Can a new Taurus save Ford?

The past few weeks have been dismal for Ford Motor (F, news, msgs), with its huge losses and its move down to the No. 4 sales spot in the U.S. -- behind GM, Toyota and even DaimlerChrysler (DCX, news, msgs).

Now Ford is taking an unusual move to get back in the game: bringing its old stalwart, the Taurus, back to life just months after pulling the plug.

Ford confirmed today that its Five Hundred midsize sedan will be renamed the Taurus. Ford made the official announcement at the Chicago Auto Show.

The company is looking to benefit from the Taurus name after sales of the Five Hundred, which launched as a 2005 model, fell 22% to 84,218 vehicles last year -- half of the number of Tauruses sold in its last year of production.

Along with a new Taurus badge, the sedan (widely regarded as roomy, safe and less than exciting) gets a more powerful engine and a cosmetic makeover for the 2008 model year.

Too little, too late?

Ford sold nearly 7 million Tauruses since it debuted in 1985, and the Taurus was the best-selling car in the U.S. for much of the 1990s. But during the late 1990s, while Ford was focused on high-profit trucks and SUVs, the company left the Taurus virtually unchanged, and it became primarily used in company fleets and by rental car agencies.

Ford killed Taurus last year, as demand for the vehicle came mostly from low-profit sales to rental car agencies.

Despite a crowded field, the Taurus name is recognized by 80% of car buyers. J.D Power & Associates counts 331 vehicle nameplates in the U.S. market, and 60 new models coming soon.

But one dealer told the Wall Street Journal that, despite the equity Ford has in the Taurus name, he thinks the move might be too little, too late.

Nonetheless, Ford spokesman Jim Cain said yesterday that Ford's new CEO, Alan Mulally was a big advocate of the Taurus. "Taurus is a wonderful brand that is fondly remembered by a great many people," Cain said.

Mulally helped revolutionize product development at his former company, Boeing (BA, news, msgs), and managed development of Boeing's 777 in the 1990s.

Turnaround due soon?

In announcing its big losses last month -- an annual loss that added up to a Mustang a minute -- Ford said that although it does not expect to see an improvement in the first half of 2007, it does expect losses to narrow later in the year.

At least one analyst remained skeptical, however.

"We're in the first or second inning of a turnaround plan," portfolio manager Dan Poole at National City told Bloomberg News at the time. "You aren't going to see the numbers turn for quite a while yet -- we think the second half of 2008 at best."

A day in the life of a car salesman

Reviving the Taurus isn't the only move new CEO Mulally has made since joining Ford in September.

Faced with 11 years in a row of plummeting market share and dismal sales, he has also taken the lead as the automaker has offered exit payments to its 75,000 union workers -- half of whom took the package -- and closed 12 plants.

Mulally has even gone one step further to get a better perspective on the company's huge sales problems: He said he would spend a day as a salesman in one of Ford's dealerships.

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