Spy photos: 2010 Ford Taurus Interior

That interior looks awfully upmarket...it looks nice (much to Ford's credit), but it seems to suggest that they want the Taurus to go upmarket a smidge to compete more squarely with the Maxima, Avalon, CC, Genesis, and 300. All of those cars top out at roughly $40,000. I'm not confident that the Taurus badge has the wherewithall to live at the $40k mark, even if the car itself DOES justify a $40k price.

roar02ram

I totaly agree. I have been impresses by some of fords newer cars, but i still think the image is lacking. and having said that, i still would not buy a Taurus over a CC or Genisis.

Still a horrible steering wheel with way too many buttons, just as on every other Ford product in the past few years.

I see by the backgrounds that have been removed that Mr. Paulina of KGP is trespassing on our facility property again. I hear our legal department has some interesting new ideas about that...

Too many buttons? Its got eight (maybe 6 with 2 2-way rockers)... a bit on the high side, but when you consider its potential competitors, its on par. A 2009 Maxima has up to 4 buttons and 4 2-way rocker buttons, a 2009 Avalon has 8 buttons with 2 2-ways, a 2009 Genesis sedan has 6 buttons with 2 4-ways... I think you get my point. This pictured steering wheel has the least clutter of any of those mentioned...

It sure is tough to be a US automaker these days. On one front, they're taking fire for having too many "brands", and on another, people are saying they'll never pay an upmarket price for the mass market name, whether it's Ford, Chevrolet, or Dodge. Yet Honda created Acura, Toyota created Lexus, and Nissan created Infiniti for that very reason.

So Ford is expected to kill Mercury, armchair quarterbacks are stating that GM needs to get rid of Pontiac and Buick, etc. Interesting, isn't it?

"i still would not buy a Taurus over a CC or Genisis."

But a lot of people still aren't ready to pay 40 pr even 35 for a Hyundai, and VW is out of their mind charging that king of price for a Passat with different clothes. The German premium...heh.

cwc1 - would you buy a $40k Accord? How about a $40k Camry? Fact is that the Taurus used to occupy the position that the Fusion now holds (against the Camry & Accord). The CC, the Avalon, the Maxima, and the 300 have all migrated up to $40k over time. A 1-generation climb to $40k (which is what appears to be happening here) doesn't sound like a good idea. You could say that this car is better off a Lincoln...but then again, it IS a Lincoln (MKS).

Albook- good point. This class as a whole is either a) a screaming bargain compared to comparable luxury nameplates or b) a rip-off because of the piece of tin on the nose.

I agree about the Fusion now holding the midsize segment slot for Ford, and that the Taurus is now up a size (and luxury) notch, or will be, if these shots hold true clear through to the dealer lot. And I for one think folks might be a bit foolish not to at least consider it against the other competition at that price range.

Besides, having the larger car selling for roughly the same price range (ie. Taurus vs. Fusion) is counterproductive. Pretty much what has been happening with the current Chevy Malibu and Chevy Impalas- despite the Malibu being a nicer overall vehicle, you just get MORE car for the same or less money with the Impala, and the sales numbers reflect that fact. The Impala needs to move a notch upscale (and price) too, to be better differentiated from it's smaller sibling.

Are the current designers of cars all coming from the same school of "don't let anyone see out of the car" school? Glass is getting narrower, pillars thicker and more ridiculously angled, and huge front bucket seats all but eliminate the over-the-shoulder glance. And these designers have apparently NEVER tried to clean the inside of the windshield or rear window... spraying glass cleaner is an exercise in futility (gravity takes over and it drips straight down to whatever is below it).

It also appears that Ford's Panther platform (Crown Vic, Grand Marq, Town Car) may be the last one with a trunk opening that actually allows access for anything larger than a duffel bag. The current Taurus/Sable/MKS brags a 20 cubic foot trunk, but as the Car and Driver test noted, it's physically impossible to get a large cooler into the MKS trunk because the opening won't allow it.

This is part of what has driven people to SUVs, crossovers, and other small trucks - and the rear pillars on those are getting dangerously wide too.