When Alan Mulally took over as CEO of Ford, one of the first things he did was rename the Five Hundred full-size sedan Taurus to take advantage of the nameplate's strong mindshare. The second thing he did was order a complete redesign of the car.

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Mulally promised the 2010 Taurus would be "the one we should have made originally." At the 2009 North American International Auto Show in Detroit, the automaker finally took the wraps off the new model.

Ford has repositioned the Taurus as more of a personal luxury sedan, the likes of which have not been seen wearing a Ford badge in many, many years. Ford has decided to combine elements of its "Bold American" and European "Kinetic" design language for the 2010 model.

The new Taurus is powered by the automaker's 3.5-liter V6 Duratec engine, mated to one of two available six-speed automatic transmissions, including SelectShift with shift paddle shifters mounted on the steering wheel. As was the case with the previous model, all-wheel-drive is optional.

The V6 motor delivers an estimated 263 horsepower and 249 foot-pounds of torque. It earns a ULEV-II emissions certification and comes paired with a choice of two new six-speed automatic transmissions. The regular car is offered in SE and SEL trim levels. Ford also launched performance-oriented SHO EcoBoost model.

Critically, the new 2010 Taurus starts at $25,995 -- the same price as the prior model. The uplevel SEL starts at $27,995 and the top-end Limited sets buyers back $31,995.

"Lightning can strike twice," said Peter Horbury, Ford's North American design director. "Like the 1986 original, the new 2010 Taurus differentiates by combining style with substance."

Taurus features a long list of high-tech features, including: Adaptive Cruise Control with Collision Warning, Intelligent Access with Push Button Start, MyKey parental programmability, Blind Spot Information System (BLIS) with Cross Traffic Alert, Rain-Sensing Wipers, EasyFuel capless refueling, Ford SYNC and Voice-Activated Navigation with SIRIUS Travel Link.

Ford will not offer a Mercury Sable version of the Taurus for the first time since 1986 (not including the brief period when it was renamed Montego to go along with the Five Hundred).