Ford to deep-six another model

UPDATE Ford Motor Co. confirmed today that it is resurrecting the Ford Taurus. The company said it will rename the Five Hundred sedan the Taurus and the Freestyle, wagon-like crossover with three rows of seats, will be renamed the Taurus X. The Mercury Montego will now be called the Mercury Montego. The Five Hundred and the Freestyle, both built in Chicago, received general positive critical reviews but failed to catch on with consumers. Ford discontinued the Taurus last year after a 21-year run.

02/07/07 The family sedan credited with fueling Ford Motor Co.'s comeback in the mid-1980s is being called upon once again to help the faltering automaker. At the Chicago Auto Show today, Ford plans to announce that it will give its slow-selling Five Hundred sedan the Taurus name, according to company sources who asked not to be named because the announcement is not official.

The roomy, reliable Taurus redefined the American car when Ford introduced it in 1985 as a 1986 model. The automaker scrapped it last year after a 21-year run that included a five-year stretch as the best-selling car in America.

But will bringing the Taurus name back rekindle the old magic?

Analysts say resurrecting the Taurus is a smart move by Ford to leverage its remaining brand equity, but the name alone likely won't spur a sales revival.

"The bottom line is the product," said Michelle Krebs, an editor for Edmunds AutoObserver, an online auto industry magazine.

Ford spokesman Jim Cain declined to confirm or deny the name change. "There's been a tremendous amount of interest in the Taurus ever since Alan Mulally expressed interest in the brand," Cain said.

Mulally has publicly questioned the decision to kill the Taurus instead of reviving its appeal with design changes. More at Detroit News [Editor's Note: Maybe they can race the Ford 500 as the Taurus in NASCAR again and manage to deep-six the brand once again – racing grandmother cars makes zero sense, no matter what Ford wants to call it.]