Taurus or Five Hundred, I think these Ford shoppers know what they’re looking at, so I’m not sure that Ford’s losing buyers by the nameplate confusion. I mean how many “Miata” buyers are baffled by all the “MX-5″’s on the lot?

Having incompetent or crooked dealers screw up a corporate marketing / message strategy isn’t exactly a new phenomenon, is it?

They should have never changed the name back to Taurus. Just stick with the 500 name and put some marketing into it which is why no one knew the 500 existed in the first place. Either way that car sucks. I actually like the Fusion though Of course I would never buy one but i cant wait to rent one soon
Here are some solutions to that problem Fire the dealers who say 500 or just call it The Taurus 500. Hey they already call the Freestyle the Taurus Unknown

Im glad they changed it back, enough with the number names

They shouldve named it the diablo then they would be flying off the shelves.

THEY SHOULD HAVE MADE THE 500 THE TAURUS IN THE FIRST PLACE, JEEEZ

Perhaps if Ford had made some significant, meaningful changes to the basic shapes of these vehicles, which these poor dealers have been working overtime trying to push off the lot for the past 3 years, they might be able to get the new names right.

Dealers are calling the new Taurus “500″ because that’s all they make when they sell one!

What they’d should be doing is referring customers to their nearest GM dealer. People would rather be driving a fine General Motors product than some POS Ford

Reminds me of the difference between “****” and “crap” they are two different names for the same thing.

I think they should makea one off madel named the C.L.I. Taurus

Get down to “Clee Motors” and buy yourself a CleeTaurus! Feel the soft, supple trim… the soft fur carpeting. Only at Clee Motors!

Wow, 1487 finally contributed to the comments in a meaningful way.

1115: No, they should’ve never named it five hundred.

This is what a Ford dealer told me back when the name change was announced

“I don’t think many people could close their eyes and visualize
what a Five Hundred is,” he said.

Should have just gotten a new name. Fusion’s a pretty good car, but doesn’t do anything for me

GM sales: Funny as hell

More like meaningless

yeah i like how they needed to do RESEARCH to realize Taurus is more recognizable.

This just shows how lost Ford Corporation is in a post SUV/truck boom/post cheap gas auto market. They stuck their head in the sand when SUV fever was going strong and was taken totally off guard with inferior car products when it was over. Now they are tripping over themselves trying to play catch-up. I hope Mr. Mulally can really clear up the mess and get this corporation headed in the right direction soon.

First of all, why in sam hell did they name it 500 in the first place? It doesn’t have a 5 liter engine…it doesn’t have 500 horses…i think i’m going to have to +1 on cts_driver’s comment and affirm that it most likely means that 500 is all they make per car….either that or 500 is the total cars they aimed to sell. Seriously, they can name it McLaren F1 and it won’t make a difference. The ceo of ford and others making key decisions at ford need to be rounded up by a dog catcher and shot by a firing squad. /rant.

I happen to like the 500 name better. But someone should’ve thought of that twenty years ago. Then they could’ve messed up last year by naming it the Taurus, and correcting that this year by renaming it the 500. Then everyone would be asking why the hell Ford would name something the “Taurus”.

why not aquarius its going to sink anyways.

500 used to be the top line Fords. The Fairlane 500, Galaxie 500, Galaxie 500XL, with the Custom 300 being the lower trim level. It signified the top of the line Fords. Believe the numbers were from the Indy 500 or Daytona 500. I too believe Ford missed the boat when the 500 wasn’t simply named the Taurus XL or something akin to that, to signify a senior Taurus. These new Taurus models are much improved over the old 500 in just about every way, according to a recent Motor Trend evaluation.

I really doubt that Ford customers will walk away just because a dealer calls it the 500. Just dont mix those two on order forms or titles on the cars – that can really **** things up

I’m not surprised they’re getting it wrong. I’ve spent a lot of time around car dealers, and in general, they’re not the sharpest knives in the drawer. Especially dealers for the domestics.

But to comment on the virtues of the car itself, I looked pretty closely at one a few weeks ago, and I must say, I was mostly impressed. I didn’t drive it, but with an extra 60 hp, it ought to move pretty well now. And they’re dropped the CVT, which I would think is a move in the right direction. And they’re priced it pretty aggressively. All of which probably explains why I’ve been seeing quite a few of them, considering how little time they’re been on the market. Of course, there’s no way to tell how durable they’ll end up being just by looking, but it did present itself well.

Affliction: Thanks for summarizing every other thought already brought up on this topic.

The 500 was doomed from the get-go, as it was meant to replace the Crown Vic and the Taurus, which in their heyday appealed to two very different groups. It’s not a bad car now, but mediocrity is death in this segment.

If it was truly meant to replace the Crown Vic and the Taurus, then they should’ve called it the “VicTauri-aus”. Now THERE’S a winning name!

Why don’t they just call it the ****ING PIECE OF NONDESCRIPT ****? It’s easier to remember:

“Hey, John got that new Ford”
“Which one, the 500, er….Taurus?”
“I don’t know the piece of ****. You know”
“Oh yeah, the Ford ****ING PIECE OF NONDESCRIPT ****. Yeah, I know it. It’s the ****ty one”

They’re exporting it as the 500, presumably because outside the USA the Taurus was always just another POS

Ford made this car fail.

Weak 6 cylinder engine.

Rubber Band- CVT transmission.

Way expensive to buy, even in base model version.

No advertising.

No design, just another committee rubber stamped car shape.

CTS: good humor!

MikeFX: mediocrity is what this segment is all about

Hey Got, a Taurus is a POS here too!! lol.

MAKE THE CORRECTIONS…. THATS ALL.