What would you like to see for the next Ford Taurus?

[jayskycj]

I drift off in thought on occasion on Ford's plans for the next Taurus model, particularly the SHO of course.  I suppose the first question is when the next model will show up.  I'm guessing 2016, with it going on sale in 2015.  Even that is a stretch because they just refreshed the lineup.  I feel they need to make the car smaller, sit lower and as the trend indicates, hopefully 500 pounds lighter.  Rumor has it the new Mustang will be 400 pounds lighter due to aluminum use and smaller foot print.  400 HP would be nice, with real brakes this time (please!).  What do you guys want to see?

[DJE624]

It's hard to say since I love my '12 so much.  But, yes!  Weight loss and stock power gains are always a good thing. 

[dalum]

That EVOS concept turned into the Fusion, no?  My wish list is more of annoyance fixes and little tweaks.

No blindingly reflective mirror finished easy to scratch plastic on the dash.
A huge amount of user customization of the sync and myfordtouch system.  I'm never going to listen to am, let me hide it.
Sync and myfordtouch being lightning fast and smooth as butter.  There's no reason to cheap out on hardware.
Seats that sit lower.
More foot room depth in front seats (friggen wheel wells).
AC seats that cool the back better.
Real non-touch buttons for often used functions.
Better interior and trunk lighting.  Enough with the ancient glowing wire bulbs!
Lower seats in the back so I can actually see out the back window with my child seats installed.
Premium stereo thats actually premium.

[bpd1151]

2015 Model Year IS (or will be) the complete redesign of the Taurus / SHO.

It will no longer be built at the Chicago Assembly Plant (CAP) but is moving to the Flat Rock Assembly Plant (FRAP) located in MI.

Lots of changes on tap, and from the lil bits & pieces I heard, oughta be pretty sweet.

Not sure if you'll see 400bhp from the factory though, as the National Insurance Institute outright told FMC that they wouldn't be able to sell the Taurus labeled as a "family sedan" with any HP rating at, or above that mark.

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[crashnburn]

I'm with you on dumping the piano black finish on the myford touch panel, as well as, the shiny finish on the cup holder covers. My 2013 has 36k miles and I have been as careful as possible and mine still gets tiny scratches or micro marring from normal use. I would love to see a gain in the stock horsepower too. I'm sure it will happen, look at how the mustang S/C motors have progressed from the 03 to present. They have almost doubled their HP from 390 to 662. I know they have upped the displacement, but even the N/A motors have come a long way from 260 to the current 420. Honestly, with the heads on the ecoboost coupled with the turbos that they could put on it, I would bank of seeing some increase over the next few years. Maybe Ford will find a way around the insurance problems to help us out. I would also like to see some upgrades to the AWD drivetrain so that more torque goes to the rear wheels.

[Scott13SHO]

Well I can tell you this much, expect it to be based on the Fusion platform, with it being longer and slightly wider. The Attribute mule is already running around as seen here (its a mash up of the MKZ and Fusion for the upcoming MKS, the Lincoln version of the Taurus)



The new Fusion platform should take care of the interior issues with the current car and the next gen Taurus should loose a decent amount of weight because of this.

As for power increases...well I wouldn't be so sure about that. Going forward manufactures are going to have to meet a fleet avg of 34 MPG in 2016 and 54 MPG by 2025. All the rumors about the next gen Mustang have me believing that we won't see a firebreathing GT500 any more, but a NA 5L in a lighter package in the form of the GT350 that is a better all around performer then the GT500 was.

I'm assuming we'll see a Fusion ST with the new 2.3L Ecoboost I4 from the Mustang in it (with about 300HP or so), so we might not even see a SHO next go around...Ford is going to have to figure out where it wants to go with both cars and how to keep them separated.

[pejohnson]

Could not agree more on the item below in bold text.  Also I would add a light under the hood, lower the rear end and shave a few pounds if possible.  Otherwise love the car.

That EVOS concept turned into the Fusion, no?  My wish list is more of annoyance fixes and little tweaks.

No blindingly reflective mirror finished easy to scratch plastic on the dash.
A huge amount of user customization of the sync and myfordtouch system.  I'm never going to listen to am, let me hide it.
Sync and myfordtouch being lightning fast and smooth as butter.  There's no reason to cheap out on hardware.
Seats that sit lower.
More foot room depth in front seats (friggen wheel wells).
AC seats that cool the back better.
Real non-touch buttons for often used functions.
Better interior and trunk lighting.  Enough with the ancient glowing wire bulbs!
Lower seats in the back so I can actually see out the back window with my child seats installed.
Premium stereo thats actually premium.

[Shonuff1140]

A hand operated emergency brake, with Brembo's (front AND rear) as an option, just like Mustang has offered theirs as an option in the past.

Real aluminum or titanium paddle shifters instead of tugging on plastic fantastic.

[vernonator]

I would like to see handling improvements and the ability to change "modes" on the fly - sport, track, etc. If Ford wanted to they could make the new SHO serious competition for the BMW 5 series, its so close they just need to nudge it over the top.

[Kolk1]

Factory output comparable to Livernois Stage 4 stock, and 1000lb diet. LOL

The lighter you are, the better everything gets, acceleration, braking, and handling.

[elund126]

Manual transmission!!!

[Needmoreboost]

Small displacement longitudinal V8 (4.0-4.2L) DOHC direct injected twin turbo.  So you can put an exhaust on it and it sounds mean instead of the horrible (IMO) V6 blatty/farty.  Beefed up AWD and 300-400 pound weight reduction.  Automatic with multiple stage launch control.  Sign me up.   

Maybe I should just go buy the Audi S6?  They run 12.10's stock and 11.70's with tune.  That's the ticket...

[vernonator]

Small displacement longitudinal V8 (4.0-4.2L) DOHC direct injected twin turbo.  So you can put an exhaust on it and it sounds mean instead of the horrible (IMO) V6 blatty/farty.  Beefed up AWD and 300-400 pound weight reduction.  Automatic with multiple stage launch control.  Sign me up.   

Maybe I should just go buy the Audi S6?  They run 12.10's stock and 11.70's with tune.  That's the ticket...

I don't think it needs a new engine - the v6 Eco still has ALOT more to give us, however I agree with the beefy AWD, a diet and some higher end features (launch control, traction modes (sport, ice, track, etc)...with just a bit more effort the SHO could truly be a BMW 5 series alternative....come on Ford DO IT!!!!!!!!!!!!

[jdeprato]

They won't do any of those things, because at the end of the day they don't really care what we have to say. They just put to market whatever the bean counters tell them is okay. If they can make a stronger high pressure fuel pump and give us programming control of the AWD, not modes, but the ability to program it, that would be the hugest upgrades that would help almost everything with this car move forward. It would be a beast then.

[Scott13SHO]

Maybe I should just go buy the Audi S6?  They run 12.10's stock and 11.70's with tune.  That's the ticket...

Hmmm 72K vs 39K....