Whoo hoo!

2.2 tons of bulk.
203 inches long, almost 17 feet.
76 inches wide, almost 6 1/2 feet.
127 feet to stop the barge from 60 mph.
0.80 G's around the skidpad.
62.9 mph in the slalom.
10 year old chassis recycled (3 times) from the Volvo S80.
FWD platform with a transverse engine layout.

But it's got twin turbo's and direct injection!

Yeah, Ford's done it again! Classic Detroit "design"!

My God, is there any "new" family sedan design less relevant than this barge at this point in history? The entire industry is scrambling to bring more fuel efficient cars to market and Ford offers up this barge from yesteryear.

 

The G37x is 3,800 pounds and is a substantially smaller car than the Taurus. Once again, it's great that you like cars like the BMW 3 series or G37 more... but that isn't what the Taurus has ever been. It's a big family sedan. Like an Avalon or Maxima. Not like a BMW 3 series.

Ford already has the AWD Fusion if you want something the size and weight of a G37x. I'd like to see a Fusion SHO as much as the next guy, but the Taurus clearly was never going to be a Fusion SHO.

And the Taurus isn't much bigger or more expensive. It's an inch longer and has the exact same starting MSRP. It does weigh 300 lbs more. Big deal. The G37 also weighs 200 pounds more than the G35 it replaced. Oh, and do spin us a story how the G37 is lighter/smaller/cheaper/simpler than the G35. Or the TL. Or the Accord. Or the new Prius. Or.. well, I think you get the point.

 

this thread sucks

bunch of anti-domestic tools in this thread.

 

[QUOTE=Malloric,Oct 4 2009, 09:46 AM]The G37x is 3,800 pounds and is a substantially smaller car than the Taurus.

 

Isn't this why they have different categories for sedans? Compact, midsize, and Large. This was marketed as a large sedan so not sure why some folks are surprised about weight, size, and performance. Check out large size sedans on edmunds and cars in this category include most 'large' sedans. Family types shopping this car won't care about weight or performance(they'd be checking out if passengers will be comfortable in rear seat or if baby seat will fit or will there be enough room in trunk for Costco trips). Other manufacturers make large sedans not just Ford lol. Subaru just made the Subaru Legacy larger and heavier. I'd cross shop this if in the market. Ford Fusion is their midsize sedan and likely working on next model redesign already. New Fiesta also coming so not sure where logic for some folks here to generalize company failure by make a category specific car.

 

[QUOTE=JonBoy,Oct 3 2009, 09:56 AM] I like that BLIS system, especially the CrossTraffic feature.

 

The people complaining about this cars weight are the same ones who have an SUV parked in their garage yet never question it's weight. This car appears to be 7 series scale and those things are well north of 4000LBS so I really don't understand the big fuss here.

Nothing will ever please people on this site. The ones whining in here are the same people who cry about a new super cars function over form styling because there is nothing else to complain about. In this case they came out with a decent car that is comparable to other gigantic sedan's but some how it's a revelation that 4 doors have been hovering around 4000LBS for a while now.

LoL @ "The motor is transversely mounted! No way, I'm not interested in that thing!

Pathetic!

 

I know you're not talking about me. I own two cars, one weighs 2750 lb. and the other weighs 2300 lb.

What I don't get is the multiple threads in this forum praising a patently boring and overweight tank of a midrange sedan. WTF?

If'n I'm going to own a ginormous 4-door luxosedan, it is not going to have econo-car based architecture (transverse engine slung out in front of the front wheels). It's the worst of both econocar (poor weight distribution, terminally nose-heavy) and big car (just plain HEAVY) attributes.

If you can't tell the difference, I'm not surprised...

 

Agree about the 7 series to a point. It is just as oversized, overweight, and IMHO as irrelevant as a Taurus. But....it is a more balanced rear drive platform and it's not marketed as a performance car as Ford attempts to do with the SHO version of the Taurus family sedan. BMW markets the 7 series as a luxo barge to well heeled old farts who crave a certain image. They market the 5 and 3 series to a performance crowd.

As far as the transverse engine layout, that's not necessarily a bad thing. The NSX and any number of other (rear) midengine cars mount the engine transversely for packaging efficiency and weight distribution. But in Ford's case they not only turned the engine sideways, they also placed it out over the front axle along with a transaxle thereby creating a nose heavy design prone to understeer and nosedive. Lot's of family sedans use FWD/transverse layouts. It's the most space efficient design and can free up lots of cabin space. But, in a barge like the Taurus (or 7 series) packaging efficiency shouldn't be that much of a concern. And it most definitely states that the design team chose to trade off performance for space efficiency. So how can it be considered a sports sedan?

Anyway, I find it hard to applaud Ford for doing what they've been doing in Detroit for the past 40 years. Take a mediocre family sedan, stuff in a powerful engine plus some badging, and sell the thing as a "performance" model. It's called perfuming the pig. And in your case it appears to work. I wish you the best of luck and much motoring enjoyment with your new $45K Taurus. I'll try not to point and laugh when you drive by.

 

No I wasn't referring to you. And yes if you are to own a ginormous 4-door luxosedan that does not have those characteristics while remaining light you'd be looking at nothing on the market! Because that car does not exist.

My car weigh's 3100LBS and is daily driven. If it were 500LBS lighter I wouldn't give a shit. Why? Because it doesn't mean crap on a vehicle which serves the purpose of getting one from point A-B/people hauler. Sure I'd be faster around a track (and maybe get better MPG going to the grocery store) but again you are complaining about things that DO NOT matter to buyers of this car and it's previous generation.

This is one of the few forums I've come across where there is a constant struggle between massive ego driven expectations vs. people who are in touch with reality. The ones accepting the car in question for what it is appear to be sane. On the other hand we have those who seem to be completely oblivious and ignore fact, this car is BIG in SIZE thus heavy. It is FWD and nose heavy, it will not handle well. Neither of those mean a damn thing to Mom and Pops taking their kids out to dinner.