“Consumers increasingly are noticing that the Ford difference is our great products, our strong business and our leadership in quality, fuel efficiency, safety, smart technologies and value.” So sayeth Ken Czubay, Ford’s vice president of U.S. marketing sales and service. Am I reading too much into it, or is “strong business” a euphemism for non-teat-suckler? Anyway, the spin is the spin, and the facts are the facts. The Blue Oval Boyz report that sales of the new Ford Taurus rose a staggering 141 percent, from last October’s 2517 to this October’s 6076. A big ass one-month jump does not a runaway best-seller make. And these numbers aren’t all that spectacular for a mainstream automaker (especially compared to the original Taurus). But you can’t take that away from them. Or can you? What’s going on here? My guess: Ford’s getting a big lift from GM and Chrysler defectors. Or maybe the Taurus has simply hit the sweet spot, as SUVs continue to fall out of fashion. Fleet sales (hidden as retail, as Ford/Mazda is wont to do) may have a little something to do with it. Could be all three. What’s your take?
112 Comments on “Ask the Best and Brightest: Why Is the Ford Taurus Selling So Well?...”
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A mix between the “dead cat bounce,” decent product(s), and the apparent reluctance to accept bailout cash (retooling loans? what retooling loans…)
The domestic buying public is just so damn happy to have a good modern full sized sedan for the first time in forever?
A perfect storm:
- The belief that, having not taken government money, Ford will still be around in five years to take care of customers;
- Actual, real improvement in quality;
- The Taurus is a GOOD vehicle, and one that actually looks fresh and new;
- A variety of trim levels (basic transpo up to the stomping AWD SHO)
quality, fuel efficiency, safety, smart technologies and value.”
That’s it – that’s what Ford is. It’s not style, luxury, awd, power, etc. It’s “quality, fuel efficiency, safety, smart technologies and value.”
You could say Audi – style, interior quality, luxury, engineering Subaru – awd, quality, safety, enviro cred. BWM, presitge, power, driving pleasure, technology etc.
I think Ford leadership has figured out where they fit in the market.
Not to get too political, but it probably has a little bit to do with anti-Obama backlash. “I’m not going to buy a Government Motors vehicle, Ford didn’t take bailout money, etc.” It would be interesting to see stats on party affiliation among new Taurus purchasers. Also, did we really have that many Taurus’ around last year? Didn’t the 500 replace the Taurus, and there was just the Taurus X (which was discontinued)? These comparison numbers can’t be apples to apples.
6000 units for a car in the Taurus’s segment is actually pretty pitiful.
I remember when cars like the Taurus (and even the Taurus) sold 30,000 to 35,000 units a month.
Hell, the Honda Accord is as large inside or larger than the Taurus (depending on area of interior) and sells…what?….30,000 to 40,000 units per month?
The Taurus is a good option to people who are leaving SUVs. There is plenty of room for a family of 4 and their luggage, decent fuel economy and performance, and good build quality. Also not taking a bailout does not hurt them.
As I recall a year ago the Taurus was the rebadged 500 so it isn’t much of a comparison IMO.
I saw one in the wild exactly like the one pictured on my commute this morning. I’ve seen a few others out and about as well, product availability caveats notwithstanding.
I haven’t driven one, but from everything I’ve seen and read it appears to be a genuinely competent vehicle. Were I or anyone I know ever in the market for a large-ish sedan I’d recommend they consider it (but neither myself nor anyone I know would ever be in *that* market). I bet it’ll steal quite a few Buick/Cadillac customers.
Ford’s volume seller sedan is now the Fusion, whereas 20 years ago it was the Taurus. Today’s Taurus is upsized and upmarketed to a full sized luxury sedan, and by definition will sell in smaller quantities.
Our first SHO to previous Lexus owner, second SHO previous 4Runner owner. A couple of SEL’s one previous Taurs owner and second to previous Tahow owner.
I think it’s because it’s fresh, as compared the the long of tooth Impala, it has a much better interior than the Charger/300, and it is from a domestic company that from all appearnces will be around to fulfill its promises in the warranty.
Its a nice, big, Ameri-sized car that no body, especially GM or Chrysler has anything to compete with.
ohsnapback, it’s midsize vs fullsize. The Taurus compares to the likes of the Impala, the Avalon, and (to a lesser degree) the 300/Charger. In today’s market especially, fullsize sedans don’t sell as well as midsizes.
Despite the new Accord being classified as “fullsize”, I bet you if you ask every single Accord buyer, they’ll say they cross-shopped it against the Camry, Altima, Fusion, Malibu, etc, and not against a Taurus.
