Rare Rides Icons: The Ford Taurus, Modernizing Family Transportation (Part I)

Published:  August 21st, 2026

The early '80s were a difficult time for Detroit's Big Three. The late '70s malaise removed any illusion of superior quality from domestic vehicles, while fuel spikes and emissions regulation meant the mass market family car with a huge V8 was quickly becoming a relic of the past. Manufacturers also found themselves in the unenviable position of being squeezed at both ends of the market.

At the lower end was the ever-growing invasion of Japanese compact cars, which proved themselves more reliable, more efficient, and cheaper to run than domestic small cars. Customer loyalty was a shrinking thing as well: Consumers felt less pressure to “buy American” as the years passed. And they bought cars less frequently than they did in the 1960s and '70s.

The upper end of the market formerly dominated by domestic land barges changed as well, as luxury buyers increasingly preferred European offerings from Mercedes-Benz and BMW. Both companies had beefed up their dealer network and model offerings in the United States by the early '80s, and they weren’t easing the pressure. In 1980, Mercedes sold 53,790 cars in the U.S. By 1985 that figure was 86,903.

Mid-market consumer tastes changed with the times, pushed toward fuel economy and more reasonably sized, practical vehicles. By the mid-Eighties the personal luxury coupe was on steep decline, as was the full-size wagon. Exiting with both of those was much of the desire for rear-drive platforms, as front-drive was heralded as safer, easier motoring that was more economical and more space efficient. Speaking of space efficiency, Chrysler’s hugely successful minivans had arrived and were coming for Ford and GM’s lunch. It was in this environment that Ford launched its new family car.

At the base of its range were the front-drive Escort, the slightly larger Escort-based Tempo and the rear-drive Fairmont. The company had been reliant upon the rear-drive Fox platform for some time to serve underneath coupes, compacts, and midsize cars since the turn of the decade. Ford and Mercury sold near-identical vehicles during the period, and only Lincoln reflected any differentiation. Ford even used the Fox body at Lincoln for the bustleback Continental from 1982 and Continental Mark VII from 1983.

Above the Fairmont on the Fox platform was the LTD, essentially an evolution of the midsize Granada from 1981. LTD was boxy and traditional, and attempted to borrow prestige by using the name of the full-size LTD, which was renamed to LTD Crown Victoria in 1983 as the smaller LTD arrived. With its less than inspired design more suited to taxi and police duties than family hauling, the LTD lasted through 1986 and shared the showroom floor with the Taurus for a single model year.

Ford had been in trouble from both a product and a financial standpoint since the late '70s. The company began to make changes internally circa 1978, when it fired its president Lee Iacocca. In what would become an important moment in history, the frustrated Iacocca took his minivan pitch from 1973, which Ford had rejected, right over to Chrysler as its new CEO. Ford could’ve had the Carousel, instead Dodge made the Caravan.

One of Caldwell’s first charges was a replacement for the LTD as the company’s family car. It would become an enormous and encompassing project, and one that was crucial for Ford’s future, financially speaking. The company knew it needed a long lead time to launch, and the board approved Taurus development in spring 1980 immediately upon Caldwell’s promotion to CEO. Development would span over five years, with the exterior design locked in circa 1983.