It’s been an automotive tradition for the last several years now that every new model incrementally increases in size over the outgoing model. However, that trend could be reversed in the coming years at Ford and General Motors as the Michigan automakers look to adopt a global lineup.
Ford’s recently launched Taurus stands as the marque’s largest sedan offering, but the next-generation Taurus will likely move down in size. Although it will still be larger than the mid-size Focus, the next Taurus will shrink a bit as it moves to Ford’s next-generation global C/D platform, according to The Detroit News.
In a bid to streamline costs, Ford will replace three of its current platforms with the next-generation European-derived C/D architecture. The new platform will be flexible enough to underpin mid-size vehicles as well as larger vehicles, such as the Taurus.
In North America, the C/D architecture will underpin most of Ford’s mid to full size offerings, such as the Ford Focus, Flex, Taurus and Edge. Future versions of the Ford Explorer could also ride on the new architecture as the all-new Explorer – due out next year – will share its D3 platform with the current Taurus.
Similar discussions are also reportedly underway at General Motors. GM is mulling moving the next-generation Chevrolet Impala to the company’s Epsilon II platform – the same that will underpin the next iteration of the Chevrolet Malibu .
However, it will still be several years before smaller offerings from either automaker roll into dealer showrooms. The next Taurus won’t debut until 2013 – at the earliest – and GM’s financial woes could delay the launches of several new vehicles.