If the sales numbers hold up even after gas prices rise…then that will be a story…most large cars/trucks are doing better right now as the economy starts to recover while gas prices remain relatively low… even GM sold 7000+ Tahoes in oct
I think the Taurus’ success (so far) are based on a number of factors:
1. Styling- here is a vehicle that will appeal to a number of old-time Crown Vic/Grand Marquis/Town Car buyers. It looks large and in charge in a way that the old Taurus/Five Hundred never did.
2. Price Point- while more expensive than a Crown Vic or a Fusion, the Taurus has Lincoln-like levels of luxury… plus there is no facing Mercury unit and that means they may be attracting Merc/Lincoln buyers who still want a Ford product but have no Merc or find an MKS too expensive.
3. GM/Chrylser- a dearth of LaCrosses/300’s may be driving big car buyers into Ford showrooms.
4. It’s a damn fine car in its own right. It looks good, feels good and drives well even in SEL trim.
5. Fleet, Commercial (taxis/limos) are helping too I’ll bet.
Tiger –
That’s entirely possible, but it wouldn’t make a lot of sense if it were true. As RF pointed out, Ford got government money too, just through other means. Besides that, the GM/Chrysler bailouts started long before BO took office, and at that time it was more or less no strings. Besides, “I’ll show those Democrats, I’ll buy a Ford!” doesn’t exactly ring true.
The fact that consumers are particularly rational actors is probably helping Ford out quite a bit re:GM & Chrysler defectors. My guess is that people are just uncomfortable buying from a bankrupt automaker, completely separate from ideological issues.
chinar :
November 5th, 2009 at 3:03 pm
If the sales numbers hold up even after gas prices rise…then that will be a story…most large cars/trucks are doing better right now as the economy starts to recover while gas prices remain relatively low… even GM sold 7000+ Tahoes in oct
It appears that nearly everyone is buying Ben BS Bernanke’s line that the economy is improving. Green shoots!
I guess I’d say the same thing if I were Ben, as I wouldn’t want consumers to act on reality (as that would cause a depression).
It looks good, rivals Toyota and Honda in quality, didn’t take bailout bucks, still honors their warranty (skip grinding axe story with GM) and makes me feel good to be an American. Or something like that. Smile.
Ford’s volume seller sedan is now the Fusion, whereas 20 years ago it was the Taurus.
Just because they call it a Taurus doesn’t mean it has that much to do with the 1980’s Taurus.
Much like the Honda – they kept bumping up the size of the vehicles until they eventually needed to launch Fit to fill the gap at the bottom. They could have just renamed the Accord the Legend, renamed the Civic the Accord and renamed the Fit the Civic.
The Ford Taurus is selling well because of a few things:
#1 name equity – alot of Taurus owners trusted the Taurus
#2 The Taurus SHO comes with more power and arguably more technology than the MKS does and costs less.
#3 The Taurus is a large, safe car – though that size comes at the expense of speed.
#4 aggressive marketing has Taurus commercials on TV all day long and they make it look faster than it is and more technologically advanced than it is when purchased as a base model.
At a base price way above A LOADED Honda Accord Ford’s gonna have a bitch of a time selling it though.
I was surprised the first time a new Taurus pulled up beside me on the road. I hadn’t realized how large they were. Seemed ok, but I haven’t seen a whole lot of them so far.
Not exactly off-topic, but did any of you catch Conan O’Brien comparing a new SHO to his ‘92 SHO?
Funny stuff, if you like him:
http://www.hulu.com/watch/105484/the-tonight-show-with-conan-obrien-taurus-vs-taurus#s-p1-sr-i1
CSJohnston :
1. Styling- looks too much like a cop car currently in service, but the LED lamps on the front and sharp rims help its appeal. The interior is nice too.
2. Price Point- way too expensive. This car is almost in Expedition territory. A better deal would be if it started like a 300 Touring in the low $30K’s.
3. I still think the 300C is a better car for the same money.
4. Its made very well, but the interior space SUCKS compared to smaller cars like the new E-class and the Chrysler 300. This car’s trunk swallows all its space. The trunk of a Taurus is larger than the trunk of a 204 inch S550.
5. Fleet, Commercial (taxis/limos) are helping too I’ll bet.
SHO police cars.
Taurus taxis.
It’s big, heavy, comfortable, ridiculously safe, and the fuel efficiency isn’t all that bad for a car of this size.
There are still lots of people out there that think this type of vehicle is automotive perfection.
Along with the reasons above, the new Taurus combines the market normally owned by both the Taurus and Sable. (The MKS is priced way up in the Continental’s old territory) Not that this month’s sales matter much, this improvement from last year is damning this product with faint praise.
And there was a time when the Sable sold as well (or better?) than the 2010 Taurus. Not that it means anything to Post-Nasser Ford, I just had to go there.
Given market segmentation (Avalon, Maxima, baseline models from premium brands) this is a win for Ford. For now: whether or not there’s long term (renewed) interest in specific American nameplates remains to be seen.
