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lanuary 16. 2008
P ori land OL server
A u t o R e v ie w
Page B5
News and reviews on new motor vehicles
2 0 0 8 Ford Taurus
X Limited AWD
The Urban Companion
by
K athi . kkn C arr
The Taurus nam e is back, and now it is
used on tw o m odels, the Taurus sedan
and the Taurus X crossover. The cars
bearing the new nam e used to be the Five
Hundred sedan and Freestyle. The T au­
rus nam e was resurrected to capitalize on
the popularity o f the brand that once was
the best-selling car in America.
The exterior o f the Taurus X picks up
design cues from the Ford Edge, including
the headlam ps and distinctive Ford three-
bar chrom e grille that is becom ing a Ford
signature. The hood, fenders and front
fascia are also new.
The crossover Taurus X has a sedan
chassis, a tall body and seating for seven.
T he Hat cargo floor m akes it an ideal urban
com panion.
The Taurus X ’ s chassis platform, shared
with the Taurus sedan, is derived from the
V olvo XC90. The body structure feels
tight and solid, and it provides good han­
dling and crashw orthiness. Shared de­
sign is one benefit o f F ord's ow nership of
Volvo.
A m ajor upgrade for the Taurus X com es
in the form of a 3.5-1 iter V-6 with 263 horse­
power. That is nearly 30 percent more
pow er than the Freestyle’s engine pro­
vided, and the added oom ph is certainly
welcome. A six-speed autom atic transm is­
sion replaces the C V T that was used on
the Freestyle.
Taurus X ’s all-wheel-drive system, now
sim ilar to that o f the Ford Edge, is new for
2008. It is less com plex than the system it
replaces, and it uses on-dem and electro­
m echanical center coupling to allocate a
precise am ount o f torque from front to
rear, up to 100 percent to either axle.
Specifications: 3.5-Liter, 263-hp @ 249 lb-ft. torque V-6 engine; 6-Speed automatic transmission, 1 7-City 24-Highway
mpg: $38,160. MSRP
The Taurus X has a 113.-inch w heel­
base that enables it to have three rows of
seats. It is 10 inches longer, 2 inches wider
and 4 inches lower than an Explorer, with
roughly the sam e headroom and legroom.
The space behind the third seat is actually
greater than that in the Explorer.
The Taurus X is one o f 12 new Ford,
Lincoln and M ercury products to offer
Ford S y n cS y n c is a v o ice-activ ated ,
hands-free, in-car com m unications and
entertainm ent system that was developed
in collaboration with M icrosoft. This sys­
tem integrates mobile phones and media
players into the vehicle using Bluetooth
technology and USB connectivity.
The Taurus X can haul seven people or
a load o f cargo. Creating a fiat load floor is
a snap. The third-row seat is a clever
design. T he seatback folds dow n, and
then the w hole seat pivots backw ard to
m ake a load floor that aligns with the
second-row seat. Even the front passen­
ger seat can fold forward to accom m odate
som ething 9 feet long. The one draw back
is that the cargo hold isn 't very tall.
W hen the seats are upright, getting
into the third row is easy because the
second-row seat tips forward. Legroom in
the third row is passable for adults and
excellent for children. The third seat is
available as a single bench or 50/50 split.
T he split-folding seat is the most useful
configuration.
Inside, the Taurus X borrow s from the
Five Hundred sedan. Round air vents on
the instrum ent panel, soft-touch paint fin­
ishes and leatherlike textures are all part of
the package. The instrument panel has
sim ple, chrom e-trim m ed gauges. Audio
Have you seen me?
O r e g o n H e a lt h P la n t o O p e n R o lls
continued
ers. We want as many people
to know about this opportunity
as possible."
A m ong O H P -S ta n d a rd 's
benefits are physician ser­
v ices, p re s c rip tio n d ru g s,
c h em ical d e p e n d en c y and
mental health services, em er­
gency medical services, and
limited dental, hospital and vi­
sion benefits. Most enrollees
pay modest premiums.
Children and adolescents
may receive coverage if they
live in households with incomes
from Metro
many Oregonians as possible
with news about the reopening
of OHP-Standard.
"We are inviting nearly 2,000
partners and providers to help
us get the word out," he said.
