2008 Ford Taurus

Riggs · Feb 10, 2007

http://www.fordvehicles.com/cars/2008taurus/

Okay I am very amazed at how ford is improving all there vehicles. My reaction to the new Taurus is 260 hp is awesome for a V6 considering the old 2004 mustang V8 was 260, thats pretty amazing for a V6. The thing is when is the base mustang V6 going to get a better engine? Its a mustang whether the GT guys like it or not it should still have a little more output then a Taurus? Plus, I know people like the new grill design that started with the Fusion, but that same basic design is now on the Edge and the Taurus. Ford is going to kill that look IMO.

bigcat · Feb 10, 2007

its just a worked over and remamed ford 500. the grille is the new corporate style. the fusion, edge, and explorer are some of the other vehicles in fords line up that share the styling cue.

i am sure the stang will be getting a different base engine soon. the rumor is that it will be getting the 3.5L V6 to replace the 4.0, but we will have to wait to get the official word from ford.

and what the heck is the taurus x? looks like a worked freestyle.

kooldawg6 · Feb 10, 2007

Riggs said:
http://www.fordvehicles.com/cars/2008taurus/
I know people like the new grill design that started with the Fusion, but that same basic design is now on the Edge and the Taurus. Ford is going to kill that look IMO.

I feel this is exactly what one of the areas Ford needed to address was. They need to have their cars out on the road with similar features up front to identify the brand. Audi, BMW, Cadillac, Chevy, Lincoln, Pontiac, Saab and Volkswagen all do it and it works. One look at the grill and you KNOW who makes it. to Ford!!!!!

stang8urimport · Feb 10, 2007

The 500 FLOPPED, so let's put a different nose on it, and rename it the Taurus and hope it sells like the previous generations did!

DarkFireGT · Feb 10, 2007

I think the 500 and freestyle are being replaced by the Taurus and Taurus X, though they may both be available in '08.. not sure... but they're too much alike for them to be different cars. Other than that,

Mike97gt · Feb 10, 2007

PoopDawg said:
The 500 FLOPPED, so let's put a different nose on it, and rename it the Taurus and hope it sells like the previous generations did!

thats exactly what happend..

BUT I feel that sticking the taurus name on this car is a big mistake, the taurus in it's later years turned into a rental fleet car that was not updated, they continued to sell well up to untill the end because of rental fleet sales and DEEP discounts. personaly I like my taurus but lets face it ford ran that car into the ground and did not update it to keep up with the camry and accord. Now they are going to stick the name onto a car that costs much more than the old taurus did. I do not possibly see how this will help sell this product.

The first big mistake was rushing the five hundred to the market without the 3.5 V6, the 3.0 was 40 HP less than top engine offerings in it's class and the car got a reputation of being underpowered.

I feel now they are making a second big mistake by sticking a name on the car that is linked to a rental fleet car.

stanmckinney · Feb 11, 2007

The 500 had the potential to be a great car. It just looks a bit bland. I don't like the tri-bar grill on everything. Is the Mustang going to get one next? Ford should have left the Taurus dead. Photos I have seen of the new model are plain old boring. Looks like another loser for Ford.
Do they have anyone under 80 designing cars. I'm 54 and don't want anything that boring.
The Mustang V-6 definitely needs an update. Family cars should not have more horespower. Ford just can't seem to get things straight.

The Fang · Feb 11, 2007

I like the gas milage i'm getting in my 6r, but yes I would like more power.

Mustang5L5 · Feb 11, 2007

The 500 would have been nice if it had a V8 in it.

Penguin · Feb 11, 2007

Riggs said:
My reaction to the new Taurus is 260 hp is awesome for a V6 considering the old 2004 mustang V8 was 260, thats pretty amazing for a V6.

Yeah, Ford is very late in the game offering a more powerful V6. At least in the US. Australia has some nice family sedans with lots of power.

I really don't see how 260hp is "amazing" for a v6 though. Most family cars here already have optional 250hp+ V6s. Altimas, Maximas, 300s, and Chargers to name a few.

