Taurus X wagon

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_Taurus_X


I've only seen this car...maybe twice, probably the same car both times. The first time I saw it, by the time I got home I couldn't remember what kind of car it was. It passed me this morning so I tried really hard to remember(which can be difficult sometimes) so I could check it out on line when I got home.
I suppose this car is old news for most of you but I don't believe I ever saw it before. I like it alot better then the Flex.

 

It's very similar to the Flex underneath. front-or-all-wheel drive, 3.0 or 3.5 litre V6. Has 3 seats. My wife's Ford Edge is also on the same platform, but is a bit shorter - no 3rd seat.

In the first year or two, this was known as the Ford Freestyle, then they gave it a new grill and called it the Taurus X. No longer sold.

 

Looks like a flattened SUV to me... no offense. Many of the newer cars sometimes passed off as "wagons" don't look right to me and like squashed SUV wannabes. I'll stick with good ole boxes, whales, and yachts thank you. Again no offense intended

 

The platform that Ford used on these vehicles was meant to be used for 'tall' vehicle architecture. In other words, vehicles where the occupants sit more upright rather than reclining a bit. The last 2 Ford Taurus models, as well as the Volvo S80 were also built off the same platform design. If you parked a Ford Taurus along side a Ford Fusion sedan, you would see that the Taurus is quite a bit taller than the Fusion (a 'normal' front wheel drive sedan)

The 'tall sedan' design also lends itself to a good CUV design as well.

I did a comparison some time back between a Taurus X CUV and a '91 Ford Country Squire. They were quite similar in most respects. The Taurus X was taller though. .

 

The Ford Freestyle was introduced in 2005 and offered for three model years. I owned a 2005 model. We kept it for four years and traded it in 2009 when it had 72,000 miles on it. We had no trouble with it and enjoyed it greatly. One of its distinguishing features was a Continuously-Variable Transmission (CVT).

As the lore goes, the Freestyle was seen by Ford as stealing sales from the more expensive, more profitable Explorer, and it was discontinued after the 2007 model year, at least in name. The Taurus X replaced it for 2008 and 2009, and that was it. In addition to perhaps a new grille, the major change with the T-X is that it did not have the CVT, but rather a conventional automatic transmission.


Here's an '05 Freestyle.

 

By the way, the Freestyle and Taurus X were never referred to as station wagons. They were an example of a "new breed" of car called a "crossover." Like the Chrysler Pacifica. It's a car which supposedly combined the features of a wagon (conventional doors instead of a sliding rear door like on a minivan), a minivan (upward opening rear gate, lots of glass), and an SUV (high ground clearance, perhaps four-wheel drive).

 

The Ford Taurus X was a 6- or 7-passenger full-size crossover SUV

 

I'm still living in the 50's. Our daughter drives a Flex.
Just what is a Flex, a Crossover, and an Edge? They all look like SUV's to me.
I can put 87 octain or any other fuel in all of my old vehicles. So I guess they are flex fuel vehicles and I'm on the cutting edge with my Sweet Ugly Vehicles.

 

The Flex (and "Flex" does not mean flex-fuel vehicle) replaced the Ford Freestar minivan, although the Flex is not a minivan. It's considered a "CUV," or Crossover Utility Vehicle. It was first offered in 2009 when the Freestar and Taurus X went out of production.

Ford Flex:





The Ford Edge is also considered a CUV, but it looks more like a conventional mid-size SUV. It was first offered in the 2007 model year.

 

The Flex actually looks like a station wagon and the Edge just another SUV.
So why is a Flex called a Flex? Why are we on the leading edge when driving an Edge?
I like the looks of the Flex.
Why don't soccer mom's like station wagons?
Why wasn't my mom called a soccer mom?
Will there be crazy people joining an SUV forum and writting about how to restore them 30 years from now?

 

Why is anything called anything? Vehicle names are chosen for lots of different reasons.

I'm sure Ford hopes that people will associate the name with the word "flexible," and put in people's minds the idea that it's the kind of vehicle that can serve many purposes.

I'll guess the name "Edge" is supposed to get people to think that the car is on the "edge" or on the "cutting edge" of design or technology or whatever. Or that the vehicle is "edgy," meaning it's at the forefront of technology or styling or whatever.

 

Thanks. I'm sure you are right. There have been thousands of good and bad names for car brands and models over the years. It's important to come up with names that will designate what it is and attract people to it.
At least they didn't call them a Probe, the woman's car.
What we really need is a new Model A, an all new fuel efficiant, easy to work on, and reasonably priced car for the working man.
Mostly I'm just blowing smoke because it's boring here today. We need an update Cougar report or someone's build progress using a paint roller. Better still some car show pictures.

 

as long as we've flopped over to talking about the Flex, how about a pic of the Ford Flex concept vehicle, where it all started. Has one interesting feature that didn't make it to the production model.......

 

Just to ruffle some more feathers, the Flex was called the Fairlane when it was on the show car circuit as a concept car.

 

Looks like someone from Ford goes to street rod shows.