I wouldn’t compare this Taurus to the old one, it is much bigger. People have already said it, the Fusion is where Ford is going to have many more sedans sold.
You should compare this to the Avalon and Impala. When you do that, it is pretty obvious which one is the winner. While the Impala sells more copies, it isn’t nearly as nice as the Taurus. The Impala cost significantly less and has lots of fleet sales.
I really don’t but the Accord into the segment. People don’t view it as a large car even though by volume it is.
@ohsnapback
The Accord sells 20-25k a month but also cost much less. It is priced against the Fusion, Camry, and Malibu.
I had one pull up beside me. I must say it looks fresh and Ford got the styling proportions right.
If I was in the market for a large four door vehicle, I’d give the new Taurus a test drive.
Anybody seen the model sales breakdown figures? Curious to know how many SHO’s are being sold.
Ford is showing signs of being a viable Enterprise again and the Taurus, vis-Avis with all other Budget offerings in its class, Dollar for dollar, is as good a National car for the Thrifty consumer as any other one out there. So it Hertz to sell well.
I have no idea.
Full-size sedans seem kind of silly: if you need the room, you’re generally better-served with a crossover or minivan, and smaller sedans do the “normal car” thing just as well.
Is it really selling well, though? Last I saw, it’s selling as well as Maxima and more or less on level with the Avalon, neither of which are exactly setting the world on fire.
The Taurus is selling because it looks good and has a fit and finish that matches Toyota and Honda.
The Camry actually has a very cheap looking interior and not so exciting exterior
The Honda has nice interior and old-looking
exterior.
The problem facing Ford and GM- let’s just say Chrysler is a non-player, is pricing. Their
cars have to be a better value than Toyota and Honda. Price being equal, people will by the
Japanese car. Toyota really seems to be going down
the GM path though- no cool cars and going to cheaper interior components.
A guy who lives three houses down from me works for a large insurance company, and his new company fleet vehicle is a Ford Taurus. He had a bunch of coworkers over for an event a couple of weeks ago, and the street was full of Ford Taurus. Not all were 2010, but all were late model 2008 and later Taurus.
I’m not saying it is all fleet sales, but I’m guessing October is a good fleet purchase month.
6000 units for a car in the Taurus’s segment is actually pretty pitiful.
I remember when cars like the Taurus (and even the Taurus) sold 30,000 to 35,000 units a month.
Hell, the Honda Accord is as large inside or larger than the Taurus (depending on area of interior) and sells…what?….30,000 to 40,000 units per month?
C’mon…
Honda – Civic>>Accord
Ford – Focus>>Fusion>>Taurus
Then again I’m sure you knew that. On top of that Accord sales (outside of August, read C4C) haven’t crested the 30K mark all year.
1. The floor was set low by previous Taurus.
2. Styling is very good compared to competitors. Camry and Accord are unbelievably ugly these days.
3. Very effective marketing.
4. It’s the product, stupid. Meaning, the new model is actually much better.
One month of data isn’t enough to judge, so I won’t even try to speculate. (Not that the sales number is going to set the world on fire.)
We’ll know within 6-12 months how well things are going with this new model. It’s too soon to tell now.
In September (sorry, Automotive News does not yet have the comprehensive October data) the full-size segment sales show:
- Chrysler 300: 3,411
- Dodge Charger: 7,507
Chrysler total: 10,918
- Ford Taurus: 5,077
- Lincoln MKS: 1,316
Ford total: 6,393
- Buick Lucerne: 4,324
- Cadillac DTS: 2,282
- Chevrolet Impala: 13,047
(Pontiac G8: 1,005)
GM total, excluding Pontiac: 19,653
So, yes, the Taurus sales are far better than in 2008. But compared to other domestic full-size nameplates, the numbers really are not that impressive. Somewhat higher than the Lucerne, but well below the Charger and Impala.
And the new MKS is badly outsold by the aging DTS …
As RF pointed out, Ford got government money too, just through other means.
It’s long past due to put this whining to rest. Chances are really strong that Ford would have crawled through the rubble on their own, unlike GM or Chrysler.
I’ve visited with a few Tauri – beautiful car, masterfully done, but a little overpriced in my opinion.
Buying a Japanese car is so status quo. Buy one and stand in line with everyone else. See who is driving Camrys and Accords? The folks who you used to see driving Oldsmobiles a generation ago. You want an Oldsmobile? Not me.
Toyota has been aware of this situation for a long time, hence Scion. They see old people driving Toyotas. They see old people pining for their “youth” oriented vehicles. My retired minister drives an Accord. Blah.
If you want to be seen driving something new, different and cool, buying American is now the way to go.
It’s a nice-looking car, that’s why.
And it’s not a GM or Chrysler.
