Vellum Venom Vignette: Ford Taurus X "LITIMED"

Sajeev Mehta
by Sajeev Mehta

TTAC Commentator SupremeBrougham starts us off:

Hi Sajeev,

I found this jem at my local Ford dealer the other day and I thought I’d share it with you so you can share it with the others. It’s a real one of a kind!!!

Sajeev brings it home:

What’s in a name? Let’s first marinate on the irony of someone named “Supreme Brougham”, one of the most imagery-evoking trim levels in automotive history, pointing out the fallibility of the bland “Limited” trim designation. Well then!

I was quite thrilled to see both the Taurus and the Taurus Wagon (i.e. X) come back to market, yet that thrill was short lived. The Taurus’ unique American value (and style, love it or leave it) faded almost the moment Ford installed the typical stick-on floating chrome emblems. First in 2000, then in 2008. But I will spare you my thoughts on how and why I came to that conclusion. Let’s stick (get it?) with the little chrome bits: new age emblems that are too easy to deviate from the original design.

And there you have it: this hunk of dealer inventory enjoyed a quick re-spray for reasons unknown, complete with incorrect emblem adhesion. It’s physically impossible for this to happen at the factory, anyone who’s been on a tour of one know what I’m talking about. So why make these badges? Why not make the ones from yesteryear…over a decade ago?

I personally liked the one piece, somewhat stylish, script writing of the GEN III Taurus, or the original hunk of Taurean goodness. Badges that can’t be screwed up are important, we need to bring them back. Don’t believe me? Have a look at the difficult-to-deface Lexus emblem.

Best and Brightest: your thoughts?

Sajeev Mehta
Sajeev Mehta

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  • Skink Skink on Jul 10, 2012

    Not only was the person who attached those letters illiterate, but he/she was likely astigmatic, judging by how crookedly they were attached.

  • MadHungarian MadHungarian on Jul 21, 2012

    LITIMED? Is that a law firm that specializes in malpractice cases?

  • Joe65688619 My last new car was a 2020 Acura RDX. Left it parked in the Florida sun for a few hours with the windows up the first day I had it, and was literally coughing and hacking on the offgassing. No doubt there is a problem here, but are there regs for the makeup of the interiors? The article notes that that "shockingly"...it's only shocking to me if they are not supposed to be there to begin with.
  • MaintenanceCosts "GLX" with the 2.slow? I'm confused. I thought that during the Mk3 and Mk4 era "GLX" meant the car had a VR6.
  • Dr.Nick What about Infiniti? Some of those cars might be interesting, whereas not much at Nissan interest me other than the Z which is probably big bucks.
  • Dave Holzman My '08 Civic (stick, 159k on the clock) is my favorite car that I've ever owned. If I had to choose between the current Civic and Corolla, I'd test drive 'em (with stick), and see how they felt. But I'd be approaching this choice partial to the Civic. I would not want any sort of automatic transmission, or the turbo engine.
  • Merc190 I would say Civic Si all the way if it still revved to 8300 rpm with no turbo. But nowadays I would pick the Corolla because I think they have a more clear idea on their respective models identity and mission. I also believe Toyota has a higher standard for quality.
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