Some auto model names never come back from the dead, but don't tell that to Ford Motor Co.
On Wednesday, Ford officially announced at a media preview of the Chicago Auto Show that it will put its venerable Taurus name on an improved 2008 Ford Five Hundred sedan. That car is built at the automaker's big Chicago Assembly Plant on the Far South Side, where the once-best-selling Taurus long was built. The Taurus was dropped last year, when it had become largely an aged fleet car.
Ford also said it will rename its 2008 Mercury Montego model -- similar to the Five Hundred -- the Mercury Sable. The Sable was similar to the Taurus and also made at the plant here, which is the case with the Five Hundred and Montego. Finally, Ford said it will call its 2008 Five Hundred-based Freestyle crossover (basically a wagon version of the Five Hundred) the Taurus X.
Ford also said it will rename its 2008 Mercury Montego model -- similar to the Five Hundred -- the Mercury Sable. The Sable was similar to the Taurus and also made at the plant here, which is the case with the Five Hundred and Montego. Finally, Ford said it will call its 2008 Five Hundred-based Freestyle crossover (basically a wagon version of the Five Hundred) the Taurus X.
"The Taurus name is still recognized by 80 percent of consumers, but only four in 10 people are aware there's a car called the Ford Five Hundred. And the numbers are even lower for the Ford Freestyle and Mercury Montego,'' said Mark Fields, Ford's president of the Americas.
In other Auto Show news:
• Toyota emphasized the popularity of its Prius gas/electric hybrid sedan at its pre-show media conference and introduced a new, slightly more sharply styled version of its Highlander mid-size SUV.
• Frank Klegon, executive vice president of product development at DaimlerChrysler's Chrysler Group, said American automakers are catching up to Japanese automakers on the car front, while Japanese vehicle producers are catching up to U.S. automakers on the truck side.
"American truck producers such as Dodge offer a much wider variety of truck models than the Japanese,'' Klegon said. "There's also lots of loyalty to American trucks.''
