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My question is do the rebates apply to factory ordered cars since an arguement can be made that the car was not taken from dealer inventory as most rebates stipulate.
I ordered my Limited March 10th and my dealer didn't mention anything about the fact that it might come in as a 2011.
Lesson 1 would be to drive a car before you buy it. How the headrests would be surprise to you after purchase is puzzling but I assume you must not have sat in the car prior to purchase.
Lesson 2 would be not to drive on the highway in light traffic in 4th or 5th gear instead of 6th. I suppose you might only get 18 MPG on the highway in 6th if the highway is going up a steep hill or if you are driving over 100 MPH. Those are about the only situations in which you would get 18 MPG with a Taurus on a highway with light traffic.
As for the mileage, you are either not driving in 6th gear, or you are calculating the mileage incorrectly, or there is something that needs adjustment on your car. Maybe you are going 95 on the highway??? :P But I agree with the previous poster...if you cannot adjust to it, sell it and get something else. Someone will be happy to buy yours at a discount from new.
You might want to try reclining the seatback a bit. While the head restraints only go up and down, you might find them less obtrusive with the seat reclined a bit. The first time I experienced this design was in a rental Flex. For about 1/2 hour I hated them. As I got more used to them, I found them extremely comfortable and secure feeling.
We have a 2008 Taurus with the older generation head restraints and a 2010 MKS with the new design. My wife and I both strongly prefer the new design. As Gregg mentioned, I sometimes rest my head against the restraint while driving and find it quite comfortable.
As for mileage, both our FWD Taurus and AWD MKS easily meet or exceed the EPA ratings - particularly on the highway. My commute is a combination of country roads, freeways and city. The Taurus averages around 23-24 under those conditions and the MKS is around 22. Pure highway cruising with the Taurus is in the high 20s or even 30 and the MKS is in the mid 20s, depending on wind, traffic and speed. I see no reason why your Taurus mileage wouldn't be in that ballpark.
The headrests are the result of a new whiplash protection requirement and all new vehicles have similar ones although Ford's seem to be more aggressive (and safer). You have to recline the seats and adjust them up a bit and they're not so bad.
So always reset the computer prior to measuring mpg.
If you raise the head restraint, there is more clearance between them and your head. Since they slope forward at the top, people who are uncomfortable might want to raise them up so the top of the restaint is above your head.
I still prefer them as low as they go with my head just brushing the restraint but, clearly, others may differ.
The one in the Edge bothered me at first, especially on long trips. But I just drove almost 4 hours from Pigeon Forge, TN back to Atlanta with no problems.
media.ford.com/images/10031/May10sales.pdf
Hope this helps!
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As others have mentioned, the 2010 Taurus is intentionally firmer than the 2008s and 2009s - also a bit firmer than the LaCross or Avalon. Having said that, the Goodyear RS-As have always seemed like an odd choice to me. They are a bit harsher and noisier than I would like on a car of this type.
THANK YOU FORD!
As for the overhangs, etc. I think that's the limitations of the D3 platform. Should be fixed for good with the next gen D4. Some suggest the CD3 platform will be stretched to replace the D3.
The 2008 and 2009 "500" looking Taurus' were homely as h*ll, and most will agree on that. However, they had more room inside, were lighter and quicker than the 2010, and they had a more compliant ride. Yes, the 2010 looks better and has better interior materials but I do not like what was lost with the 2010.
As for looks, I can't quite come to grips with the crease in the rear fender, the busy "C" pillar, and the blocky rear end. Frankly, I think the Chrysler 300 does "blocky" a lot better with more cohesion and, of course, a better length to wheelbase ratio. The Buick LaCrosse has some fussy details, too, like the stupid chrome blips on the hood and the sweepy line down the side but overall I find the looks of the Buick far more compelling than the Taurus.
Regarding smoothness and quietness: While the Taurus is a bit firmer than some, I think it is at or near the top of its price class in terms of a quiet ride - particularly an SEL with the 18" tires. The fleet queens Impala, 300 and Charger do not come close in the NVH department.
It will be interesting to see what the new platform brings.
We bought a 2008 SEL new for around $19,000 just for my wife's work car/grocery getter. I was amazed that I enjoyed driving it more than the Lincoln LS that I had at the time. Even though outdated in appearance, it rides, drives and performs better than current Impalas, Chargers, etc. If we need to go somewhere with 3 other people, we leave the new MKS at home and take her Taurus due to the huge back seat and trunk.
If we were to replace it today, we would look really hard at a Fusion, though.
I think the 2010s handle quite a bit better. I have had a couple of them as rentals and they are tighter handling and the seating position seems lower. The '08s and '09s are nice interstate cruisers, though. Also the soft suspension on the olders ones does a nice job of soaking potholes and broken pavement.
http://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/comparisons/10q2/buick_lacrosse_vs._ford_tau- - - rus_hyundai_genesis_lexus_es350-comparison_tests
The Taurus Limited does fall in a similar price range to the Lacrosse CXS, the ES350 and the Genesis. Thus, sometimes they will be cross-shopped. Although the magazine did have some nice things to say about the Taurus, the analysis started off by saying:
In this group, the Taurus is the longest car by far, the tallest by far, the widest by far, with the greatest front and rear tracks and the greatest weight. Jeez, this corn-fed bull is 368 pounds heavier than the Lexus. None of which is necessarily a deal breaker, except for this: its Duratec V-6 produces the least horsepower and torque. The Ford was thus slowest to 60 mph, was slowest in a rolling start to 60 mph, and—compared with, say, the Lexus—was hung out to dry in the left lane an extra 1.3 seconds during 50-to-70-mph passing maneuvers. All voters complained that the Taurus felt bulky, was reluctant to respond quickly, and was happy only when it was toeing a straight and not-so-narrow line. Nor did it help that the Taurus’s brake pedal was spongy. The steering was numb on-center and didn’t have much to report off-center, either. In addition, the V-6, abetted by road noise coming up through the Limited’s 19-inch Goodyear Eagle RS-As, coughed up the greatest racket at a 70-mph cruise.
Now, we all should of course be applauding that they saw fit to compare the Taurus directly with the Genesis and Lexus; I don't think that would have happened with the 500 or the 08-09 Taurus. But as you say Allen, it is still a work in progress, and the next iteration should address some of the very things complained about in this comparison
The trunk of the Lacrosse IS puny. A car that size could easily have a 16 or 17 cubic ft trunk without being any longer than it is. The shorter 2011 Regal has a bigger trunk than the Lacrosse. If Buick had engineered it a bit differently with a slightly bigger trunk, the Lacrosse would be considered full-size by the EPA, and have as much or more room than the Taurus (the Lacrosse back seat is already bigger than that in the Taurus), even with its trimmer length, width and height. On the other hand, with no magic, a car the size of the Taurus should be able to have a ginormous interior to match its trunk (still don't know why all that bulk doesn't translate into more interior room than the Lacrosse).