Last US Taurus Rolls off the Line

Over 8 Million Ford Taurus cars have been built over the years as U.S. Taurus production came to a close yesterday in Chicago.   The Taurus was first introduced at the 1985 Los Angeles Auto Show. The original Taurus changed the design landscape for family cars in the U.S. from a traditional boxy shape to a very rounded aerodynamic one. Offered in sedan and wagon variants, the popular model became the best selling car in America by 1992.  In 1989, the SHO was introduced, a 220 horsepower V6 engine provided by Yamaha.  There was a two-year pause from 2006 to 2008 when the model was called the Ford Five Hundred. 

While the Taurus is ending in the U.S. an unrelated Taurus continues production in China.  The Chinese Taurus was introduced in 2016 and is based on an extended Ford Fusion platform. 

Though production of the Taurus has ended in Chicago, Ford is investing $1 billion to expand their Chicago Assembly Plant and Chicago Stamping plant to get ready for the 2020 Ford Explorer , Ford Police Interceptor, and Lincoln Aviator.  Ford is replacing or updating 75% of its U.S. lineup by the end of 2020.