The development of the new Ford Taurus was the largest project Ford had ever undertaken. At great expense and during a time when the company was in a product, quality, and financial rut, the Taurus was make-or-break. After five years of development, the Taurus was ready for its public debut.
And it debuted at the 11th hour, presented to the press and Ford's own executives in the middle of 1985. Alongside the Mercury Sable, the two models were shown just four months before they would enter production in Atlanta. The event was a grand one, and took place at MGM Studios in California.
Presented on the same sound stage where Gone With the Wind was filmed, the theme was outer space. Flying saucers were everywhere, and food was served out of coolers that were shaped like saucers. Stars abounded in the room as a space-like soundtrack played, and the aerodynamic Taurus and Sable were shown through a green outline.
As expected with a daring type of new product, reactions were mixed. Even within Ford's own executive ranks there was some doubt. They felt the Taurus was too unconventional and would be a failure.
There was additional pressure on Ford from a Detroit Three perspective, as it was the last to introduce a front-drive family car. GM made the downsize and switched to front-drive across its portfolio in 1985 and 1986. Chrysler had been in the front-drive passenger car business since 1981 with its various K-cousins.
Chrysler's executives were particularly down on the Taurus and Sable, and felt they were too advanced and foreign to the domestic car buyer. With Lee Iacocca at the helm, Chrysler was about to introduce a new round of K-car derivatives in the Dodge Dynasty and Chrysler New Yorker (and the super-K Imperial thereafter).
ChryCo was very proud of their upcoming midsizers, and thought consumers would prefer their more boxy and traditional shapes. Ever a fan of the gingerbread, Iacocca's Chrysler thought sleek shapes like Taurus and Sable were not the way to go, and that their interiors were too modern. Ford hedged its bets slightly with the Taurus by continuing the production of the boxy LTD for an additional year.
If the Taurus was a flop, the LTD would still pick up some sales in 1986. Not that it would have mattered in this alternate history timeline, because the Taurus project was so costly Ford would have been forced into bankruptcy upon its failure. But once the media got their hands on the Taurus, things looked much more positive.
Popular Mechanics were given some pre-production cars to test, and stated it was an all-new type of car. Prototype testing was also conducted by Motor Trend, who said the Taurus was excellent and declared it as "the shape of tomorrow." In its launch year Taurus also earned the heavy-hitter awards from Motor Trend and Car and Driver, where it was the former's Car of the Year 1986, and on the latter's 10 Best List of 1986.
The shape of tomorrow statement from MotorTrend was an accurate one. Aerodynamic sedans were the way forward through the remainder of the century, a trend that began in the early '80s with the likes of Ford's own Sierra and the Audi 100/5000. In fact, with its six-window design and large composite headlamps, it's difficult not to draw connections between the 5000 and the Taurus.
The C3 Audi 5000 went on sale in 1983, and boasted an impressive drag coefficient of .30. Much of that was down to its clean lines and the usage of flush glass. The Taurus being of similar shape managed a coefficient of .32. On approach the large composite headlamps of the Taurus were its defining feature, as well as the blocked off grille panel with a small inlet around the Blue Oval.
Most air entered the Taurus from below the bumper, through a grille that was separated into two different sections. The front bumper featured ribbing detail that wrapped around the front corners to a parking lamp, and had thick trim at its top edge that was black on base trims like the L.
The flush grille swept back toward a hood that wore a modest power bulge and was largely smooth. Flowing over to fenders (also smooth) that wore a single character line. The line began at the combination indicator lens, and wrapped uninterrupted around the entire exterior.
Gray bumpers matched the cladding running down the lower sides of the Taurus, and would be color-matched to the paint on upper trims and performance models like the SHO (arrived for 1989). Wagon variants sometimes had color-matched lower trim on the sides, but a contrasting set of bumpers. There were many optional visual configurations.
Lower-end models wore aero wheel covers, some of which looked Mercedes-like. Optional on higher trims were lace alloys. All models had a chrome trim ring around their side windows and simple flush door handles in black. The side view of the Taurus showed minimal decoration, and the only brightwork was the thin window surround and the chrome strip at the top of the lower cladding.
Taurus' roof was very rounded, evident most from the rear ¾ angle. Thin D-pillars and a steep rear window aided air flow and aerodynamics. The rear deck was raised slightly, and the trunk lid was rounded in the same way as the roof. Rear lamps were simple and large, with red lenses interrupted by some segmented amber indicators and white reversing lamps. The rear simply read TAURUS in block lettering, and had a Ford badge at the right side.
A small exhaust pipe exited under the driver's side, sans bumper cutout and without any chrome decoration. The entire exterior was a study of pure simplicity, decorated mostly by paint color and wheel selection. Next time we'll take a look at the Taurus wagon and the Sable; there are more exterior differences than one might note upon first blush.
Become a TTAC insider. Get the latest news, features, TTAC takes, and everything else that gets to the truth about cars first by subscribing to our newsletter.