[Closed] Name that car!

Dillon, just be thankful that Taurus is not pink and green!

(pic) Zephyrs, but not . . .

Sorry that these are not 43s, but I like them both and hope you will get a moment's pleasure.

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In the rear is an Erie (sometimes called Erie Parker) in chrome finish. Front is a Hubley cast iron. Both are about 5 1/2 inches long. I like the Hubley's lines better. These came out in the dimestores about the time the real ones were on the showroom floor. But neither has the distinctive tail lights!

Another comment on the Taurus.

I may be in the minority but I've always felt the original Taurus with it's oval rear window and 'jelly bean' design was one of the best ever as far as automobile design is concerned. Well, it's no Jag E type but it's still good!

If you're talking about the first generation Taurus

I agree. It's easy to overlook its' impact on the world of car design because they were so common. Taken in context, they were the mainstream beginning of a new wave of aerodynamic design simplicity.

My family had one. It was a nice enough car, but many of the design features...

seemed like a rip off of the Audi 5000.

Now that you mention it, I remember thinking that when if saw my first Taurus. Of course, here in the US, Audi had a bad name at the time because of the way '60 Minutes' pilloried the 5000. That was a shame. It took Audi 20 years to recover...and for no good reason!

Original Taurus in a movie?

My fading memory is trying to recall a movie about the future where the new Taurus of 20 years ago was the standard car. Something about a robot. Does anyone have a better recollection?

That movie was "RoboCop"

Looking back, the Audi "Moonship", isn't so radical. The 2nd gen-early-mid 90'sTaurus was smoother.

Thank you, Frank.

I'm in the even smaller minority who liked the 97-99 Sable and Taurus, particulaly the Sable, which had a sloping hood, headlights, and fender profile that reminded me of the Porsche RSK sports racer. The rear quarter panels and tailights had a stylish, Lincoln Continental appearance. Overlooked by many was the oval dashboard contol pod which had controls so well placed, that you did not have to take your eyes off the road for any of the controls. But, most people thought the look was too oval or radical. That no doubt helped me to get a good price on our 1998 Sable. On the down side, FoMoCo had had problems with the a/c units, before, then, and for some time later, but still kept installing those bow-wow's. After I had the dealer check it out at 5 years and 58,000 miles the a/c unit started to smoke so badly (2 days out of warranty) that I pulled over and grabbed the fire extinguisher. Did not have to use. And yes, my dealer was only of superficial help in trying to get a/c replaced.

I bought a 99 Taurus for my son

I'm not crazy about the styling...too many ovals...but at my age and income level, I buy for long term reliabilty and practical use more than for style these days. The car is roomy and has been reliable for three years now. It has 105,000 miles on it and all we've done is keep the oil fresh and put new tires on it. The car does what it was designed to do, provide comfortable and reliable transportation for 4 or 5 people.