DRIVING : Tracking a Rising Star Called Taurus

The Ford Taurus, notes a new book by Eric Taub, was more than a car. It was a $3-billion risk that scored.

Taurus was conceived in 1980 when Ford was bedeviled by a painful acronym-- Fix or Repair Daily-- and on the verge of bankruptcy. It was introduced in 1985 when no one knew if Americans were ready for front-wheel-drive cars, space shuttle aerodynamics or sports-sedan performance from a family four-door. Yet Taurus went bullish--more than 1 million sold in four years--and Ford stayed alive.

In “Taurus: Making of the Car That Saved Ford,” L.A. author Taub tells of executive suite wars between Henry Ford II and Lee Iacocca, plus the nervousness of introducing a product whose design challenges norms.

In the early ‘80s, writes Taub, America had lost its lead in product design. “Germans were designing sleek automatic coffee makers, Americans were producing bulky units that had no integrity of form. Japanese and Europeans were experimenting with pastels and fluorescent colors . . . Americans used plastic wood applique on televisions and produced avocado-green refrigerators.”

Change was resisted by those involved with Big Three automobile design. Taub spoke with car designer Doug Wilson, who recalls that while working on a new Chrysler, a BMW 325i was brought in for comparisons:

“The head of Chrysler design came over, looked at the BMW and asked: ‘What’s that car?’ The director of Chrysler design actually didn’t know what a BMW was.”