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2010 Ford Taurus: First Drive
2010 Ford Taurus SHO, Driven
2010 Ford Taurus SHO: Live And With A Ridiculous Torque Curve
2010 Ford Taurus SHO: The Sleeper Awakens!
2010 Ford Taurus: The Cover-Up Continues

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MushyHeirloom
06/22/09

In reply to 2010 Ford Taurus: First Drive
The AWD model is TOO HEAVY FOR LEMONS.

Just wanted to remind everyone how heavy it is. Thank you.
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Elhigh
06/22/09

In reply to 2010 Ford Taurus: First Drive
Jesus, two tons.

It doesn't wear the design language that made the Taurus so trend-setting way back when. Now, I know that the language must evolve, but there's nothing here to even hearken back to it. It's started as a clean slate, which considering how the Taurus got started, may actually be the hearkening all by itself.

This is the step up from Chevy's similarly class leading Malibu. Say what you will, the new Bu is one helluva good car and stacks up very nicely against segment neighbors from all other manufacturers. But the new Taurus, instead of competing against the Bu in its old segment, has be remissioned to go up against the luxo tourers. That's ballsy. Better yet, it looks like Ford brought its A game to play against different economic levels of builders. That's really ballsy.

I like ballsy. Go Ford!
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MushyHeirloom
06/22/09

@Elhigh: Too bad Chevy can't do the same and kill off that fucking W-body.

Oh, huh, look, a G8...
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Lemmy-powered
06/22/09

In reply to 2010 Ford Taurus: First Drive
Wagon? Wagon? Wagon? Wagon? Wagon? Wagon? Wagon? Wagon? Wagon? Wagon? Wagon? Wagon? Wagon? Wagon? Wagon? Wagon? Wagon? Wagon? Wagon? Wagon? Wagon? Wagon? Wagon? Wagon? Wagon? Wagon? Wagon? Wagon? Wagon? Wagon?

Please, don't direct me to the Crossover aisle. That shit's for the birds.
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Maymar
06/22/09

@Lemmy-powered: Psst, ya know the Flex? Wagon, dude, I swear. I know a guy who knows a guy that says Ford's got a warehouse full of Country Squire badges that they're gonna slap on the minute we all get over this crossover thing.
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ppiddy
06/22/09

In reply to 2010 Ford Taurus: First Drive
"weight helps smooth the ride"?

ROTFLMAO.
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If FromaBuick6 has to watch one more Chevy commercial, he's going to punch Howie Long in the face
06/22/09

@ppiddy: This must be that "road-hugging weight" they used to talk about when Ford was stuck with gigantic LTDs to field against GM's smaller, lighter, more efficient '77s.

Oddly enough, this car weighs about the same as one of those big LTDs.
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IamZardoz
06/22/09

In reply to 2010 Ford Taurus: First Drive
You can get the same mileage with more power and more room for 2/3 the price with a Grand Marquis.
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amblito
06/22/09

@IamZardoz: I've just Googled Grand Marquis, it looks like an American car from over 10 years ago. I'm shocked that such a car is still on sale.
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Maymar
06/22/09

@amblito: It gets worse, the platform is 30 years old. It's largely fleet sales (the sister Crown Vic to police and taxi fleets, and Town Cars for assorted limo purposes) that've kept it alive.

@IamZardoz: There's overlap, but it looks like the Taurus is technically a better car. On paper, it looks like it's got more interior room (although I doubt you can get the bench seat), and although the Mercury has more power, it's still slower, isn't it? I'm glad the Panther's still around (I'm easily charmed by it), but it's not really a great car, just a charming anachronism with a few specialties that come with being the last of its kind.
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amblito
06/22/09

In reply to 2010 Ford Taurus: First Drive
Having never been to America I'm still perplexed as to why you'd need a car bigger (and less attractive) than a Mondeo.
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Maymar
06/22/09

@amblito: I don't know if need neccesarily plays into it, but for the average North American who just drives a car as a commutermobile, there's really nothing lost from driving the bigger car - dynamics don't matter, road space is abundant, and the fuel economy is in line with the smaller V6 Fusion.
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Mobius
06/22/09

In reply to 2010 Ford Taurus: First Drive
I hate Mondays.

