I'm generally a positive guy, but I struggle when it comes to Fords in general and the Taurus in particular. We bought a new '89 Taurus wagon to bring our first daughter home from the hospital (as a new mom, the Lady declined to ride home in the rusted remains of our '73 Challenger, a wise woman). While nice at first, over the next 7 years and 70,000 miles the Taurus defined the very concept of "planned obsolescence". Virtually every major secondary system failed - suspension, brakes, fuel, ignition, charging, A/C, heater core, power steering, cooling. We actually scored a hat trick one day when backing out the driveway we lost a power steering hose, the radiator, and the ignition switch all at once. Many view the '72 Maverick as the low point in Ford corporate history, but I view the Taurus as the true nadir - the kind of vehicle that makes vintage British roadsters look like bastions of reliability in comparison.
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