[johntaurus]

The refreshed 2004 Taurus was mentioned in the MY FORD magazine I recieved a little while ago. They also mentioned the 2005 Freestyle, 2005 Five Hundred, 2005 Focus, 2004/5 Mustang and the 2005 GT. The Crown Vic was nowhere to be found, I hope Ford isnt killing it softly (or at all). The Five Hundred is a fine car, but its NOT A CROWN VIC.

I called Ford (1-800 FOR FORD) for the recall/service history of my 1993 Taurus and they said the transaxel was replaced by a Ford dealer in Atlanta at aprox 198K miles (as the previous owner mentioned) and a recall on the head lamp knob was also preformed at that time. No further recalls are applicable. The custumer rep asked how many miles the Taurus has on it now and I said "almost 228K" and he was like "wow, thats amazing, just keeps on ticking huh?" and I said "yea its a fine car" and he just chuckled. He also asked if I still owned my 1992 Ford Tempo LX and of course I said I do and he mentioned that it also does not have any open recalls but if any arise for either car, I'll be notified.

 

[SaturdaysSHO]

I seen a 2005 Freestyle. It was driving around the grounds of the Hegwisch Plant on the border of East Chicago & Indiana. It looked like a nice vehicle. I dont know if they sell them yet so I was somewhat excited to see it in person. Unfortunately My Digi cam was not with me.

-Nick

 

[bull geek]

Dang thats a lota miles John on your cars. Its also nice to see Ford has this service available.

 

[Guest]

I didn't get a My Ford Magazine

I usually get them

Phase out the crown vic??? I don't see how they could.

 

[jj57]

The Vic is here to stay, however.... It may be fleet only after this year. Ford is trying to focus their efforts on the Grand Marquis, and the Town Car.

Last year Ford Sold 78,500 vics, but only 16,000 went to retail customers.

We shall wait and see what happens.

 

[Guest]

They better not phase out the Marauder

 

[jj57]

The Marauder is slated for The chopping block at the end of this year.

However, not knowing what will happen, Ford is trying some interesting things.

We are all aware that the Taurus may become a fleet car, however, the Sable may not, I conformed this from a dealer today. Ford is really pushing the Mercury product line to try to get back into mainstream vibe.

Ford May wait on the Crown Vic for at least a year, since Chrysler has brought the RWD V-8 platforms back.

The Crown Vic will still be here, and you will still be able to get one new, it will just be a special order car.

 

[Guest]

That sucks. I am in LOVE with Marauders.

I WILL have one at some point and time.

I love the Mercury product line - it seems like Ford has been pushing it quite a bit - I'm happy to hear that.

Ford needs to add more to their RWD V-8 platform and make them fast and put out some impressive numbers to be competitive. There's no reason they couldn't make a 350 HP N/A Marauder, market it correctly, then beat the crap out of the competition.

I can't imagine the Crown Vic going away anytime soon.

 

[BF2001SES]

In the 2007 or 2008 model year, ALL Taurii and Crown Victorias will become Fleet vehicles only. The new Five Hundred is 7 inches longer then the Taurus, but nearly a foot shorter then the CV. The Five Hundred will have MORE interior and cargo space then the crown vic, and is slated to recieve an upgraded 3.0 base, with the 3.5 to come in the 06 model year. Tests on the Five Hundred and Freestlye with the existing 201 hp/207 lbft motor have the FH blowing the doors off the Vic, Avalon, 300M, and Impalas. The FS is crushing Forresters, and staying doorhandle to doorhandle with Muranos and Pacificas. The prime reason being the new 6 speed auto has such a huge range of ratios and is very closely spaced, and the CVT also has Fords adaptive shift technology. And thats with the CURRENT 3.0. Rumblings we've heard is that the 3.0 is going to go the way of the Jag and Lincoln versions of the motor, with 220 hp and 230 lbft. the 3.5 is slated to have 250+ on both, and an unconfirmed rumor out of the Dearborn testing facility has it ramping all the way up to 285. We shall see.

 

[kjw86ca]

To whoever said the Sable might stay longer than the Taurus:

Where did you get this info?

There are numerous car sources online (Motor Trend, etc) that say the Sable will actually leave BEFORE the Taurus, and the TAURUS will be around for 2 or 3 model years longer than the Sable. They say this should happen around 2006 ( the sable being phased out...) It will be replaced with the Mercury Mont Claire, which is Mercurys version of the Ford Futura, which is Fords version of the Mazda 6.

-Kyle

 

[jj57]

I got that info from my dealer. The Montego will be in place along with the Sable for at least a year or two. However, the price range of the Montego will put most Sable drivers out to pasture.

For example, a fully loaded Sable LS with EVERY available goes for around $25,000 +/- a few hundred. With 0% and all these rebates, more likely $21-22,000.

Now, if you want a comparable equipped Montego FWD with the 6 disc CD and EATC, you have to step up to the 2nd tier where the cars will be in the $26-28,000 range.

And don't forget, Ford is really pushing the Mercury product line harder than the rest. Most Mercury buyers will NOT go to Ford, they will end up with Toyota or a GM product.

 

[rsgnome]

Originally posted by BF2001SES@Mar 19 2004, 08:09 AM
In the 2007 or 2008 model year, ALL Taurii and Crown Victorias will become Fleet vehicles only. The new Five Hundred is 7 inches longer then the Taurus, but nearly a foot shorter then the CV. The Five Hundred will have MORE interior and cargo space then the crown vic, and is slated to recieve an upgraded 3.0 base, with the 3.5 to come in the 06 model year. Tests on the Five Hundred and Freestlye with the existing 201 hp/207 lbft motor have the FH blowing the doors off the Vic, Avalon, 300M, and Impalas. The FS is crushing Forresters, and staying doorhandle to doorhandle with Muranos and Pacificas. The prime reason being the new 6 speed auto has such a huge range of ratios and is very closely spaced, and the CVT also has Fords adaptive shift technology. And thats with the CURRENT 3.0. Rumblings we've heard is that the 3.0 is going to go the way of the Jag and Lincoln versions of the motor, with 220 hp and 230 lbft. the 3.5 is slated to have 250+ on both, and an unconfirmed rumor out of the Dearborn testing facility has it ramping all the way up to 285. We shall see.

Very interesting... do you have any articles to back up these claims? I hope you're right!

 

[BF2001SES]

I dont have anything official or in writing, just passing on what I get from my inventory control/ordering guy, and from our once every few weeks visit from the local Ford Zone Rep. She is actually the one that said "SVT is looking into the new Futura, mated with a more powerful version of the new 35 motor, and from what I've been told, the 'up-engined' (her words not mine) version is going to be a blast. They are trying to develop more power then the new Nissan and Acura motors without going to a forced induction." As best as my shot memory serves, that is just about word for word what she said. My ordering guy is the one that has been tossing out the actual figures. We shall see.