But this has to be one of the best Mondays yet for the American car industry: they can finally make a car that people can afford, will buy, and makes them money. Good job, Ford, now don't let up, and what is the matter with the US Focus anyway? The Euro one is a real gem who does track and field and gymnastics, and the US one is its ugly, ugly, couch-potato cousin.
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Nickyboy - cruising the Autobahn and listening to the Scorpions
06/22/09

In reply to 2010 Ford Taurus: First Drive
The Taurus looks okay, but I still don't get why they didn't just rebrand the Mondeo, as it's a better looking car???
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Maymar
06/22/09

@nickyboy: Because the Mondeo's a much smaller car (it's roughly Fusion-sized)
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ZukeZuke
06/22/09

In reply to 2010 Ford Taurus: First Drive
That interior is about 100 times better than anything I'd ever expect Ford to be able to do. Nice going!
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Correlation is a dirty scopes
06/22/09

@ZukeZuke: I really like the interior, too. I showed it to my mom, who's looking for something nicer to replace her 01 Expedition (blehhh), and she liked it pretty well. They've come a long way since '01, apparently, because the interior of her car is reaaallllyy bad. I mean, it looks like some sort of alien landscape, but not in a quirky way, just in a chintzy, bargain-bin way.
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MushyHeirloom
06/22/09

@correlation: I understand where you're coming from, as my grandfather's second (now third) car is the same way ('97 Mystique)... but I've ridden in an '03 Caravan before, and that's an alien landscape if I've ever seen one, which I suppose I haven't.
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gas_pig70
06/22/09

In reply to 2010 Ford Taurus: First Drive
Why do cars these days have to have more gizmos in the cockpit than an F16? Remember when folks just drove cars?
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Turkina
06/22/09

@gas_pig70: Loads of gizmos add gravitas to the car. Also known as performance sapping weight.
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MushyHeirloom
06/22/09

@Turkina: You mean "road-hugging weight". Commie!
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LandofMinos, cast thou evil bum dragger to thy scrapyard
06/22/09

In reply to 2010 Ford Taurus: First Drive
This is a message for Ford America...

If you discontinue the rear wheel drive program for Australia and kill our home-grown RWD sedan and replace it with the piece of shit that Jalopnik is reviewing on this page, you might as well fuck off and never return to Australia.

Not only will you alienate dyed-in-the-wool Ford fans in Oz, you'll lose market share, street cred and the respect of car fans world wide.

Remember Ford, not everyone wants RWD to be truck only option, or have you not been paying attention to the last 10 years?

OK Jalops, nothing to see here, go about your business like before, this fight is between me and Ford!
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r0ver
06/22/09

@LandofMinos, I took the O out of Cuntry: Yeah well ,they tried that before with the bubble model and look how that turned out,it made the Falcon look sooooo good.And didn't I read in Wheels that the straight six engine plant had been given a reprieve.You'd think that they would at least keep with tradition and base the Mustang off the Falcon,then it too could come with I.R.S. and a 400+hp 24 valve turbo straight six.S'pose it comes down to a big case of N.I.H.S.(not invented here syndrome)
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MushyHeirloom
06/22/09

@r0ver: They looked over at the improperly-marketed, wrong-fucking-brand Pontiac G8 and decided their own effort would fail by default.
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edJones
06/22/09

In reply to 2010 Ford Taurus: First Drive
i thought this car had Sync. it looks to me like HAL is running the show. TWO HALs even!

'open the trunk please Taurus'

'i'm afraid we can't do that dave...'

by the way, "Corsair", "Elite", "Meteor", "Verona", "Zodiac" and "Orion" are all TERRIBLE names.

Taurus may mean beat up POS to you, but it makes me think of the stone-age Fox-based LTD it replaced.
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Plecostomus [Tyrrell]
06/22/09

@edJones: Those names are all cooler than Taurus.

Corsair sounds cool, dude.

To ditch brand snobs, it needs to lose the Taurus name. It seems like a markedly good car.
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Skink
06/22/09

@edJones: by the way, "Corsair", "Elite", "Meteor", "Verona", "Zodiac" and "Orion" are all TERRIBLE names.

Agree. Fifty years out of date.
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MushyHeirloom
06/22/09

@Skink: The Orion was only ten years out of date... when new.
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smalleyxb122
06/22/09

In reply to 2010 Ford Taurus: First Drive
Oh how I wish it were driving the correct wheels through a proper transmission, but it goes a long way in the right direction from where they were. $26k isn't a high price for a car these days, and I'm getting the impression that there isn't much point to optioning it up, since even the base model will have too many crappy gadgets that I'd never use, and without any engine options short of the $13k premium to get the SHO...

Anywho... Well done, Ford. It may not be everything I'm looking for in a car, but you're getting a lot closer. I could overlook the FWD if it had a proper manual. I could overlook the lack of a clutch pedal if it were RWD. But FWD and automatic is just too much suck to be outweighed by the awesome that is the rest of the car. See what you can do about it, 'kay?

For the record: No, AWD isn't "just as good" as RWD. At least not when the engine is transversely mounted in the front. And no, a manual mode on a slushbox, no matter how well executed, will ever be as desirable to an enthusiast as a real manual transmission.

