Ford Motor Co. said it will no longer invest in traditional sedans for its namesake brand, spelling the eventual demise of models including a long-ago best-seller, the Taurus.
“Given declining consumer demand and product profitability, the company will not invest in next generations of traditional Ford sedans for North America,” the automaker said in a statement announcing its first-quarter earnings. “Over the next few years, the Ford car portfolio in North America will transition to two vehicles — the best-selling Mustang and the all-new Focus Active crossover coming out next year.”
Can't Keep Up
Ford's car models lag behind the brand's trucks, top two SUVs
Source: Autodata Corp.
*Models Ford is dropping from its North American lineup. The company also will replace the Focus compact with a crossover model.
The statement put the Fusion family car, Fiesta subcompact, Taurus sedan and C-Max hybrid on death watch in Ford’s biggest and most profitable market. Ford conspicuously left out any information about the fate of the Lincoln luxury brand’s MKZ and Continental, which are mechanically similar to the Fusion and Taurus.
In the 1990s, the Taurus was America’s best-selling car for five straight years. The Taurus name went away when Ford named its mid-size car the Fusion, but came back under former Chief Executive Officer Alan Mulally, who invested heavily in car models when gasoline was more expensive.
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