I’ve got two different opinions that sprang from the 2010 Ford Taurus Meetup Sunday at Opal Divine’s, and both I agree with. Here we go (originally posted on AustinPost.org)
Frank says:
Ford Tackles Consumer Confidence: Can It Really Be as Good as Foreign Cars?
I was 16, looking at buying my first car, and the issue of the day was all American: Chevy versus Ford. Just a couple of years later, the issue became international: American versus Foreign, trying to decide between a Chevy and a VW Bug. My father had the deciding vote, so I bought Chevy the first time and American the second. Some things never change–we are still addressing the issue of American versus Foreign. Ford is setting up the feud with it’s re-creation of the Taurus.I was invited to a gathering last evening to meet with several representatives of Ford to hear about and test drive the new 2010 Taurus. My first impression surprised me a little. The car has really impressive lines. Probably not the appropriate way to say it, but very BMW-ish. Actually, I would say something similar about its’ ride: tight and solid, like a Mercedes. I can’t help but make the comparisons to Foreign cars because that is all that I have driven for 30 years–after my father didn’t get the deciding vote. In my experience, Foreign cars have outclassed American cars forever. I think Ford is addressing that problem by having this 100 city tour to introduce people to their new Taurus. I think they have come up with a winner.
I particularly liked the feel of the cabin of the Taurus. The front bucket seat arrangement feels like sitting in a cockpit. Each seat has its’ own space, cradled by a high center console and surrounded by a dash that blends into the doors. The leather is sourced from the same supplier for Coach handbags, and it is soft with bold stitching. The dash is flush with instruments, presented to the driver at a nice sloping angle as opposed to a square face. The rear seat had plenty of room and accommodated three men taller than 6 foot.
I did not drive the car for long, but long enough to appreciate its solid feel and responsiveness. It has really nice acceleration with just the right blend of engine noise. It also has some very nice features. One that seemed particularly impressive was a system that works like the back up warning found in a number of other cars, but operates with a 360 degree radius using radar. It can be adjusted for distance and warns the driver of any obstacles in that range.
I think Ford has its’ job cut out for it to win back consumer confidence, but it created a nice contender in the war. And, you can’t beat that it starts out at $25K. The new Taurus is being delivered to showrooms this week. Check it out.
Cindy says:
I gathered myself up on Sunday afternoon to go to the Ford (as in the carmaker) 2010 Ford Taurus Meet/Tweet/Bleet Up! event at Opal Divine’s. The guy with me was willing to drive the new 2010 Ford Taurus, so we had an excuse to go see what Ford was up to. Among the bloggers there was the dryly hilarious Jefre Outlaw, who intrigued the group with stories of his stem cell transplant two months ago. And then we learned all about country dancing, which Mr. Outlaw has eagerly if not maybe a tad too early gone back to doing for fun. Did you know that there is country dancing competition in eight different categories? Anyway, I know I digressed from Ford, but it was a Blogger meet up after all!
Ford was represented by some nice young professional people, including the marketing manager, Mike Crowley, who although he said he had been with Ford for almost two decades, looked like he was barely over two decades old. Ford must treat ‘em well. The best I could figure about this little gig on the second floor lounge of Opal Divine’s is that Ford is trying to work the new social media game and hop onto some of that word of mouth internet frosting for the new Taurus. People in the group took the Taurus on a test drive, and apparently it is quite the sweet car and worth a little internet talking.
Whether this kind of meet up and test driving can create the buzz that Ford probably hopes for is still to be seen. I can’t help but wonder if one can really “capture” that blogger benefit and tweeter thread with planned meetings. I suppose that is the big question for most marketing people right now. Can we harness the stuff that creates the buzz, or does harnessing it kill the buzz? I will leave that to Ford to answer as they continue their 100 city tour of Blogger/Tweeter/Bleeter Test Drive meet ups!
I say: well here I am talking about the dang thing, you can hear what I have to say…
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