/I think I just said the same thing(s) 3 times.
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Mobius
06/22/09

@smalleyxb122: As I always say: people love repeatedly repeated repeating repetition repeatedly repeated.

Your Message of the Day, proudly brought to you by the Department of Redundancy Department!

Anyway, RWD or AWD is surely preferable, but do you think, really, in the hands of grannies, does handling really matter? I bet on Consumer Reports they are discussing value, space, and mpgs, unlike the FWD, AWD, manual and handling on Jalopnik.

Jalopnik isn't the the whole, entire, real world, as much as I hate to say that.
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FormerlyPreferredCustomer
06/22/09

@Mobius_1: Agreed. As much as I like the idea of the Chrysler 300 reviving RWD American sedans, every time I thought about recommending one to my family members/inlaws who live in the north I thought "eh...if they get stuck in the snow, I'll never hear the end of it."

FWD is a better choice for the vast majority of Americans who really don't care about cars. And this car is targeted straight at them.
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Elhigh
06/22/09

@smalleyxb122: Even if they did put in a manual, it'd be some overthought, overwrought, not-as-manual-as-it-oughta-be contraption.

I want a stick that stirs the gears, and a pedal that makes tranny and engine stop talking to each other for a few moments. Any electronic fooferaw beyond that is dumb, dumb, dumb and liable to break or lobotomize itself in the EMP when the missiles start flying. And how will I outrun the zombies then? Manual please!

Dude I'm so with you on this. I've got wit enough to do the thinking for the transmission.
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MushyHeirloom
06/22/09

@FormerlyPreferredCustomer: If they get stuck in the snow, you remind them that they're a few fifty-pound bags of pool sand over the drive wheels and a good set of snows away from tackling anything under 8" (maybe a foot).

That sand's good for anything. Buy it in the fall when it's on sale, give it to a friend with a pool in the spring so you don't have to store it. If you get really stuck, crack one open for instant traction.
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FormerlyPreferredCustomer
06/22/09

@Taco Mudplushroomz: Your estimation of my inlaws' interest in cars is, unfortunately, overly optimistic. These are people that bought all season tires made in China for their Accord because they care so little about their car. There's simply no way I could convince them to even lug bags of sand out into their trunk, let alone buy and store a whole set of extra Chinese tires.
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MushyHeirloom
06/22/09

@FormerlyPreferredCustomer: Why they don't drive a Subaru with some better all-seasons is beyond me, then, if they actually care about snow traction but not about the car. There's a perfectly good Legacy/Outback for 'em.
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Plecostomus [Tyrrell]
06/22/09

In reply to 2010 Ford Taurus: First Drive
The only problem with the Taurus is that it is called a Taurus.

My girlfriend summed it up perfectly. "When I hear 'Taurus', I think of some beat up piece of shit car."

Naming it Taurus was the worst thing Ford could have done to compete against Audi's A6 and the Honda Accord.

Fuck, call it the fucking Granada, just not Taurus.

For the record, there are awesome names like "Corsair", "Elite", "Meteor", "Verona", "Zodiac" and "Orion".

Why stick with a fuddy duddy name like Taurus that's associated with cars that are complete crap?
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superveloce
06/22/09

@Plecostomus needs GALVANIZED SCREWS: Actually, both previous model Tauri were very good competitive cars in their segment. The problem was Ford rested on its laurels and never put much money into continuous improvement like Honda does with everything they make. The Taurus was the top selling sedan in the US for many years remember, but I agree. This car is so much better than anything that came before it, they should have renamed it.
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Plecostomus [Tyrrell]
06/22/09

@superveloce: The original Taurus was good-- and the bubble one was decent. And then the weird one following the bubble one -- the one that is remarkably devoid of both styling and substance, is utter crap.

Mind you, the first-gen Taurus I had was complete junk as soon as it ticked past 100k. My parents would be unlikely to buy another Taurus, but they'd probably buy a Flex. My mother's obsessed with getting a Subaru Forester to tow a small boat to the marina with. weird.
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DieterX
06/22/09

@Plecostomus needs GALVANIZED SCREWS: Call it the Virgo because that's all you'll ever be for driving a 4000-lb American midsize sedan.
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MushyHeirloom
06/22/09

@Plecostomus needs GALVANIZED SCREWS: Huh. My grandfather has a loaded '03 Sable wagon and (a recent acquisition from a friend of his) a near-base '02 Forester.
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MushyHeirloom
06/22/09

@DieterX:
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A strolling player
06/22/09

In reply to 2010 Ford Taurus: First Drive
The Infiniti M35 and the Lexus G35, yes?
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