Ford executives belittle Taurus design while pushing next version

[British_Rover]

DETROIT - Belittling your product probably isn't a great marketing tool, but two top Ford Motor executives recently criticized the looks of the new Taurus sedan, with one comparing it to doofus cartoon character Homer Simpson.

While speaking in Detroit this month, Chief Executive Alan Mulally and Derrick Kuzak, head of global product development, took shots at the current Taurus.

During a speech to industry insiders, Mulally hinted that a new, nicer-looking Taurus is coming in the next year or so, adding a crack about the current car.

"The new Taurus that you're going to see in the next year or so is the one we should have made originally," he said while addressing a seminar. "It is just fabulous."

Kuzak went even further while speaking to a group of analysts. He projected a slide with the portly, balding, doughnut-devouring Simpson standing above a Ford Five Hundred, the sedan that was renamed the Taurus last year. Next to Homer were cartoon images of Superman and Mr. Incredible, each above small drawings of sleeker versions of the Taurus that could hint at the next generation of the family sedan.

"As you walk from a Homer Simpson design to a Superman design, it's all about millimeters matter," Kuzak told the analysts. He pointed to minuscule differences in the bumpers and the proportion between the window glass and the body side. He also noted the need to fill the wheel well with the right-size tires.

"That's only delivered when the engineering team does not dumb down the design because of engineering and manufacturing feasibility concerns," Kuzak said.

Seldom do auto company executives criticize vehicles on the market, fearing such talk could hurt sales.

"It's really unique," said David Koehler, a clinical marketing professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago. But since it came from the CEO and another top executive, Koehler said it's likely a concerted effort.

Industry analysts say criticism of the Taurus shows that Ford is becoming more candid about recognizing and fixing problems.

"I think they're being sincere, intellectually honest that the design at Ford has really lagged," said Bear Stearns analyst Peter Nesvold. "Something about Mulally's leadership has allowed people to be a little freer about their views."

One of Mulally's first big decisions after being hired away from aviation giant Boeing was to revive the Taurus name last year, placing it on an updated version of the Five Hundred that was given minor exterior changes and a new engine and transmission.

The move, though, failed to resuscitate already sagging sales. Ford sold only 68,178 Taurus and Five Hundred sedans last year, down 19 percent from 2006.

Ford's strategy could be aimed at drawing attention to its increased quality and better designs, Koehler said. It also could backfire, leaving the public with the impression that Ford doesn't believe in the existing car, Koehler said.

HA even Ford admits the Taurus is a disaster.

[KaJuN]

I really liked the car when it was still known as the Five Hundred. Then one day for some stupid reason Ford decided it needed to be renamed and have the stupid Mach 3 grille put on. That's the day I stopped liking the car.

[Cobol74]

Words fail me - what are they doing? You may just about be able to piss about when you are coining it in - when you are hemorrhaging cash you shut the F*** up and work harder.

[Spectre]

For those that don't know, this is what the current Taurus looks like:



Check out the razorblade face and the fake porthole/vent on the fender. Yes, that's stock. And Ford wonders why nobody wants one.

[Phila]

Originally Posted by KaJuN

I really liked the car when it was still known as the Five Hundred. Then one day for some stupid reason Ford decided it needed to be renamed and have the stupid Mach 3 grille put on. That's the day I stopped liking the car.

Absolutely.

The 500 was a nice looking large car. Then Ford had to put the horrendous plastic crap on the front. If they could put a V8 in the new one (SHO please) and make it RWD then they may have something.

[Wizegui]

I'm sorry, but this=wins


Even if it is a bit crude and a bit of a barge.

[Vette Boss]

^ The Crown Victoria was simple and honest, which made it cool.

[bartboy9891]

Eh I like how the current Taurus looks, it's not expected to look sporty or even elegant. Taurus are just meant look inoffensive.

[Crazyjeeper]

I don't know, they aren't as bad in person, but that Gillette ripoff grill kills it in my mind.

[THGL]

The Five Hundred was a much more handsome car (in a Crown Vic sort of way).

[bafranksbro]

The only current car they have now without that stupid blade style grill is the Mustang, at least in the US any way.

[BlaRo]

Originally Posted by Spectre

For those that don't know, this is what the current Taurus looks like:



Check out the razorblade face and the fake porthole/vent on the fender. Yes, that's stock. And Ford wonders why nobody wants one.

The scary part is that the Taurus actually looks better than the Five Hundred, which really says a lot for the latter. As for the name change...did they really think anyone would be fooled? I'm insulted that Ford would ridicule my intelligence and those of my fellow Americans, because I refuse to believe that we're really that dumb.

"That's a brilliant solution! I'm going to change my name to George Clooney so I can be attractive and women will want to sleep with me!" (Or something like that.)

[swek]

Sorry but they have the Mondeo design which is quite good. Why not bring that over?

I suspect it has something to do with production costs due to the EU specs. If not I don't get the separation between the EU and US brances. Especially since they have all those good platforms on offer here yet the US gets the 5 year old underpinnings with the bangled exterior

[bafranksbro]

Originally Posted by swek

Sorry but they have the Mondeo design which is quite good. Why not bring that over?

