Ford had one among its all-time biggest successes with the unique 1986-2007 Taurus (and its Mercury Sable twin), and the roomy Taurus wagon may take credit score for a good slice of these gross sales. Nonetheless, the parallel rise of the minivan and the SUV squeezed wagon gross sales arduous because the Nineteen Nineties progressed. The complete-sized, rear-wheel-drive LTD Crown Victoria Nation Squire received the axe in 1991, however the gross sales momentum of the Taurus wagon saved it alive properly into our present century. Immediately’s Junkyard Discover in Colorado is without doubt one of the remaining handful of Taurus/Sable wagons ever constructed, and thus an vital a part of our automotive heritage.
All Sable manufacturing led to 2004, with a tiny sprinkling of model-year ’05 Sable sedans and wagons rolling out of showrooms earlier than the top. The ultimate Taurus wagons rolled off the Georgia meeting line in late 2004 as 2005 fashions, and all wore the second-from-the-bottom SE trim stage. Manufacturing of the unique Taurus sedan continued via 2007, although each one constructed after early 2006 went to fleet consumers solely. After that, the Taurus title was utilized to a Volvo-based sedan and its crossover cousin, but it surely simply wasn’t the identical.
Sure, a numbers-matching, authentic, final-year Taurus wagon. That is one other glorious junkyard instance of the “uncommon however not precious” phenomenon.
The 1986 Taurus might be bought with an non-compulsory 3.0-liter pushrod V6 referred to as the Vulcan, and this engine continued to be bolted into the unique Tauruses and Sables all the best way to the very finish. The extra trendy and highly effective Duratec V6 went into the top-shelf Taurus SEL for 2005, however all of the ’06s and ’07s received the primitive-but-sturdy Vulcan. All 2005 Taurus and Sable wagons have Vulcans, rated at 155 horsepower.
The SE’s inside was designed to resist the trials of rental-car use, so it’s extremely wise and really grey.
With the demise of the Taurus wagon, Ford customers had simply the tiny Focus as their sole true, non-crossover wagon choice… and the Focus wagon was discontinued after the 2007 mannequin yr. A far cry from the Eighties, when you could possibly get Ford and Mercury wagons in three completely different sizes and with faux-wood paneling.
Whereas the Taurus wagon underwent facelifts and redesigns for 1992, 1996 and 2000, the underlying chassis remained a lot the identical as these underneath the unique vehicles that appeared on the road in late 1985.
