@@jtb1990419 "Come on, you guys. Don't fight!" "Oh, for Christ's sake, I didn't do this on purpose!" "Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, and forgive my husband. He knows not what he does." "Amen!"
@@LGilman479 the spiritual successor to the Family Truckster. This one actually worked, however, which is saying something for an old Taurus. It even pulled a tree out of the ground!
Haha I was born in ‘96 so I don’t remember the 90’s hardly at all. But ik cars from the early 2000’s had small or normal size grills. Now? Jesus Christ. Especially Toyota and Lexus
i love retro reviews because I always see a old POS car on the road and wonder what it was like in younger days brand new MINT CONDITION ... thank you john davis and Mhotorweek🗣 🙏🏽😂😂😂😂
Brad C Yes I'm only in my 20s but I remember through history these were very popular and praised for their styling, the futuristic styling let it to a feature in Robocop' film ,, And when I compare this to other cars of the time this was one of the best looking
There really great cars as long as the transmission holds up..roomy comfortable to ride in and decent mileage..I've seen several guys using them as work vehicles folding down the rear seats and filling them with tools,equipment, ect..
My power steering pump on my Ranger gave out too....does it need to be replaced for it to pass inspection?Thank you to anyone who can answer my question.
There were plans for both an SHO wagon and a Mercury version of the SHO! It's a shame that neither car actually was built! I would love to have either one right now!
@@Karmy. They are. I test drove a 1993 Taurus GL Wagon from a used car lot a couple months back and took my then-girlfriend for a ride in it after telling her I'd basically grown up in 2 Taurus Wagons - a rebuilt '87 LX and a '95 GL. While yes, the looks show its age and the leather had some minor cracking, the car had under 170,000 on the clock and was otherwise in excellent condition given that it was 26 years old. It's no faster up to pace than my 2004 Focus Wagon, but still feels smooth and agile for a mid-size station wagon. She was reasonably impressed with the thing despite that it's comparatively ancient to both of our 2004 model-year vehicles. The 1995 Taurus was my favorite in terms of styling in the cabin. And you can tell which car is the 2-door coupe version of the Taurus -- Thunderbird. Looking down the sides of the T-Bird from 91 thru its death in 1997, the fenders and door designs are almost identical - Even the roof lines are very similar given the very different nature of both cars. If the Taurus had the option of that Ford Modular V8, I think we'd have more sleeper wagons on the road today. (I'm pretty biased to the 4.6L thanks to a Thunderbird..)
basshead no emissions duh some early 73 models prob produced in 72 got lucky to not have all that shit chokin their god dammed engines with all that emissions shit being in it’s infancy
I bought a 92 Taurus wagon in 1996. It was an L model. The transmission took a dump a short time after. Fortunately, I got an extended warranty. One of the oxygen sensors also failed, lowering the gas mileage. I did like the stereo. It got totaled in an accident.
Man does this bring back some memories. My sister used to hate car rides so we’d stuff her in the rear facing seat of the Taurus and tune the radio fader to the rear speakers to drown out her crying. Kids now will never know what it’s like to face the cars behind you 😂
They had plans, but scrapped them once they saw that the 1991 station wagons only sold about 4,000 units - probably because the platform hadn't been updated whatsoever in almost two decades.
I remember back in 1992 my Mom was shopping for a sedan to replace our Grand Caravan . We test drove a Taurus, Sable, Accord, Lumina, Corsica , Camry and even an ES300 which was a new model at the time. I wanted the Sable or ES300 and my Dad wanted the Taurus. The Taurus was so hot at the time, the dealers weren't budging on price much especially on the LX trims. Mom picked the Accord LX and it went 230k without any significant problems.
we did practically same thing in 93, my mom ended up getting a 1990 lumina. good price, was a demo model and the 6th one made in production. drove it pretty much problem free till 250k miles in 2003 and transmission went, got it replaced and sold it. did ok for a family of 5, wish we had a taurus wagon instead with the more room.
