The Grim Reaper has come a call’n for vehicles riding on Ford ’s D3 platform, with word coming down that a second model riding on Ford’s large vehicle platform will be killed early in 2009. The Blue Oval has already announced that it will discontinue the Taurus X next March and the Mercury Sable with face the same fate in April.
Ford spokesman Mark Schirmer revealed to Automotive News that the last Sable would roll off the assembly line in April 2009. “Basically, it’s the last call at the bar,” he said.
The Sable – which was sold under the Montego nameplate from 2004-2007 – is produced alongside the Taurus X at Ford ’s Chicago assembly plant. Like the Taurus X, the Sable’s demise has been rumored for some time now, with sales down more than 20 percent this year.
The slack of the Sable will be picked up by the all-new 2010 Ford Taurus , which will likely make its debut at next month’s Detroit Auto Show. The Taurus and Sable have been sister cars since both models were launched in 1986.
