don’t have any complaints. > Ford counts on people like you. >Once they got the >AXOD under control > Pfft. They still haven’t got the AXOD under control. >like anyone else has ever continuously continued to manufacture a shitty >transmission, that made its way into almost the entire >lineup*cough*A604*cough* > When the A604 breaks, it stops working. When the AXOD breaks, it > essentially burns down — not a damn thing reusable inside the housing, > and sometimes the housing has to go in the trash, too. >I heard rumors that the 500 will be based on the Mazda 6 platform. Since >that means Japanese that must mean it’s thousands of times better right? > You’re asking me? I wouldn’t know. Every time I think it might be a good > idea to look at getting a Japanese-designed car, my investigations and > test drives tell me I haven’t really missed anything by not owning one. > DS
Tell us how you really feel about a taurus Dan. Personally, i think your full of it. Is the taurus the best car of all time? Far from it. But as a utilitarian vehicle, it serves it purpose. Has it had problems? yes. Certain years of early AXODE and 3.8 head gaskets come to mind. But they all weren’t bad. I have owned 4. Not a single motor failure, not a single trannie failure. They get around good in the snow. They haul the family around. Will a 3.0 win any races? No, but who cares. Mileage and ride are average. How many have you owned Dan? Any personal experience with more than one taurus? My wife crashed two of them. survived both wrecks in good shape. The cars gave there lives, but my wife did not have to. Tell me a taurus is not safe dan. Do i have to fix my older taurus? You BET! but what old higher mileage car do you NOT have to fix? That’s the price you pay for no car payments. And for the most part the parts are reasonable and i can do most all the work myself. I will just wait until my wife crashes the next one and buy another newer one. Don’t know were you got the bit that all trannie failures are melt downs. They had problems with the forward clutch piston. This certainly did not cause the trannie to be JUNK. But it did have to be pulled to have it fixed. For the most part, pulling a AX4XX or a 604 will probably cost you about the same. My buddies caravan had a rebuilt 604. None of my taurus had trannie problems. So you could say he is one up on me. Any trannie can blow a planetary gear and be junk. Ford built some boners, and its just not taurus models. I suppose you could go to a mid size GM and get bit by the intake manifold leaking dexcool and breaking you cam shaft in half on the 3.1/3.4 if the ford is that bad. Or a bad head gasket on a 2.2 (like my S10 had before i bought it) I will be waiting for the 500. Will it turn out to be a good car? Who knows. Its strange, if the Australian cars are so good, why have none of them that have been imported into the US been hot sellers? There has not been a falcon in the US since 1965/6 or so. I got to admit the GTO looks nice. Just tell me where there all at. I have not seen one on the street yet. GM must be "holden out". Bob —–= Posted via Newsfeeds.Com, Uncensored Usenet News =—– http://www.newsfeeds.com – The #1 Newsgroup Service in the World! —–== Over 100,000 Newsgroups – 19 Different Servers! =—–
Response:
> > one or two model years’ attempts in each. The laughter was > particularly loud in Australia, where the local Falcon is a > comparably-sized car of vastly better build quality, reliability, > utility and driveability. > Those dumb asses actually tried to sell tauri next to a real car like > the falcon?
Believe it or not! They went to all the effort and expense of designing real lights and signals, real seatbelts, sideview mirrors that don’t tear a chunk out of a pedestrian’s side before breaking off, and all the rest of the stuff cars have to have outside North America, introduced it with much fanfare in Australia, and, well, the rest is a sick punchline to a sick joke. Ironically, the modifications made to the car to make it compliant with rest-of-world safety regs made it a somewhat nicer-looking car, not nearly so fish-mouthed with the front signals mounted in the bumper at the extreme outboard edges of the car. DS
Response:
> one or two model years’ attempts in each. The laughter was particularly > loud in Australia, where the local Falcon is a comparably-sized car of > vastly better build quality, reliability, utility and driveability.
Those dumb asses actually tried to sell tauri next to a real car like the falcon? > meanwhile the Ford 500 and Mercury Montego will begin production once > the plant has changed over. > And as likely as not, Ford won’t have learnt a thing. But then, why should > they? It’s only human to make a mistake, but there are plenty of people > dumb enough to buy two and three Tauruses or Sables, so I’m certain Ford > will sell plenty of 500s and Montegos regardless of how ineffably average > they are.