"We're working with educa­
tion service districts, low-in­
com e health care c lin ic s ,
county health departm ents,
hospitals, tribal offices, legal
aid organizations, faith orga­
nizations, advocates and oth­
ACQUIRE
•1-800-THE-LOST
JEW ELS TKONG
C u rr e n t Age: 4
D ate M issing: May 28,2006
M issing F ro m : Panama City Beach. FL
Jewel was last seen playing in the
water at Panama City Beach; at the
time she was wearing a floral two
piece bathing suit with a pink bow.
Local police believes she may have
been lost at sea.
A N D R E A B E N I I E Z 4 ).|E I)A
C u rre n t Age: 12
Date M issing: I fee. 2 1.2 0 0 7
M issing F ro m : W heaton, MD
Andrea was last seen wearing
a red winter jacket and
carrying a backpack; she
likes to frequent the mall.
Wally Tesfa
Charles McCleoud
CEO
Multi-Million $ Setvice
Missing and Exploited Children
Endangered Missing
up to 185 percent of the fed­
eral poverty level even if adults
in the household are ineligible.
Edge also noted that other
Oregon Health Plan benefit
packages continue to be open
to new enrollees.
"I encourage people who do
not have health care insurance
to not only get their names on
the OHP-Standard reservation
list during February," he said,
"but also to see whether they
may qualify for other Oregon
Health Plan coverage."
Residential and
Commercial Bioker
Oregon Washington
503 267-7586 cell
503 2491903 office
503-249-6527 fax
wtesfa1@comcast.net
PROPERTIES t
and clim ate controls are large and easy to
use.
Storage com partm ents are plentiful. A
small lid atop the instrum ent panel is a
great space to keep maps or other small
items. Fingertip controls on the steering
wheel are handy for operating the radio
and cruise control.
Taurus X is rated the safest seven-
passengercrossover in America after earn­
ing five-star ratings in all four categories
o f governm ent crash tests and a ‘Top
Safety Pick' rating from the Insurance
Institute o f H ighway Safety. Every 2008
Taurus X has standard anti-lock brakes
and A dvanceTrac® electronic stability
control, a feature nearly 70 percent o f car
shoppers are interested in, according to
Ford custom er research.
T he A d v an ceT rac® system can p re­
d iet the v e h ic le ’s path using a sen so r to
d etect and m easure o v erste er and yaw
by m o n ito rin g th e v e h ic le 's sp e ed ,
th ro ttle p o sitio n and steerin g w heel
an gle. W hen the system senses w heel
slip o r the loss o f tractio n , it reduces
en g in e torque and applies braking w here
need ed to keep the car track in g safely
on its intended path.
New reinforcements in the footwell area
provide for better crash protection, while
side impact protection is im proved with
pressurized crash sensors in the doors
and redesigned interior door panels.
A vailable options include: Ford Sync;
Eight-w ay pow er driver seat; Four-way
pow er passenger seat; Leather seats; 18-
inch chrom e wheels; Heated seats; Power
m oonroof; N avigation system ; Pow er
liftgate; Reverse Sensing System ; U niver­
sal garage door opener; Daytim e running
lights; and the follow ing dealer-installed
options: Pow erC ode1' 1 rem ote start and
TripTunes™ .
C ro sso v ers are part o f the fastest-
g row ing vehicle segm ent in the U nited
S tates, o utpacing even the rem ark ab le
gro w th SU V s achieved in the 1990s.
C U V s surpassed trad itio n al SUV sales
fo r the first tim e last year and are e x ­
p ected to top 3 m illion sales annually by
the d e c a d e 's end.I
T w o d istin ct co n su m er trends have
help ed fuel the explosive grow th o f the
CU V segm ent: ca r buyers seek in g m ore
sp acio u s and flexible in terio rs along
w ith the security o f all-w heel d riv e, and
trad itio n al SU V buyers seeking m ore
m a n eu v e ra b le and fu e l-e ffic ie n t v e ­
h icles that still m ake an activ e lifesty le
p o ssib le.
The three-row Taurus X will com ple­
ment the Ford lineup; dem onstrating the
com pany ’ s com mitm ent to crossover lead­
ership. Not as fuel efficient as we would
have hoped the Taurus X -by any nam e is
accom m odating, and remains one o f the
better people-m overs available.
I f you have any inform ation please contact:
T he N a tio n a l C en te r fo r M is s in g and E x p lo ite d C h ild re n
1 -8 0 0 -T H E -L O S T ( 1-800-843-5678)
This public service announcement provided by the Portland Observer Newspaper.
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