This car truly was the King of wagons back then. Great design. They were well built. But it had a Transmission flaw... the main reason this car isn't as common on the roads today like a 90s Camrys for example. I road in the back of one of these my whole 4th and 5th grade schools years. My cousins mom had a white Taurus wagon with a red interior😂. I remember how it sounded and how smooth it drove. And just like a Crown Vic everything on this car 'clicks' when u open or close it lol.
My Moms wagon was white also with grey leather interior it was the mercury sable version but same thing...we even towed our 1200lb palamino pop up camper with it.. and yea the transmission was definitely flawed when ours started to slip It was still under warranty and the shop put in some weird device that had a red button and they told us to hit the red button whenever the tranny started to act up..idk exactly what it did if anything but we drove it another month or 2 like that then someone actually bought it off of us it sold quickly after putting an ad in the paper like less then 2 weeks..
We replaced that crappy AOD/EAOD tranny in our 87 and 91 Taurus (Tauri) wagons and 95 Sable wagon. It was like a ticking time bomb: 80k mile and BOOM, new tranny. They stuck that awesome EAOD in our 95 Mustang GT also. Made it about 70k miles before blowing.
This is really making me want one now. I grew up when station wagons and minivans were the go-to vehicles for families. My "family car" then was a 03' Taurus station wagon. Now the family car is a 2000 Excursion, my older sibling drives herself now, and I never ride in that either. 🤦
Michael C. I really wish wagons were popular, the closest revival Toyota had was making the Venza And that went away after a couple of years unfortunately and now Buick is the only one, I wish we could petition auto makers to bring them back I work as a technician and ended up getting a suv, I really wanted a station wagon but I didn't want to Volvo to be my only option
Keye T VW has a few, but they dont even market them. A 4wd station wagon called the Alltrac. But the thing is, most of us dont want all the modern bs new cars come with. A station wagon like this would be great with a v8. And I agree that we absolutely need a new station wagon revival. I wouldnt be caught dead in a crossover.
@@eadadthey were well built, reliable, and quite good in accidents as a friend found out. Just have to be very active in changing ATF every year or two. Takes under an hour at home, not bad job and they last few hundred thousand miles w/ little repairs unlike Chryslers of the day
These were really nice cars for what they were back in the day and very practical family haulers, but man were they unreliable junk. You were lucky to go the first 100k miles without a major mechanical failure like the transmission, fuel pump, power steering pump, airbag sensor failures. I could go on and on. This retro review reminds me how much a love and miss station wagons. I'm so sick of SUVs everywhere.
@Country Boy I never heard of V6 Camrys having transmission problems in the 90s. V6 Accords starting in the late 90s, yes most definitely. As far as I'm aware, V6 Camrys were extremely good cars and lasted a long time. Way way better than Taurus. '92+ Camry wagon was comparable in size to Taurus wagon and the smaller 3.0L V6 put out 188hp, which was 48hp more than Ford's larger 3.8L V6 at 140hp.
We had an 86' and 92' wagons, and boy did they spend alot of time in the dealership for repairs along the 2 out of 3 SHO's that were in our small town.
I had a 1988 GL in high school..I inherited it from my parents....it rusted out....loved that car so much I bought a 1995 GL (last year of the 1st generation) with 150 km's on it 7 years ago....mint condition....3.8 litre, Champagne exterior with tan cloth upholstery...plan on teaching my kids to drive in it !!
I have not seen this generation of Taurus in years. Heck, even the 1990 to 1997 Accord are starting to get somewhat rare recently. Yet, I still see a lot of 1992 to 1996 Camrys.
DSTY - I just saw a second gen Taurus yesterday and had to do a double take. They’re all but extinct. Old Accords would probably still be on the road too, but like many old Hondas they’ve succumbed to either timing belt failures or being riced-out, thrashed on and being sent to an early death.
I am still driving my 1994 wagon because I have yet to find a 8 seater that I can drive that gets me 25 MPG, can drive on the freeway and not get blown away due to its low profile. A very underated vehicle.
