Ford will end production of its popular Taurus sedan next week, after 21 years of sales and nearly 7 million units sold, reports the Associated Press. The once best-seller has faced a somewhat slow death as the automaker abandoned development of the car in favor of SUVs in the mid-1990s.
Although dated by today’s standards, the original Taurus was actually quite controversial and futuristic. “When that thing came out, it was a big deal,” said Robert Thompson, professor of popular culture at Syracuse University. “It so much became kind of the template of what a modern car was going to look like.”
Despite some critics calling it a “jellybean” or a “flying potato,” the Taurus made its debut in 1985 and went on to save Ford from financial turmoil. “We were in terrible condition financially,” recalled Jack Telnack, chief designer on the original Taurus. “He said ‘Look, we need something really different, really new, that will kind of set the pace out there.’”