Ford sat around with the 2v V8 with 260hp since 1999. Letting everyone else surpass the power in their family car V6s.

At least they finally upped power to 300 in '05 to keep up with the other performance cars and their 300hp V6s and turbo 4s.

gashog · Feb 13, 2007

Yes, but something can be said about a 2 seat sports car with a V8 rumble AND drives the rear wheels.

You couldn't pay me to drive a camry or accord... they are soul-less appliances made for getting from point A to B. Like driving a refridgerator.

I hear ya though... Nissan has that nifty 3.5, and mitsu's pressurized 2.0 are forces to be reckoned with.

metroplex · Feb 14, 2007

The 265 hp V6 is a dollar short and a day late.

The Ford Edge comes with all the trimmings (265 hp V6) yet it is a major flop just like the 500/Montego and Milan.

People are ranting/raving about these AWD/FWD V6 *****boxes/SUVs and I just don't understand it. I have a passion for RWD/V8 cars, especially the ones with lots of horsepower.

cowtown · Feb 14, 2007

The piss poor V6 output and smoothness is what killed Ford's car line without a doubt. Well that and the poor styling and build quality but in all honesty I wouldn't even consider any of the last 10 years of cars with V-6 from ford outside of the Contour SVT, they're just enemic.

I do like the styling on the Taurus though, it's far less fuddy than the 500. I drove a 500 in Vegas as a rental car and it wasn't bad at all but hopefully the new motor and what not in the Taurus will be better. I too agree about that selection for a nameplate. Not a lot of people that owned Tauri that I know of that think of them glowingly. Maybe they could have used the Fairlane or something like that.

Another thing that does bug me is that we have 320HP or so in our V8's and while that seems pretty good you watch shows like Top Gear where they always comment on just how lame our V8's are on a cubic in to HP ratio. IT's true though, we should have way better HP V-8's in our cars standard. I wonder if our crap ass V-6 motors we've been living with haven't been making the mediocre V8 output's look good by comparison?

351CJ · Feb 14, 2007

Riggs said:
The thing is when is the base mustang V6 going to get a better engine?

My guess is the updated 2010 model year Mustang will dump the old 4.0L V6 and get a version of the Duratec 35. It will have at least 265 HP.

The D35 is the engine that will be used in the 08 Taurus & is already in production & used in the 2007 Lincoln MKX & MKX & Ford Edge putting out 265 HP.

Riggs · Feb 14, 2007

The 265 HP V6 is cool and all but I would like to see for jump ahead in the HP world. Like it was said earlier every car maker has a powerful V6 Ford should jump ahead with a 300HP V6 and a 400HP V8 now, rather than wait a couple years when everyone beats them to the punch.

gashog · Feb 14, 2007

Fords not too far behind, they are behind, but not by as much as you guys think.

I went to each manufacturer website and dug up the specs for the cars I thought would be in direct competition with the 500/taurus and here's what I found:

Honda Accord
244 @ 6250
211 @ 5000

Toyota Camry
268 hp @ 6200 rpm
248 lb.-ft. @ 4700 rpm

Nissan Maxima
255 hp @ 6,000 rpm
252 lb-ft of torque @ 4,400 rpm

Nissan Altima
270 hp @ 6,000 rpm
258 lb-ft @ 4,400 rpm

Chevrolet Malibu SS
240 @ ?
240 @ 4600

Dodge Charger V6
250 @ 6400
250 @ 3800

Mazda 6
212 @ 6000 rpm
197 @ 5000 rpm

Ford 500
203@5,750 rpm
207@4,500 rpm

So if Ford releases this new 260+ HP v6, i think they'll be on par with everybody else.

Mike97gt · Feb 14, 2007

gashog said:
Fords not too far behind, they are behind, but not by as much as you guys think.