In case you, sir, needed to buy a new vehicle, maybe a good idea would be to test drive the 2023 Toyota Sienna LE, as I believe it might satisfy all your needs. It costs $38280, payed cash, if I'm not wrong. And I believe it's the least expensive car of this type, as I believe the KIA Carnival can be considered an off-roader.
I had a 90 something 4x4 Ranger with the vulcan 3.0 that only made more noise when you floored it. Never had much trouble with the engine but it was named The Turd Truck for a reason.
My aunt very briefly owned a Mercury Sable wagon of this generation when I was a kid. She loved it, but her two sons got too tall so she "upgraded" to a Mercury Villager.
I'm a diehard bowtie fan Saw an old Taurus wagon the other day and complimented it! Something about seeing these older cars then vs now and joyed to see em still traveling around today no matter the make!
Mama has a champagne Mercury Sable wagon. Had all the options like a digital dash and the 3.8 V6. Learned how to drive in it when I was 12 years old. Many years of good reliable service until one morning when the head gasket blew and wouldn’t stop smoking. I remember riding home the day we bought it all the way in the back row facing the wrong way talking to mom and thinking how cool it was. Just a lap belt, no headrests for whiplash, and some of the thinnest American steel. It’s amazing how we all made it through the 90’s.
not easy, parts super rare, especially interior, pretty much gone from junkyards, they don't even put them out just right to the crusher if they so happen to get one. 86 only came with 3.0, if you had 3.8 i have quite a bit spare parts.
@@chrism3784 I found an 86 LX wagon for sale I might buy. Very good condition interior and exterior, and low miles. I want to add the digital cluster, electronic climate control, and keyless entry onto it so if what you say is true I might have a hard time doing that.
I love how when they turned the radio on and Roxanne by The Police came on haha. I've always liked these, my second car was a 94 Sedan haha, that was in 2005 and it didn't age well, had a ton of issues but it still got me to school lol.
Hilarious to see that thing go through the slalom. We used to take ours up to the cottage , we got ours used for $800 and it did the 2000km round trip a few times.
As someone who's first car was a 93 Mercury Sable Sedan with the 3.8 V6, this car was a blast. Great speakers, good handling and fun city acceleration. Too bad the AC unit was missing lol
As good as the Taurus was, the Camry and Accord were definitely the ones to beat. The Taurus lost its crown to Camry in 1997, and it was just a sad, slow death from there.
That was it. The big wigs at Ford got too comfortable thinking consumers were stupid. Same for GM, which was crazy since they had a joint venture with Toyota for years and should have been taking notes the whole time on quality control.
@@bradc7882 I'm sure most people commenting know that. I'd rather be in a Taurus than a Camry myself despite everything. I grew up with American iron in the driveway, and the Big 3 put food on my table (and thousands of others), so I would never support Toyota or any Japanese manufacturers due to that. But nobody can deny the Camry's well-earned reputation by comparison.
Much rather have a Buick Roadmaster wagon. Now that was the king of station wagons, was even pretty quick and did mean burnouts if you bought one with the LT1 V8, had a tow rating of 7000lbs, way more than any of these wimpy "crossover" SUV's now days.
I almost bought a 96 Roadmaster Estate as my first car. Sadly, it had sold by time I was able to get it, as did the 97 Bonneville SSEi that I looked at next. I ended up with a 94 Buick Park Avenue Ultra, which I miss dearly!
@Gator Johnso oh, yes they were! Mine was all black and had the Gran Touring Suspension package, yet rode like a cloud and had the best seats I've ever had in a car. The supercharged 3.8 V6 was nice as well!
I have had the Taurus version of the minivan, Ford Windstar GL with the 3.8L V6, from the mid 90's. I have read somewhere that the Windstar was built on the Taurus platform, and has many likenesses because of it.
What a lot of people don't know is that the automatics they equipped the Taurus with were complete garbage and instead of replacing it, they updated it. The updated versions retained the same short lifespan many generations in.