I suspect it has something to do with production costs due to the EU specs. If not I don't get the separation between the EU and US brances. Especially since they have all those good platforms on offer here yet the US gets the 5 year old underpinnings with the bangled exterior

Who knows why they do what they do. I just find it quite ironic that in the country they were founded in and call home that they try to pass off the worst cars they have in the world. Every other country has better Ford cars available than there are here, with the exception of the Mustang.

[Spectre]

Originally Posted by swek

Sorry but they have the Mondeo design which is quite good. Why not bring that over?

I suspect it has something to do with production costs due to the EU specs. If not I don't get the separation between the EU and US brances. Especially since they have all those good platforms on offer here yet the US gets the 5 year old underpinnings with the bangled exterior

Ford USA has a history of drawing the wrong conclusions and learning the wrong lessons from a product's success or failure. For example, the conclusion they drew from the Pinto explosion/fire debacle wasn't "Don't build defective cars and fix those that are" but "Settle lawsuits early, and never let your private memos get out."

Two generations back, the US got the Mondeo. It was rebadged as the Ford Contour and Mercury Mystique. The looks were changed a bit to conform to the US product lineup, but mostly they were left intact. The car was made in a US plant by US workers. It received rave reviews. And it was a total sales flop after the first couple of years.

The reason it flopped was because the UAW union thugs wouldn't put them together right (often leaving out critical fasteners on this "Euro-peon deesihn" - their words, not mine; there are rumors that this was encouraged by the Ford NA design staff who resented having their precious Tempo replaced by something *they* hadn't made) and on the few that were put together properly the beancounters' obsession with saving a buck meant that some of the interior materials were obviously cheap. Word got out, and two or three years later, nobody wanted to buy them.

Most people's conclusion: Good design sabotaged by the UAW and the beancounters.
Ford's conclusion: Americans will not buy European designs.

This incident is still used by die hard Ford NA First And Only types in the company to keep Ford Euro products out of the US, or so I'm told. The fact that the X-Type has also been a total failure has also contributed to their "evidence". Never mind the fact that Americans buy hundreds of thousands of European cars every year; Ford thinks that Americans won't buy them. This is also part of why we don't have the Mark II Focus here in the US as a Ford, but we do have it as a Mazda and a Volvo.

[argatoga]

Actually the new Taurus, sans style, is vastly superior to the 500. Ford listened to complaints and improved the car, fancy that.
The problem is that while it is a decent car it needs style to be a competitor to the Camries and Accords. The reason the first and second generation Taurus did so well was because they had a much better look than the box-o-car from the Japanese at the time.

[argatoga]

Originally Posted by Spectre

Ford USA has a history of drawing the wrong conclusions and learning the wrong lessons from a product's success or failure. For example, the conclusion they drew from the Pinto explosion/fire debacle wasn't "Don't build defective cars and fix those that are" but "Settle lawsuits early, and never let your private memos get out."

Two generations back, the US got the Mondeo. It was rebadged as the Ford Contour and Mercury Mystique. The looks were changed a bit to conform to the US product lineup, but mostly they were left intact. The car was made in a US plant by US workers. It received rave reviews. And it was a total sales flop after the first couple of years.

The reason it flopped was because the UAW union thugs wouldn't put them together right (often leaving out critical fasteners on this "Euro-peon deesihn" - their words, not mine; there are rumors that this was encouraged by the Ford NA design staff who resented having their precious Tempo replaced by something *they* hadn't made) and on the few that were put together properly the beancounters' obsession with saving a buck meant that some of the interior materials were obviously cheap. Word got out, and two or three years later, nobody wanted to buy them.

Most people's conclusion: Good design sabotaged by the UAW.
Ford's conclusion: Americans will not buy European designs.

This incident is still used by die hard Ford NA First And Only types in the company to keep Ford Euro products out of the US, or so I'm told. The fact that the X-Type has also been a total failure has also contributed to their "evidence".

The demise of the Contour was sad, just like the Retro-Thunderbird, Ford managed to kill a good product via their own incompetence.

The American attempt at the Mondeo wasn't all bad however, the Contour SVT (back-ported to Europe as the Mondeo ST) was a fantastic car.

[Cobol74]

Spectre Yes I had heard something similar. Some things are just too difficult to fix, until either you fix 'em or the company goes bust. Now they are selling the family silver to pay for their decisions - AM, Jag etc.

[Spectre]

Originally Posted by argatoga

The demise of the Contour was sad, just like the Retro-Thunderbird, Ford managed to kill a good product via their own incompetence.

The American attempt at the Mondeo wasn't all bad however, the Contour SVT (back-ported to Europe as the Mondeo ST) was a fantastic car.

No, the US modifications to the Mondeo design were mostly good. The problem was mostly who was building them. (Which proves that the problem *is* mostly the US unions, not necessarily poor US design.)

Also, the Thunderbird was completely screwed up by one of Nasser's "diversity appointees" - a woman, who thought that the car should drive exactly like a 50s Thunderbird. Ugh.

By the time they fixed it, it was too late.

[Cobol74]

Just had a drive of a new 'rental' Mondeo - I did about 700 mile mixed driving in three days - every bit as good as they say. It is bigger but very smooth yet handles nicely, the plastics are good quality and the dash actually has bits of aluminium instead of crappy silver plastic. I recommend this car, I had the 2.0 Petrol, it only had a 5 speed manual box but was still very nice indeed.