Weren’t September Taurus sales numbers skewed by availability?
@mtymsi,
Yes, the Taurus October sales were 999 units higher than in September. But plug that 6,076 into my totals above, and it’s still 20% below the awful Charger, and less than half the figure for Impala.
If someone has time to hunt down the model data for October it’d be nice to do the same comparison, but I don’t have time at the moment …
call me crazy but………..based on what Ford put into the vehicle and what they expected…. the Taurus is hardly a success. A few of you are echoing my comments, and agree with me when I say that sales aren’t that grand.
I think the product is overpriced, over-hyped and too far reaching. The Taurus’ target market are not customers spending 35-40 large for a well optioned model. WTF?! Ford should be targeting the 24-32K range with the Taurus. Mercrapery or Lincoln should sit in the 35-40K range. Thus, I can say with some confidence that this models success will be limited. When Chevy and Chrysler roll out new models do you think they are going to ask 37K for a well optioned model in the class? I don’t think so. A well optioned Impala or 300 goes for about 32K…
Don’t get me wrong, I think Ford has a decent product, just not something that will have a measurable impact on the company. I know that Ford had already put quite a bit of energy into the Taurus revival prior to sept 08…. so naturally we now see the company pushing it. But the company would be better suited toward pushing the Lincoln models and better marketing the Fusion and Escape.
I hear the Fiesta is going to cost Ford way too much in this economy.. the weak dollar won’t help either. They can sell the Fiesta for over 20K in Europe… and they wont be able to do that here. i say its time for Ford to Focus on the Focus!!!!
Because GM refuses to sell a Chevrolet or Buick version of the WM Statesman in the US.
I’ve never owned a Ford. I’ve never even liked that many Fords over my many, many years.
However, I gotta say, that’s a very nice looking sedan.
I don’t follow the auto business nearly as closely as many of the TTAC readers, but I kinda get the general impression that Ford’s doing some good work lately.
th009:
That’s great that the Charger and Impala outsell the Taurus, but let’s be real we all know where the bulk of those cars end up. Granted we haven’t a clue in terms of where the Taurus is going (fleet or retail), I’d be willing to bet that most of those were retail purchases (considering that there is no cash on the hood, and transaction prices are pretty much at MSRP).
Here are sales numbers from October for the General:
http://www.gm.com/corporate/investor_information/sales_prod/
cRacK hEaD aLLeY :
November 5th, 2009 at 3:32 pm
Ford is showing signs of being a viable Enterprise again and the Taurus, vis-Avis with all other Budget offerings in its class, Dollar for dollar, is as good a National car for the Thrifty consumer as any other one out there. So it Hertz to sell well.
Funny… but I am traveling for work this week and had to rent a car. I reserved at Hertz hoping to find one so that I had a better idea how this car drove… I was told at Hertz that they were not buying Taurus… at least yet. Then they gave me a Camry… which they had 20+ of… so, who’s the rental queens now?
You’re kidding right? Most of the Taurus sales at MSRP?
Flashpoint
1. Styling- looks too much like a cop car currently in service, but the LED lamps on the front and sharp rims help its appeal. The interior is nice too. You’ll have to show me which cop car you’re talking about: Crown Vic? Charger? Impala? Is there a Taurus police variant?
2. Price Point- way too expensive. This car is almost in Expedition territory. A better deal would be if it started like a 300 Touring in the low $30K’s. Pricing for Taurus starts at $25170 (US), 300 starts at $28010 (US). C$ starts are roughly proportionate (not counting the huge incentives on 300’s)
3. I still think the 300C is a better car for the same money. You may be right but maybe not.
4. Its made very well, but the interior space SUCKS compared to smaller cars like the new E-class and the Chrysler 300. This car’s trunk swallows all its space. The trunk of a Taurus is larger than the trunk of a 204 inch S550. I am probably considered an average-sized guy and had no problems in the front or rear of the Taurus. I would suggest it is “roomy enough” even if it not class leading and a big trunk never hurts
5. Fleet, Commercial (taxis/limos) are helping too I’ll bet.
SHO police cars.
Taurus taxis.
th009: GM may move a lot more Impalas but how much money are they making on the transactions?
I bet Ford is making healthy margins on the 2010 Taurus (for now) while the Impala and 300 come loaded with profit eroding incentives.
When Chevy and Chrysler roll out new models do you think they are going to ask 37K for a well optioned model in the class? I don’t think so. A well optioned Impala or 300 goes for about 32K…
I hear the Fiesta is going to cost Ford way too much in this economy.. the weak dollar won’t help either. They can sell the Fiesta for over 20K in Europe… and they wont be able to do that here. i say its time for Ford to Focus on the Focus!!!!
A well optioned Taurus goes for 32K as well. The Fiesta will be built in Mexico and a new Focus is around the corner.