I’d rather they just put falcons in shipping creates. So what if the driver sits on the wrong side for north america? I can live with that easier than the cheapening that’s done on north america only models.
Response:
> We’re on our second Taurus and don’t have any complaints. Once they got the > AXOD under control,
A mate of mine had a Taurus (when they were being imported to Australia) Was called the Taurus Ghia. He knows too well about the transmissions he had to get a total of 4 replaced under warranty. Had the Duratec 3.0L V6 in it. the Taurus wasn’t so bad with a 3.0 engine. It’s not > like anyone else has ever continuously continued to manufacture a shitty > transmission, that made its way into almost the entire > lineup*cough*A604*cough*, not to mention the number of shitty engines that > have made their way into Chrysler cars (Mitsubishi or otherwise).
Oh Uh Mitsu who? :-p — All the best Dan. … and tonight on the Jerry Springer show "farmers who abuse their hoes"
Response:
> > March 22nd, the last Ford Taurus rolled of the the assembly line here in > Chicago. The Torrence Avenue plant will shut down to retool. Mercury > Sable production ended in March. > Hallelujah; thus ends 18 model years of shitty vehicles millions of > Americans were foolish enough to buy. Ford was laughed out of the > European, Japanese and Australian markets with this sorry vehicle after > one or two model years’ attempts in each. The laughter was particularly > loud in Australia, where the local Falcon is a comparably-sized car of > vastly better build quality, reliability, utility and drivability.
We’re on our second Taurus and don’t have any complaints. Once they got the AXOD under control, the Taurus wasn’t so bad with a 3.0 engine. It’s not like anyone else has ever continuously continued to manufacture a shitty transmission, that made its way into almost the entire lineup*cough*A604*cough*, not to mention the number of shitty engines that have made their way into Chrysler cars (Mitsubishi or otherwise). > meanwhile the Ford 500 and Mercury Montego will begin production once > the plant has changed over. > And as likely as not, Ford won’t have learnt a thing. But then, why should > they? It’s only human to make a mistake, but there are plenty of people > dumb enough to buy two and three Tauruses or Sables, so I’m certain Ford > will sell plenty of 500s and Montegos regardless of how ineffably average > they are.
I heard rumors that the 500 will be based on the Mazda 6 platform. Since that means Japanese that must mean it’s thousands of times better right? Meanwhile I think the Mercury is going to be a separate car from the 500, possibly based loosely on the current Taurus / Sable.
Response:
I don’t know if there are plant tours Harryface 1991 Pontiac Bonneville LE 3800 V6 ( C ), Black/Slate Grey _~_~_~280,033 miles_~_~_ ~~~The Former Fleet ~~~ 89 Cavalier Z 24 convertible 78 Holiday 88 coupe 68 LeSabre convertible 73 Impala sedan
Response:
> March 22nd, the last Ford Taurus rolled of the the assembly line here in > Chicago. The Torrence Avenue plant will shut down to retool. Mercury > Sable production ended in March.
Hallelujah; thus ends 18 model years of shitty vehicles millions of Americans were foolish enough to buy. Ford was laughed out of the European, Japanese and Australian markets with this sorry vehicle after one or two model years’ attempts in each. The laughter was particularly loud in Australia, where the local Falcon is a comparably-sized car of vastly better build quality, reliability, utility and driveability. > meanwhile the Ford 500 and Mercury Montego will begin production once > the plant has changed over.
And as likely as not, Ford won’t have learnt a thing. But then, why should they? It’s only human to make a mistake, but there are plenty of people dumb enough to buy two and three Tauruses or Sables, so I’m certain Ford will sell plenty of 500s and Montegos regardless of how ineffably average they are. DS
Response:
March 22nd, the last Ford Taurus rolled of the the assembly line here in Chicago. The Torrence Avenue plant will shut down to retool. Mercury Sable production ended in March. Production will move to another Ford Plant ( Georgia ? I think ), meanwhile the Ford 500 and Mercury Montego will begin production once the plant has changed over. Harryface 1991 Pontiac Bonneville LE 3800 V6 ( C ), Black/Slate Grey _~_~_~279, 856 miles_~_~_ ~~~The Former Fleet ~~~ 89 Cavalier Z 24 convertible 78 Holiday 88 coupe 68 LeSabre convertible 73 Impala sedan
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