Automotive News Wimps Out on Ford Taurus Photo

Robert Farago
by Robert Farago

I like Automotive News [AN, sub]. Although AN often fails to ask American automakers the tough questions, at least they're not Detroit lap dogs, cheerleaders or apologists (like some news orgs I frequently name). But what's with their article on the Ford Taurus spy photo? It starts off innocently enough, chronicling the turn of events that led TTAC to post the shot (without any legal blow-back, I might add). "The buzz intensified when Ford's legal department moved quickly to force several of the Web sites to take down the picture — leading many to conclude that the photo was the real deal. The photo vanished from the Internet for about 24 hours before it reappeared and spread rapidly." And then, suddenly, they make a not-so-bold, not-so-Woodward-and-Bernstein run for the [allegedly] moral high ground. "But neither Automotive News nor our affiliate AutoWeek will run the photo. We don't have permission from the owner, we don't know where it was taken, and we wouldn't run a photo taken inside an automaker's property." Hang on; if they don't know where the shot was taken how do they know it was taken inside an automaker's property? And now that the photo's all over the place, why wimp-out? It gets worse. "If curiosity gets to you, just type '2010 Ford Taurus' into your favorite Web search tool."

Robert Farago
Robert Farago

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  • Jgh Jgh on Apr 11, 2008

    Sounds like somebody didn't get frisked for their camera phone before entering PDC.

  • CB1000R CB1000R on Apr 11, 2008

    Don't hate it...actually the timing might be right. If it hits in 12-18 months, that's about the time GM's ADD will have set in and they will forget they even built the Malibu, let alone start thinking about a refresh. And Ford will conquest a few hundred buyers from GM, this car will get mediocre notes from the press, and a few people will understand it is a heavier Mondeo/Volvo hybrid. I'm holding out for the next Fusion, though. Or maybe the badgeneered Mercury Sable. Oh yeah, that's be sweet.

  • Joeaverage Joeaverage on Apr 11, 2008

    Nah, Ford will remove the coolness and replace it with ho-hum before they sell it to anyone. Think plastic hubcaps and beige styling. It's like the concept cars. They CAN build coolness but it seldom reaches the customer for under $40K. Of course I can't see why a cool shape costs more than a cheap shape. Must be the marketting department's fault.

  • Joeaverage Joeaverage on Apr 11, 2008

    Oh MAYBE that is the car they'll sell in Europe while building us some much more beige vanilla...

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