The Fifth generation Taurus was born out of the Ford Five Hundred, which was scheduled
for a significant styling facelift update and power upgrade for the 2008
model year. Ford decided to redesignate that model the Taurus because of customer
recognition and dealer demand.[35] The 2008 Ford Taurus went into production
in late 2007 as a 2008 model. It was determined that Ford's strategy to redesignate
new cars in the lineup with new names beginning with the letter F, as in
Ford Focus, Ford Fusion, and Ford Freestyle, was not a good marketing move, as
some of the renamed cars had highly recognizable iconic names. The new F names
were not as well known to be associated with Ford in the US, and consumers were
confused by the name changes.[10][36] Mulally believed that the Taurus had an
immediately strong brand equity, and that it would take years for consumers to
have a similar recognition of the Five Hundred.[37]
Changes to the new
Taurus from the existing Five Hundred include over 500 changes with the most
obvious being a newly styled front end and the addition of the 263 hp 3.5 L Duratec
35 V6 which replaces the 203 hp (151 kW) Duratec 30 3.0 L V6. The Five Hundred/Freestyle's
ZF-Batavia CVT, which had maximum torque capacity of 221 lb·ft
(300 N·m), is also replaced with a Ford-GM joint venture six-speed automatic
capable of withstanding the additional torque of the Duratec 35. The Aisin AW six-speed
automatic that was used on FWD Five Hundred and Montegos was also replaced
by the new six-speed. [38] The Taurus sedan twin, the Mercury Sable nameplate,
was revived from the Mercury Montego.[39][10][40] For the 2009 model year,
Ford revived the "SE" trimline for the Taurus. The SE sells for $24,125 according
to Ford's website and now serves as the base model for the vehicle.
This
generation of the Taurus is sold in the Middle East as the Ford Five Hundred
from 2008 onward.[41]
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