Ford Taurus at 40: How the 1986 Original Won Buyers and Toppled GM

The Ford Taurus arrived in 1986 and did something the company’s own accountants probably didn’t dare forecast — it outsold its predecessor by a wide margin and pushed Ford past General Motors in profit for the first time since 1924.

The Taurus and its Mercury Sable twin replaced the rear-drive LTD and Marquis, cars that were, by the mid-Eighties, essentially the same vehicle with different badges. The styling gamble paid off almost immediately.

The Numbers That Surprised Dearborn

In their final full year as Ford’s mainstream family sedans, the LTD moved 205,526 units while the Marquis managed 101,498. The following year, with the new front-drive pair on sale, the Taurus alone accounted for 236,346 deliveries. The Sable added 95,635.

That split told an interesting story. Buyers flocked to the Taurus but were slower to warm to the Sable’s more experimental nose and glass-heavy greenhouse. By 1989, the Taurus’s best first-generation year, the gap had grown to 395,261 versus 130,657 Sables.

• 1986: Taurus 236,346 / Sable 95,635
• 1987: Taurus 374,763 / Sable 121,313
• 1988: Taurus 387,577 / Sable 121,285
• 1989: Taurus 395,261 / Sable 130,657
• 1990: Taurus 333,011 / Sable 103,749
• 1991: Taurus 303,833 / Sable 96,698

A 1990 refresh brought a new dashboard and an airbag, but the car was aging. Sales slipped, and in the final year the Taurus fell about ten percent while the Sable’s decline was milder at seven percent.

What a Taurus Cost in 1986

The lineup opened with the L sedan at **$9,645** — roughly $29,651 in today’s money — which kept it under the psychological $10,000 ceiling. The wagon jumped noticeably because it made the V6 and an automatic standard: $10,763.

Higher trims spread things out. The GL sedan started at $11,322, the LX sedan at $13,351. Alloys ran about $300 extra on every trim, and air conditioning — a $762 item — was only standard on the LX. Dealer-installed equipment packages typically pushed the final bill a thousand dollars or two higher.

1986 Taurus Pricing: L sedan $9,645 · L wagon $10,763 · GL sedan $11,322 · LX sedan $13,351 · Alloy wheels ~$300 option

Enter the SHO

By 1989 the MT5 trim was gone and the Taurus SHO had joined the range. With its own engine, suspension and styling, the SHO carried a base price of **$19,739** — about $54,920 adjusted — and came laden with standard kit. The larger 3.8-liter V6 remained an expensive option at $1,072 on GL and LX models.

Mercury’s approach limited the Sable’s reach. Only two trims, GS and LS, were offered, so there was no bargain route into the car. The 1991 GS sedan asked $15,821, roughly fifteen percent above the entry Taurus L, and the 3.8 V6 was never standard on any Sable.

The first-generation car bowed out in 1991. Ford’s replacement for 1992 kept the same platform and even the doors, an evolutionary move designed not to fix what wasn’t broken.