Taurus might be discontinued

[freebeard]

Not a Ford person, but I'd side with Frank. Remember what the mid-eighties were like.

Every so often, an automobile company brings out a car that wins them new respect (or respect, period). When Ford introduced the Taurus (and fraternal twin Mercury Sable) in 1985 as a 1986 model, it hit one out of the park and won over thousands of new fans. Suddenly, Honda and Toyota had someone in their rearviews.

Taking a cue from Audi, who had introduced its aerodynamically sound and visually stunning 5000 a few years prior, Ford enveloped the Taurus with a smooth, jellybean-like body.... Both cars had large glass areas with slim pillars, which granted excellent visibility. The Sable went for a more futuristic look in this area with all but the A-pillars blacked out, giving the glass a near wrap-around appearance. With an aerodynamic drag coefficient of only 0.29, the Sable was one of the slickest cars in the world.

https://www.edmunds.com/ford/taurus/history/

[rmay635703]

This isn't the first time Ford has killed the Taurus

[Stubby79]

Originally Posted by Frank Lee

I beg to differ. The ones I've had personal experience with were good cars, one of them might even qualify as great.

What year(s)?

[Frank Lee]

1995. Had a 3.0 and drums in the rear. Extremely reliable, extremely durable... but even a durable car gets left with a mark after being T-boned by a skid-steer. The drivetrain with nearly 200k miles was still as good as new. I was not happy when it got sent down the road.

Party didn't want anything else so found another '95- this was in about 2012! This one has the 3.8 and discs in the rear. I'm not as fond of this combo but the rest of the vehicle is just as good. The 3.0 had all the power needed so the 3.8 is just thirstier with no other benefit. And I simply prefer rear drums in part due to ease of servicing them... I had to mess around with a stuck load-sensing proportioning valve on this one that the drum car didn't have.

Moon Unit is basically a Taurus and it has been a good vehicle too. And it even has the station wagon back that some of you are so fond of.

[Xist]

I thought the Taurus died decades ago. It seemed like every single one from the eighties wanted to die.
I never wanted my Forester, although I moved across town with two trips.
Mom had a station wagon and, aside from the suicidal Taurus, they worked just fine. I knew tons of people with minivans that managed well, but plenty of Suburban owners, too.
Right now a unicycle is big enough for my family, but if I ever manage to secure one, I would want a station wagon or minivan, but everything would depend on what the Mrs wanted to drive, wouldn't it?

[cRiPpLe_rOoStEr]

Originally Posted by Frank Lee

This one has the 3.8 and discs in the rear. I'm not as fond of this combo but the rest of the vehicle is just as good. The 3.0 had all the power needed so the 3.8 is just thirstier with no other benefit. And I simply prefer rear drums in part due to ease of servicing them... I had to mess around with a stuck load-sensing proportioning valve on this one that the drum car didn't have.

The only undeniable advantage of disc brakes is the heat dissipation, but I also prefer drums when it comes to ease of maintenance. They still tend to cope better with harsh environmental conditions, no wonder many truckers prefer them to operate in rural areas.

[slowmover]

Drum brakes go out of adjustment so quickly as to make it a monthly chore on a 12k annual
Mile vehicle.

And they're worthless in the wet.

So, unbalanced braking both front to rear plus side to side and worthless in rain.

THEN that they aren't capable of high speed stops.

Drum brakes are the tech equivalent of points ignition and bias ply tires. Obsolete. And for good reasons.

And there's nothing hard about servicing discs.

We ran disc equipped trailers and tractors in the oilfield. "Rural" doesn't describe where we had to go.

There is no substitute for stopping power.

.

[Frank Lee]

Originally Posted by slowmover

Drum brakes go out of adjustment so quickly as to make it a monthly chore on a 12k annual
Mile vehicle.

And they're worthless in the wet.

So, unbalanced braking both front to rear plus side to side and worthless in rain.

THEN that they aren't capable of high speed stops.

Drum brakes are the tech equivalent of points ignition and bias ply tires. Obsolete. And for good reasons.

And there's nothing hard about servicing discs.

We ran disc equipped trailers and tractors in the oilfield. "Rural" doesn't describe where we had to go.

There is no substitute for stopping power.

.

That's odd. I've experienced none of that.

[freebeard]

Possibly because you back up occasionally so that the self-adjusters work?

[Frank Lee]

Maybe that, and I'm rarely hard enough on the brakes to tell.