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When it was initially introduced for the 1986 model year, the Taurus did what no other domestic car has been able to do before or since – stem the tide of sales of the Honda Accord and Toyota Camry, two imports that ruled the family sedan roost. That first iteration, characterized by soft lines atypical of the products coming out of Detroit, ran its course and, upon its first freshening, became festooned with oval shapes. Shoppers were not impressed, and the Taurus fell out of favor. For 2000, Ford went the conservative route and brought Taurus design back into the mainstream, but by then the party was over and the once-lauded midsize sedan was relegated in increasing numbers to the realm of rental cars. Therefore, it wouldn’t have been surprising if 2003’s Winston Cup Champion, Matt Kenseth, and his Ford Taurus were sponsored by Hertz or Enterprise-Rent-A-Car. Instead, the hood bore the name DeWalt, proud manufacturer of tools and accessories. Kurt Busch followed with his own Sharpie-sponsored Taurus to win NASCAR’s first Nextel Cup championship in 2004.
Everyday drivers were stuck with a four-door, front-wheel-drive Taurus with either 155 horsepower and 186 lb.-ft. of torque, or 200 horsepower backed up by 200 lb.-ft. of torque, figures that were identical for the 2004 model year. Prices for the 155-horsepower Taurus LX started at about $19,000, but that was before steep rebates and incentives. Of course, there was the option of getting a prior rental especially cheap, though it could’ve lived its young life as the whipping horse for numerous Kurt Busch wannabes. The all-new Ford Fusion replaced the Taurus on the Nextel circuit in 2006.
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