CHICAGO: 2008 Mercury Sable

[Flybrian]

2008 Mercury Sable

See the 2008 Ford Taurus
See the 2008 Ford Taurus X

MERCURY SABLE RETURNS TO SHOWROOMS WITH MORE POWER, STYLE AND SOPHISTICATION

• Unique designs features inside and out set the 2008 Mercury Sable apart in the marketplace.
• Modern, refined interior features include unique trim options and two-tone seating surfaces with contrast stitching.
• Available convenience and entertainment features include DVD navigation, SIRIUS® satellite radio and Ford Sync™.
• New Sable has 30 percent more power than the outgoing Montego thanks to standard Duratec 35 V-6 and six-speed automatic transmission
• Standard electronic stability control and available all-wheel drive provide confident ride and handling in all weather conditions.
• New 2008 Mercury Sable to reach showrooms this summer.

CHICAGO, Feb. 7, 2007 - Unveiled today at the 2007 Chicago Auto Show, the new 2008 Mercury Sable offers customers a sophisticated new look inside and out, a significantly quieter cabin, a more plush ride and a more powerful 3.5-liter V-6.

“Mercury products are aimed at winning over new customers who value distinct touches, and this new Sable is sure to impress with a more refined interior design and jewel-like details throughout,” says Cisco Codina, Ford’s group vice president of North America Marketing, Sales and Service.

“Mercury has a great deal of momentum right now, with a fresh lineup including the redesigned Mariner small SUV and popular Milan sedan. The new Sable will help continue this momentum,” Codina adds.

Sophisticated style brings the exterior to life

Sable’s modern, distinctive look builds on the clean, modern design themes first introduced on the Mercury Mountaineer and that were further refined on the Milan and new Mariner.

“Mercury customers tend to have a more unique sense of style,” says Moray Callum, director, Ford Car Design. “They have come to expect a different level of sophistication and refinement in the surface development, paint finishes and details like satin aluminum.”

Sable’s clean, integrated front-end design centers on Mercury’s signature satin aluminum waterfall grille flanked by exquisitely detailed, jeweled projector beam headlamps that sweep up over the front fenders. Additional visual highlights at the front of vehicle include new chrome surrounds for the fog lamps and bright, satin aluminum caps on the side mirrors.

Sable’s distinctive LED taillamps feature a predominantly white lens with red accent stripes. The new rear fascia has a cutout for the chrome-tips on the dual exhaust system, a visual cue that suggests more power under the hood. A chrome strip on the bottom edge of the deck lid provides a finishing touch.

Cool and expressive accents sharpen the interior

Complementing the clean exterior, a core attribute of Mercury design is a modern, airy interior. With Sable, this design direction comes to life in two-tone interior trim with unique accents. Customers preferring a more technical appearance, for example, can opt for Cyber Carbon, a deep, high-gloss accent that resembles carbon fiber. Alternatively, two modern wood grain accents – Guitar Maple or San Macassar – are available.

Standard cloth seats wear an updated and modern graphic design while the Premier Series offers supple two-tone leather seats detailed with contrast stitching and featuring a new, more modern, perforated pattern. The rectangular shapes of the perforations are placed farther apart for a more progressive, contemporary look. The same pattern is repeated on the door panels.

Customers attracted to clean, contemporary Mercury design are also very sophisticated in their technology needs. The 2008 Sable offers the right connection for driver and passenger alike.

In addition to a standard auxiliary audio input jack, available convenience features include a voice-activated navigation system, a DVD entertainment system and factory-installed SIRIUS® satellite radio and Ford Sync™, a voice-activated hands-free in-car communications and entertainment system which fully-integrates mobile phones and digital media players.

A comfortable, quiet driving experience

A completely revised sound package gives the new Sable interior quietness that rivals many luxury cars. Technologies like expandable foam pellets in the A-Pillars and improved sound-deadening material in the doors, headliner and pillars help reduce interior noise levels

Sable’s quiet and confident ride is delivered in part by a revised MacPherson-strut front suspension with 10 percent more travel, new dampers and spring rates, and a retuned independent coil-over rear suspension. A new power steering system uses an intelligent electric pump to provide extra steering assist for such tasks as parking, and dials down the assist when it’s not needed, for example, when cruising on the freeway.

Sable features an award-winner, 3.5-liter V-6 engine and a sharp, six-speed transmission. The Duratec 35 engine makes an estimated 260 horsepower, a nearly 30 percent increase over the outgoing Duratec 30, and 245 pound-feet of torque.

