Another article found in the October 1985 issue of Popular Mechanics. I also left out the Aerostar, Chryslers and GMs sections.
Popular Mechanics - October 1985
BY WADE HOYT, Auto Editor, AND NORMAN MAYERSOHN, Assistant Auto Editor
The catch-up game is over in Detroit. After years of diligent work to recover from the marketing and technology lead held by foreign car builders, Motown once again has a generous offering of high-performance models back in the lineup, and the econocar sector is well covered by domestic minis and captive imports. With those two categories out of the way, American companies are turning their attention to a market segment that until 1986 has been dominated by European manufacturers--the super family sedans.
More than just another way to part Yuppies from their paychecks, the new-generation family sedans are aimed at providing high levels of comfort and convenience features in a stylish 4-door body shell. Chrysler's H-cars were early entrants in this market segment, and are now followed by GM's 4-door version of the N-car (Pontiac Grand Am, Olds Calais and Buick Somerset Regal). Most stunning of the group, and clearly the models with the greatest continental influence, are the Taurus and Sable stablemates from Ford. They'll be built in Atlanta, Georgia, but the styling clues and engineering fine points are unmistakably European.
The Aero Fords
The Ford Taurus, Mercury Sable and the Aerostar van are all excellent examples of Ford's total commitment to European styling and leading-edge aerodynamics. The Taurus/Sable is one of the auto industry's worst-kept secrets, and intentionally so. Ford wanted to give the public a lot of time to get used to these radical new shapes before they hit the showrooms. The sedans and wagons have been pushed hard in consumer clinics, and early prototypes were released to the press months ago (see 1986 Ford Taurus And Mercury Sable, page 71, July '85).
Lou Veraldi, Ford's chief engineer of large production cars, says that the T/S cars represent a new philosophy at Ford: "Let's do a car that adapts to the customer, instead
of the other way around." Just one example is the seat construction, which cost Ford $40 more than the competition's seats. And they feel like it, too. This is yet another European design trend, picked up early by the Japanese but only now filtering into Detroit--foreign companies usually put a larger percentage of the car's cost than U.S. firms do into making the driver/buyer comfortable. That's a pretty smart way to sell cars--your first test drive in the vehicle is a revelation.
Ford put five years and $3 billion into the Taurus/Sable project, including all-new engines and suspension setups. Standard powertrain when the cars go on sale in November will be a 3-liter 60 degree V6 with multiport fuel injection. Mounted sideways, it drives the front wheels through a 4-speed automatic with an overdrive/lockup high gear. EPA city/highway gas mileage figures are expected to be in the 20/30 MPG range for the sedans and 18/28 for the wagons.
By February, a 2.5-liter version of Ford's pushrod HSC Four (now in the Tempo/Topaz) will be offered with a 5-speed manual or 3-speed automatic. Expect 35 highway MPG from this version, but not a whole lot of fun. The stick shift prototype we drove was sluggish and notchy, and had the definite feel of a fleet car.
The V6 is no scorcher either, doing 0 to 60 in 12 seconds if you use dragstrip techniques, but more like 14 1/2 seconds with a couple of people on board and plain old foot-to-the-floor driving. The fact that the T/S twins are intended as family cars is underlined by the fact that neither performance tires nor a 5-speed transaxle (to come from Mazda) will be offered until 1987. Power ratings are 140 hp @ 4800 rpm and 160 lb.-ft. of torque @ 3000 rpm for the V6 and approximately 100 hp and 138 lb-ft. for the Four.
For family cars, their ride and handling is uncanny. Front and rear suspension are fully independent with MacPherson gas struts at each end. Ten inches of wheel travel allows for a smooth ride in cars that otherwise handle like European imports. The power steering is precise, not overboosted, and 4 degrees of positive caster makes the cars track straight and true on the highway.
Of course, there were still some rough edges on the handbuilt prototypes we drove at the proving grounds and on the road. Perhaps because there was so little wind noise (Cd is an outstanding 0.32 for the sedans, 0.34 for the wagons), you can hear a lot of road rumble in the back seats. The plastic molding around the rear windows doesn't fit well and needs a quick redesign. The map/dome light looks like a $3 mail-order item. Rear windows open, but only halfway due to the wheel arch intrusion. Most disconcerting is the impressive instrument panel/pod, which is canted toward the driver and gives the illusion that its right side is drooping. All the labelled buttons are angled downward toward your knees, rather than upward toward the eyes. You can still read them, but it seems funny not to point them the right way.
Nit-picking aside, the Taurus/Sable cars have lots of thoughtful features, including bi-fold sun visors, and picnic trays in the wagons. The cars look a lot like Audis, corner flatter and ride smoother than Audis, but don't seem to perform like Audis. The weak V6 isn't helped by slow, sloppy shifts in the automatic--the engine actually seems to rev up between shifts when you've got your foot down. It's a shame that a car that looks so sporty, isn't. However, Ford has performance options and police packages up its sleeve for '87, with a 4-cam, 24-valve V6 in the works, too. Ford is serious about working all the bugs out of its cars before they go on sale, which is why the intro has been pushed back a couple of times already.
