[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/