The available all-wheel-drive system – similar to the system used on the new Mercury Mariner – features an electronically-controlled center coupling that can distribute exact amounts of torque from front to rear, up to 100 percent to either axle.

The 2008 Mercury Sable’s real-world fuel economy, even with the additional power and performance, is expected to be similar to the outgoing Montego model – thanks mainly to advancements in powertrain technology.

A clever, safe choice

The new Sable is expected to be a segment leader in safety, capable of achieving five stars in all four categories for the U.S. government’s crash tests.

AdvanceTrac® electronic stability control system is standard on all Sable models. Additional standard safety features includes dual-stage driver and passenger front air bags, seat-deployed side air bags for driver and front passenger, and Ford’s Safety Canopy™ side curtain air bags for both rows of seats. A new steering wheel design recesses the airbag 15 millimeters farther away from the driver, for an added measure of safety.

[FAPTurbo]

I have found the cure for insomnia.

[VenSeattle]

Truthfully, this isn't a bad car. It's just dull: 260hp, AWD, stability control, two-tone leather, etc all make this a very competent & competitive vehicle in its class. People who are content with its styling will be very pleased.

I need to see the interior 'improvements' and a different exterior color to say if I like the Sable's styling better than the Montego.

[ocnblu]

Where's the Sable wagon?

[Sixty8panther]

Wow so theny killed the Taurus & Sable off... cancelled production, all done BUH-BYE.

.... only to "resurect" them via rebadge about 21 days later? W T F ? !

This rebadge is liek a REALLY LAME card trick, the kind where you ask your

audience to turn around for 30 sec., like Jesus in South Park.

[!!!TED!!!]

MERCURY SABLE RETURNS TO SHOWROOMS

But mommy, wheres the Montego? This looks sorta like it? Mommy whats happening!?

[frogger]

Duller than dull

[Viperfan07]

Wait...so they just threw out the 500/Montego names?

[aaaantoine]

Yeah... Pretty much.

[Sixty8panther]

The headlights were tweeked too....

[Robert Hall]

Wow so theny killed the Taurus & Sable off... cancelled production, all done BUH-BYE.

.... only to "resurect" them via rebadge about 21 days later? W T F ? !

This rebadge is liek a REALLY LAME card trick, the kind where you ask your

audience to turn around for 30 sec., like Jesus in South Park.

The whole thing smells of despiration.. which Ford is these days. Bold Moves? Desperate Moves...

[sciguy_0504]

The greenhouse throws everything off. The wheels are over-the-top as well and the color doesn't suit the vehicle.

[Intrepidation]

The colro isn't good for the car as sciguy said. The rest is ok. The front end is a big improvement I think. Montego never rolled off the tongue well...it'll hardly be missed since no one bought it. Sable is better...they should have named it that from the beginning.

[LastMercury]

I don't like this color, but the SABLE looks much better than the new Taurus

[regfootball]

they moved the license plate to the bumper on the sable! just caught that. no fender vent in front though. arg.

a black or dark gray sable with the black perf leather, the ford sync, AWD, advance trac, good mpg, greatly reduced cabin noise, 5 star safety, command seating, dvd, this could be good.

I don't like the wheels. ARG.

we all don't have to drive the pathetic camrys.

Edited March 24, 2007 by regfootball

[Robert Hall]

Not bad...looks better than GM's appliances in this market segment (the Ws), and it has a 6-spd auto.

Edited March 24, 2007 by moltar

[regfootball]

the Milan's interior looks great in black with the aluminum accents. now, the plastic graining will still likely suck, but i like the faux metal accents. i really am not a woodgrain fan, and i do like the perforation pattern.

If you told me today the G8 would ever be available with AWD I would hold out for that but honestly I am not holding my breath. As much as I want a sporty ride, the changes that have been made to this car make it able to at least compete. Standard advance trac and safety canopy. And the Ford Sync, assuming it works, is huge. No more fumbling with trying to figure out devices.

[Oracle of Delphi]

Boring to the point of looking like the G8!!!!!

[loki]

interior shots do look pretty nice......eh

[regfootball]

interior shots do look pretty nice......eh

I would like to swap out the plood with metal.

[CMG]

I would like to swap out the plood with metal.

I think wicker would be a better material to contrast with all that cheap PLASTIC...?

Maybe a wicker center console, with some burlap trim?

[Robert Hall]

I think wicker would be a better material to contrast with all that cheap PLASTIC...?

Maybe a wicker center console, with some burlap trim?

How about corian?