Editing Ford Taurus (section)

==Initial discontinuation and revival==
During its fourth generation, the Taurus saw a significant sales slump compared to its predecessors.<ref name="det"/> Having already lost its status as the best-selling car in America when it was surpassed by the [[Honda Accord]] and [[Toyota Camry]] in 1997, by 2005, it had fallen to fourth-place behind the [[Nissan Altima]], which made Ford decide to discontinue the entire Taurus line.<ref>{{cite web| url = http://www.edmunds.com/car-reviews/top-10/top-10-best-selling-vehicles-for-2005.html| url-status = dead| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110114090022/http://www.edmunds.com/car-reviews/top-10/top-10-best-selling-vehicles-for-2005.html| archive-date = 2011-01-14| title = Top 10 Best-Selling Vehicles for 2005 — Edmunds.com}}</ref> Production of the Taurus wagon was discontinued on December 8, 2004;<ref name = "G4" /> sedan retail sales halted after a short 2006 model year, and the Taurus became sold exclusively to [[Fleet vehicles|fleets]] in the [[United States]], while still being sold to retail customers in [[Canada]]. Production ended on October 27, 2006, as Ford idled the Atlanta plant, as part of its "[[The Way Forward]]" [[Corporate restructuring|restructuring plan]]. The last Ford Taurus rolled off the assembly line around 7:00am,<ref>{{cite news | url = http://www.leftlanenews.com/last-ford-taurus-built-today.html | title = Last Ford Taurus built today | publisher = Left Lane News | date = 2006-10-27}}</ref> destined for delivery to [[S. Truett Cathy]], owner of [[Chick-fil-A]].<ref>{{cite news | url = https://www.usatoday.com/money/autos/2006-10-27-taurus-farewell_x.htm | title = Last Ford Taurus rolls off Atlanta Assembly line | publisher = [[USA Today]] | date = 2006-10-27 | access-date = 2007-08-14 | first=Bernard | last=McGhee}}</ref> Mr. Cathy's original restaurant was located across from the Ford Atlanta plant. There was no official event or function of any kind to mark the end of production.<ref name= "outofgas">{{cite news | url = http://www.seattlepi.com/business/289400_lasttaurus20.html | title = Ford Taurus out of gas | publisher = seattlepi.com | date = 2006-10-20 | access-date = 2007-08-14 | first=Tom | last=Krisher}}</ref> The Taurus was replaced in Ford's lineup by the [[Ford Five Hundred|Five Hundred]] and [[Ford Fusion (Americas)|Fusion]] sedans, while the Taurus wagon was replaced by the [[Ford Taurus X|Freestyle]] [[crossover SUV]].
{{quote box
| quote = How can it go away? It's the best selling car in America.
|source=[[Alan Mulally]], 2006<ref name="Alan"/> 
| width = 250px
}}
[[File:2004-2006 Ford Taurus Sedan.jpg|thumb|left|The last Taurus sedan was an SEL model like this one.]]
[[File:Auto Show 032.jpg|thumb|The 2008 Ford Five Hundred prototype, which was renamed "Taurus" upon Alan Mulally's request]]
The discontinuation of the Taurus sparked debate given its once-strong position in the market and Ford's well-publicized financial problems at the time. Analysts, customers and some interviewed Ford employees criticized the company for failing to invest in the car and keep it competitive, instead focusing all of its resources on developing and marketing trucks and SUVs.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Maynard |first=Micheline |date=2006-10-28 |title=End of the Line for Ford Taurus |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/28/business/28ford.html |access-date=2022-09-08 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref><ref name = "Dateline">{{Cite video | title = Final Ford Taurus interview | publisher = ABC News | url = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CwuCm8hNXgI | date = 2007-07-26}}</ref> A [[USA Today]] editorial entitled "How Ford starved its Taurus" noted that the Taurus's death was part of a broader trend of the [[Big Three (automobile manufacturers)|Detroit Big Three]] willingly abandoning once-successful nameplates and divisions in search of "the next big thing", while their foreign competitors have been gaining market share by continuously improving their veteran nameplates.<ref>{{cite news | title = How Ford starved its Taurus | url = https://www.usatoday.com/news/opinion/editorials/2006-10-24-ford-taurus_x.htm | publisher = USA Today | date = 2006-10-25 | access-date = 2006-10-25}}</ref> This criticism was echoed by ''[[Weblogs, Inc.#Autoblog|Autoblog]]'', which held the Taurus up as an example of how Ford abandoned its successful products to chase emerging trends to varying degrees of success, a practice they blamed for Ford's struggles at the time.<ref name = "Autoblog">{{cite web | url = http://www.autoblog.com/2006/10/19/so-long-friend-ford-producing-the-last-taurus-next-week/ | title = So long, friend. Ford producing last Taurus next week | publisher = Autoblog | access-date = 2007-07-26}}</ref> ''[[The Truth About Cars]]'' similarly lamented how Ford neglected the Taurus to the point where it became a "rental car".<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/ford-taurus-oedipus-wrecks/ | title = Ford Taurus: Oedipus Wrecks | date = September 2006 | publisher = The Truth About Cars | access-date = 2008-04-05 | archive-date = January 8, 2009 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090108175651/http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/ford-taurus-oedipus-wrecks/ | url-status = dead }}</ref>

Newly-hired Ford CEO [[Alan Mulally]] expressed similar opinions, telling the [[Associated Press]] the decision "perplexed" him when he learned about it; he recalled asking subordinates, "How can it go away? It's the best selling car in America!"<ref name = "Alan">{{Cite web | url = https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna17033668 | title = CEO insisted in bringing "Taurus" back | publisher = [[MSNBC]] | date = 2007-02-07 | access-date = 2007-07-26}}</ref> As the successor Five Hundred was struggling in the marketplace, Mulally viewed the decision to discontinue the Taurus as a "mistake that needed to be fixed", noting, "The customers want it back. They didn't want it to go away. They wanted us to keep improving it."<ref name = "Alan" /> At the time, Ford had already unveiled a face-lifted Five Hundred at the 2007 [[North American International Auto Show]], which had revised styling and a more powerful engine. Partially blaming the Five Hundred's struggles on its name, Mulally decided that the revised vehicle should be marketed as the Taurus, the name he believed the Five Hundred sedan should have used from the beginning<ref name = "Alan" /> as he believed Ford was better off continuing to use its older nameplates that maintained decent [[brand equity]] rather than trying to build up new ones.<ref>{{Cite video | title = Ford CEO Alan Mulally on the new Ford Taurus | publisher = Autoinsider news | url = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uYlNOtqI8tc | date = 2007-07-26}}</ref> The revised Five Hundred and Freestyle were showcased as the Taurus and Taurus X, respectively, at the 2007 Chicago Auto Show and went on sale that summer.