Ford celebrates the revival of Taurus

Ford celebrates the revival of Taurus

CHICAGO - Ford Motor Co. chief executive Alan Mulally made it clear that the 2008 Ford Taurus sedan - the revamped and renamed Five Hundred that officially launched Friday at the Chicago Assembly Plant - is his baby.

As such, it will be given all the support it deserves.

Beyond the more than 500 engineering changes the sedan received in its makeover, the Taurus will get a massive marketing campaign to promote the vehicle's top safety ratings. And even more improvements are in Taurus' future, possibly including a hybrid, Mulally told the Free Press.

"We are looking at a hybrid," the former Boeing Co. executive said after leading a celebration rally with hundreds of workers, other Ford executives and labor leaders, including UAW Vice President Bob King.

"Whether we have a hybrid available ... is something we haven't yet decided," he said, "because we have a lot of technologies on internal combustion engines that are also very appealing, so we'll decide that as we go along."

The 2008 full-sized sedan, sporting a three-bar chrome grille, all-new engine and substantial safety improvements, went on sale in dealer showrooms this month with a starting price under $24,000.

It's part of a crucial stable of cars, which includes the popular Fusion midsized sedan, intended to remake the brand known for pickups and SUVs into one that is admired for efficient, stylish cars as well.

Mulally acknowledged that the stakes are high for the Taurus, and he said he's personally invested in the final product.

"Everything about this car is me," he said.

So far, the sedan has earned top safety marks, which will play a large role in ads. The Taurus received a "top safety pick" designation from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety and a five-star rating in all of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's crash test categories.

Mark Fields, Ford's president of the Americas, said the safety message will be marketed nationwide: "We're going to hit it and we're going to hit it hard."

Areas of improvement include the vehicle's structure, air bags and seat belts.

Fields, who heads the company's North American turnaround plan, challenged workers in Chicago, who have a reputation for building quality vehicles, to make the Taurus the highest-quality vehicle on the market.

"That should be our goal," he told the crowd, drawing thunderous applause.

But Mulally acknowledged that the Taurus also needs a strong fuel economy image in today's marketplace.

He said the Taurus offers the best fuel efficiency that Ford has ever offered in a full-sized sedan, rated at 28 m.p.g. on the highway and 18 for city driving. But Mulally said the company will work to do even better in the category, since fuel efficiency is of growing importance to consumers.

"We are committed to improving fuel efficiency, year after year," he said.

Although Mulally has less than a year of experience at Ford, arriving in the top job in October, his experience and investment in the Taurus are much longer.

Mulally's familiarity with the old best-selling Taurus, launched in 1985, as well as its engineers, whom he met when he was an executive at Boeing, was instrumental in convincing him to join Ford.

One of Mulally's first big public decisions as CEO was to keep the Taurus alive after management had decided to kill the name when Ford phased out the last model.

In front of hundreds of plant workers and others, Mulally told the story of how he was informed that the Taurus, a tired model that was mostly sold as a rental car, would be retired.

"Like hell you are," he recounted to the crowd, causing an uproar of shouting and clapping.

With the new Taurus and its sister vehicles, the Mercury Sable (formerly the Montego) and Taurus X (formerly known as the Freestyle) now rolling off the assembly line in Chicago, Mulally expressed his satisfaction.

"This is probably one of the more special days I've had," he told the crowd.

Aside from changing the name of the Five Hundred to Taurus, Mulally said, he advocated for what consumers wanted: more pizzazz, a smoother transmission and a more powerful engine - with better mileage.

The new Taurus' 3.5-liter V6 delivers 30% more horsepower, 263, in all, and a smoother-shifting 6-speed transmission.

King, of the UAW, said union President Ron Gettelfinger told Mulally in one of their first meetings that he was not happy with Ford's decision to retire the Taurus.

So the UAW is enthusiastic about the revival.

"We need to sell a bunch of these vehicles," King said.

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