Ford Taurus 2003

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• published: 11 Jan 2016
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The Ford Taurus is an automobile manufactured by Ford in the United States. Now in its sixth generation, it was originally introduced in the 1986 model year, and has remained in near-continuous production for more than two decades. It has had a Mercury-branded twin the Sable (1986–2005; 2008–2009), as well as a performance variant, the Ford Taurus SHO (1989–1999 and 2010–); in addition, it served as the basis for the first-ever front-wheel drive Lincoln Continental (1988–2002). It was a front-wheel drive mid-size car until 2007, and has been a "global" full-size car (built on the Ford D3 platform) since 2008, and available in front- or all-wheel drive since 2008. The original Taurus was a milestone for Ford and the entire American automotive industry, bearing an influential design that brought many new features and innovations to the marketplace.[1] Since its launch in 1986, Ford had built 7,519,919 Tauruses through the 2007 model year,[2] making it the fifth-best-selling North American nameplate in Ford's history; only the F-150,[3] Escort,[4] Model T,[5] and Mustang[5] have sold more units. Between 1992 and 1996, the Taurus was the best-selling car in the United States,[6] eventually losing the title to the Toyota Camry in 1997.[7] The 1986–1995 Taurus was built on the DN-5 platform, and the 1996–1999 Taurus was built on the DN101 platform. The 2000–2007 Tauruses were built on the D186 which was a modified DN 101 platform. In the late 1990s and early 2000s, sales of the Taurus declined as it lost market share to Japanese midsize sedans and as Ford shifted resources towards developing SUVs. It was discontinued in 2006, with production initially ending on October 27, 2006, and 2007 being the last model year.[8] Ford had decided to replace the Taurus with the fullsize Five Hundred and midsize Fusion sedans, as well as replacing the Taurus wagon with the Freestyle crossover SUV. However, Ford revived the Taurus name during the 2007 Chicago Auto Show a few months later by renaming two new models that had been intended to be updated versions of the Five Hundred and the Freestyle, the "2008 Taurus" and "2008 Taurus X", respectively.[9][10] A new model of fullsize Taurus was then released for the 2010 model year, and the 2013 mid-generational refresh (minor model update) was unveiled at the New York Auto Show with minor exterior changes and interior technology options. The 2003 was part of another redesign for 2000, which replaced many of the oval-derived design elements of the previous model with sharper creases and corners, an aspect of Ford's New Edge styling language. To reduce the car's price and keep it competitive, Ford reduced costs on the car in 1999, such as giving the Taurus sedan rear drum brakes on ABS equipped vehicles (previously, upgrading to ABS included the addition of rear disc brakes), eliminating the dual exhaust on the higher end models, and trimming many other small features. Ford designed the fourth generation with much more conservative styling in hopes of increasing the car's appeal. Instead of sloping back, the car's trunk stood upright in a more traditional shape, increasing trunk space by another two cubic feet.[25][26] The roof was also given a more upright stance to increase headroom, which can be evidenced by the thicker C-pillar and larger area between the tops of the doors and the top of the roof. A 2004 SES model. Silver 2004 Ford Taurus SES The interior was also completely redesigned with a more conventional shape, although some features from the previous Taurus generations were carried over. The dashboard was given a squarer design instead of curving around the driver as in the previous generation. The "integrated control panel" concept was carried over but redesigned, with a bigger, squarer shape, and it was placed in the center of the dash instead of being angled toward the driver. The flip-fold center console was also carried over from the previous generation, although it was revamped as well. When folded out, it now rested against the floor instead of the dashboard, and had reworked cup holders and storage areas.[26] In another change from previous versions, the fourth generation offered rear cup holders that either slid or folded out of the front console, depending on which console the car was equipped with. S312