PORTLAND, OR – The popularity of later-generation Ford Tauruses has created an image problem for the current model, says Amy Marentic, group marketing manager.
According to Ford research, an astonishing 80% of consumers recognize the Taurus name, but many don’t realize a new model is on the road.
“There are over 3 million units of older-body-style Tauruses still in operation,” she tells WardsAuto at a media event here. “So when people think Taurus, that’s what they think of.”
The Taurus has a long history at Ford, full of highs and lows. Introduced in 1985, it was heralded for its groundbreaking design and went on to sell 263,450 units in the U.S. in 1986, according to WardsAuto data.
Subsequent Taurus iterations experienced varying success, peaking from 1992 – its best year with 409,751 deliveries – through 1996 when the nameplate topped the U.S. car-sales charts.
Ten years later, the moniker was dropped from Ford showrooms as the auto maker rejiggered its car lineup to accommodate the midsize Fusion and fullsize Five Hundred, which hit the market with a resounding thud.
When CEO Alan Mulally took the helm in 2006, he insisted on reviving the Taurus nameplate, so the Five Hundred was rebadged accordingly in 2008. The car underwent major styling and powertrain upgrades the following year.
Although the new Taurus arguably is superior to its predecessors, the average consumer still identifies the nameplate with its older iterations – a perception reflected in sales trends.
Through February, Taurus deliveries trailed like-2011 8.7%. In contrast, Large Car sales surged 15.9% ahead of year-ago, over the same timeframe, according to WardsAuto segmentation.
Deliveries of the current-generation Taurus totaled 63,526 in 2011, down 7.7% from prior-year.
But Marentic says Ford has high hopes the refreshed ’13 Taurus, now arriving in showrooms, will change consumer perception. The auto maker plans a marketing campaign to highlight the high-performance Taurus SHO.
That is precisely what the line needs, says Alexander Edwards, president of San Diego-based consultancy Strategic Vision. The firm’s data confirm Marentic’s claim that consumers identify the Taurus name with its earlier iterations. And the disconnect is due to a lack of marketing.
“Communications have not been where they need to be,” Edwards tells WardsAuto. “People don’t realize a lot about Taurus because there were not a lot of advertising dollars spent.”
He says Ford puts most of its marketing muscle behind the F-150 pickup, but with the right campaign the auto maker could position the Taurus as the flagship sedan it is meant to be.