I went to each manufacturer website and dug up the specs for the cars I thought would be in direct competition with the 500/taurus and here's what I found:

Honda Accord
244 @ 6250
211 @ 5000

Toyota Camry
268 hp @ 6200 rpm
248 lb.-ft. @ 4700 rpm

Nissan Maxima
255 hp @ 6,000 rpm
252 lb-ft of torque @ 4,400 rpm

Nissan Altima
270 hp @ 6,000 rpm
258 lb-ft @ 4,400 rpm

Chevrolet Malibu SS
240 @ ?
240 @ 4600

Dodge Charger V6
250 @ 6400
250 @ 3800

Mazda 6
212 @ 6000 rpm
197 @ 5000 rpm

Ford 500
203@5,750 rpm
207@4,500 rpm

So if Ford releases this new 260+ HP v6, i think they'll be on par with everybody else.

Ford did release the engine, the new 3.5 is in the Edge and mark z and it will be in the new taurus

srothfuss · Feb 14, 2007

In today's highly competitive enviornment, it is in FORDs best interest to up the power output on all of their vehicle lines. Instead of being equal to the competition, why not beat them at something? Make people want to come back to American OEM's...

You've got a new Accord coming out in 08 that will move up to similar power outputs of the TL. As far that the V8 output, IMO, Ford has been behind the curve from the begining

351CJ · Feb 15, 2007

gashog said:
So if Ford releases this new 260+ HP v6, i think they'll be on par with everybody else.

As I (& others) have already pointed out the Duratec35 is available today in the Edge & MKX @ 265 HP and in the MKZ & Mazda CX-9 @ 263 HP.

At the moment Ford is slightly ahead of most of its competition. This is because the D35 makes its 265 HP on 87 octane gas. Both the Nissan and Toyota require 91 octane to make their rated 268 & 270 HP. The fine print says they can run on 87 but HP will be reduced. They don't say how much less but it's probably ~ 255 HP on 87 octane.

The D35 is also very smooth and refined better than most any of the competition's V6s except for possibly the Nissan / Infinity newest version of their VQ.

However Ford is behind in other areas. Toyota is already using direct injection on their new V6 and as a result gets some pretty impressive MPG #s. In addition, Nissan now has 3.5L V6s rated has high as 306 HP (2007 Infinity G35). To keep pace Ford needs a high performance version of the D35 and to get direct injection on the D35.

07gtfolife · Feb 15, 2007

gashog said:
Fords not too far behind, they are behind, but not by as much as you guys think.

I went to each manufacturer website and dug up the specs for the cars I thought would be in direct competition with the 500/taurus and here's what I found:

Honda Accord
244 @ 6250
211 @ 5000

Toyota Camry
268 hp @ 6200 rpm
248 lb.-ft. @ 4700 rpm

Nissan Maxima
255 hp @ 6,000 rpm
252 lb-ft of torque @ 4,400 rpm

Nissan Altima
270 hp @ 6,000 rpm
258 lb-ft @ 4,400 rpm

Chevrolet Malibu SS
240 @ ?
240 @ 4600

Dodge Charger V6
250 @ 6400
250 @ 3800

Mazda 6
212 @ 6000 rpm
197 @ 5000 rpm

Ford 500
203@5,750 rpm
207@4,500 rpm

So if Ford releases this new 260+ HP v6, i think they'll be on par with everybody else.

Why does the altima have more power than the maxima? Isn't the maxima Nissans higher end car?

2008 Ford Taurus

Riggs

Member

bigcat

start with the upper hole, and if more traction is

kooldawg6

mine works really well and can take a fair amount

stang8urimport

Autozone Junkie

DarkFireGT

Playing with my wife's really makes me want one.

Mike97gt

it doe snot

stanmckinney

The Fang

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Mustang5L5

That is…until I whipped out my Bissell

Penguin

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gashog

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metroplex

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cowtown

351CJ

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Riggs

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gashog

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Mike97gt

it doe snot

srothfuss

Last night I stabbed the same guy 7 times in a row

351CJ

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07gtfolife

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2008 Ford Taurus

Member

start with the upper hole, and if more traction is

mine works really well and can take a fair amount

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Playing with my wife's really makes me want one.

it doe snot

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That is…until I whipped out my Bissell

Active Member

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