You guys are fucking dumb. They had a few recalls of the AX4n including he torque converter. Other then that the AX4N is a bulletproof transmission. And we love to see them at are transmission shop but we just don’t.
zane sutherland it’s spelled Ford Tauruses, not Taurus’. You cannot pluralize a word with an apostrophe. Just like you would say/spell, “I love these cars,” you would say, “I love these Tauruses.”
I see one every day. I own a '95 GL with 72k original miles. Manual door locks, windows and seats. 3.0 Vulcan. Doesn't leak or burn oil. Just had original transmission serviced. Shifts perfectly. Just replaced return hose on a/c system. It'll freeze you out of the car. The seats are not ripped, torn or stained. The headliner has dry rot. Splits everywhere, but doesn't sag like the GM's did. Interior plastic gets brittle. A few slats broke on an a/c vent and the plastic cover surrounding the base of the driver's seat split, cracked and fell off, exposing the black metal components. No big deal for a car this old, as long as it's still carrying us around.
Ah 1st grade, didn’t have much to worry about, I started learning about cars about that time and my uncle bought one of these used and it was shortly after summer break started and I was able to take a ride in it, to this day I still think it’s a sharp wagon! His was blue on blue, too bad time did it in and I grew up but I might try to get one someday
The 1st and 2nd generation Sables are my favorite cars on the planet. I've owned several over the years. The ownership experience was souring due to constant transmission failures. The last Sable I owned chewed up 3 transmissions in 10 years. They were Ford remanufactured units installed by Ford dealerships. Each time it was a $3,000 repair bill. Ouch. Still my favorite car in the world but I would not own one again...nor would I ever purchase another Ford product. My current Toyota just hit 20 years old and 220K miles and I've never had a major repair.
Also, the power steering pump from the factory started gushing hydraulic fluid. I had it replaced with a non factory pump. It failed as well. Just wouldn't pump the oil to the gearbox. The engine and transmission remained solid as a rock. Bullit prove. But the front drivetrain was always a situation that required a lot of maintenance and repairs. I drove my Ford Taurus until the engine mounts broke. The 3.0 V6 engine fell down and broke the steering gearbox in half. I junked my Taurus after that, and bought a pick up truck 😋
Good looking SW these were popular way back in the day. I used to see these everywhere they were good wagons and sedans doing that time now rare doing time no one cared for SUVs now times has changed never S/W anymore.
Yay! I drive a '92 wagon. Been waiting for the '92 review. The quarter mile certainly isn't much, but this car does pull away really quick from stoplights.
The Taurus wagon was pure 90's Americana. I miss them so much. Not particularly reliable, but they were roomy, comfortable, and very safe for the time.
I had a 93 for almost 2 years. Best car I ever had. Only problem was the rear windows and A/C didn't work, the transmission worked better without fluid and it got 8 MPG on average. I had to get rid of it because the underside rotted out.
Jorge Tamacas not weird at all. You're normal. Station wagons actually served a purpose back then. They could tow a trailer, and haul a whole family around at the same time. Crossovers these days can barely seat 4 people and cant get out of their own way. Once touch screens and tech took over, functionality went right off the cliff, never to be seen again.
You're not alone in your sentiment. I love and miss station wagons. They handle better and are more fuel efficient. Plus I'm nostalgic for that old Americana.
The Ford Taurus is one of many American cars that was not released in the UK or anywhere else in Europe. I would still recognize one anywhere thanks to the movies and television shows. As with the USA, station wagons are increasingly rare in Europe. Everybody seems to want SUVs these days. As good as some of them are, I personally prefer Station Wagons (known as 'Estates' in the UK). I find them to be more practical and economical than SUVs. I currently own a 2000 Ford Focus Mk1 Estate, It offers more than enough storage space and it's economical. And I bought it in 2015 for a bargain price of £600.
14 inch wheels. I love old car videos. I wonder who was the first person to say "Hey, we can go for 18 inch wheels!" and not use metric! Damn you 2.0 litre metric engines!
