Ford Five Hundred: Тарихы мен сипаттамасы

The Ford Five Hundred is a full size automobile that was manufactured and marketed by Ford from the 2005 to 2007 model years. Deriving its nameplate from the previous "500" suffix used by Ford during the 1950s to the 1970s on its top tier trims (Custom 500, Fairlane 500 and Galaxie 500), the Five Hundred was introduced alongside the Ford Fusion as two model lines intended to replace the Ford Taurus. Within the Ford model line, the Five Hundred was slotted between the Fusion and Crown Victoria. Within Lincoln Mercury, the model line was marketed under a revived Mercury Montego nameplate. The Five Hundred was an inaugural model of the Ford D3 platform. In several firsts for the full size Ford line, the platform was front wheel drive (with optional all wheel drive), and used unibody construction; for the first time since the Model A, no V8 engine was offered. For the first time since 1978 discontinuation of the Custom 500, Ford offered two distinct full size nameplates. The Five Hundred was produced solely as a four door sedan, with the Ford Freestyle taking on the role of the Ford Taurus station wagon. For 2008, Ford renamed the Five Hundred as the Ford Taurus as part of a model revision (the Montego, as the Mercury Sable), with the Freestyle becoming the Ford Taurus X. Outside of North America and South Korea, the Five Hundred nameplate remained in use until production of the generation ended after 2009. The Five Hundred was assembled by Ford at its Chicago Assembly facility (Chicago, Illinois) alongside the Freestyle and Montego. Excluding export sales, 241,402 Ford Five Hundreds were produced.

As part of the 1999 acquisition of Volvo Cars and its addition to Premier Automotive Group, Ford Motor Company expanded on its vehicle safety technology capabilities and began development of a D186 Taurus replacement. In 2000, the Ford Prodigy concept car was shown. A 72MPG diesel electric hybrid designed as part of the Partnership for a New Generation of Vehicles, the Prodigy would introduce much of the exterior styling of the Five Hundred; it was also the first Ford to use the horizontal "three bar" grille (which made its production debut on the 2006 Ford Fusion). The Ford Five Hundred entered production on July 12, 2004 at Chicago Assembly (the previous assembly site of the Ford Taurus), and became available to the public in September 2004.

The Ford Five Hundred/Mercury Montego was engineered with a quality control system named Total Vehicle Geometry (TVG). Designed by Volvo, TVG is heavily computer based, allowing for designers, engineers, and suppliers access for all data and results related to prototypes at all stages of the design process.

Three trim lines were offered: SE, SEL, and Limited. An all wheel drive system was available across the range. Base prices start at US$22,795 for a front wheel drive SE and range to US$28,495 for an all wheel drive Limited. Interiors on SEL and Limited trim levels featured a new hydrographic system for applying wood appliqués. SE Included: Cloth upholstery, power driver's seat, keyless entry, power accessory delay, power trunk release, power mirrors, power locks, power windows with automatic driver's side window, 17" painted alloy rims, an AM/FM stereo with single CD player, body color mirrors and handles, and air conditioning. SEL Added: heated mirrors, fog lamps, security alarm, automatic headlamps, automatic temp control, message center with compass, an AM/FM stereo with 6 disc in dash CD player with MP3 capability and steering wheel audio controls, power front seats, and an auto dimming rear view mirror. Limited Added: leather seats, heated seats, memory driver's seat and mirrors, an analog clock, an Audiophile sound system with a subwoofer and an AM/FM stereo with 6 disc in dash CD player and MP3 capability, chrome mirrors, and a trunk cargo net.

During its production run, the Ford Five Hundred saw relatively few changes. For 2006, a new navigation radio made by Pioneer (featuring Sirius Satellite Radio) became an option; traction control was now changed to an option on front wheel drive models (from standard). A mid year running change removed the exterior doorside trim molding on all trim levels in favor of a small sill molding at the bottom edge of the door. The 2007 Five Hundred remained unchanged, with the SE model discontinued. All versions built after September 4, 2006 have side airbags as standard, along with curtain airbags (marketed as the Safety Canopy). The powertrain warranty was revised to 5 years / 60000 mile (96560 km). A new Chrome Package became available, with 18 inch eight spoke alloy wheels and a chrome trim mesh grille.

The Five Hundred ended production on April 12, 2007, as did the Mercury Montego and Ford Freestyle. For the 2007 North American International Auto Show, Ford introduced a mid cycle 2008 update of the Five Hundred and Montego; the new sedans had front and rear fascia styling, new interiors, and new powertrains with a 263 hp 3.5L V6 and a new 6 speed automatic transmission. Although the changes were positively received, Ford CEO Alan Mulally chose to rename all three D3 platform cars, with the Five Hundred and Montego becoming the fifth generation Ford Taurus and Mercury Sable; the similarly updated Ford Freestyle continued as the Ford Taurus X. Although the Taurus had been out of retail markets since 2006 (the Sable, since 2005), Mullaly cited the larger brand familiarity of the Taurus/Sable nameplates as the reason for the renaming of the two D3 sedans. For the 2010 model year, the Ford Taurus underwent a complete redesign. Although retaining the D3 chassis, the exterior and interior was completely changed, to add more aggressive styling. This became the final generation Taurus for North America. As the Mercury brand was being phased out in 2010, 2009 marked the final year of the Sable nameplate.

Alongside the Ford Five Hundred, several versions of the D3 platform were marketed by Ford Motor Company, with all variants produced in the same Chicago assembly facility.

Mercury marketed a counterpart of the Five Hundred, reviving the Mercury Montego nameplate (last used in 1976). In contrast to the Five Hundred, the Montego was slotted between the Grand Marquis (which remained for sale) and the 2006 Milan (replacing the Sable alongside the Montego). For the first time since 1974, Mercury again offered two full size sedan lines. Though sharing a common roofline with its Ford counterpart (as with the larger Grand Marquis), the Montego received several different styling elements, including its own grille, bumpers, wheels, satin aluminum trim, and two tone interior with black toned wood trim. several reviewers have noted its close resemblance to Volkswagen and Audi sedans (along with the lack of brand differentiation between the Ford Five Hundred and Mercury Montego). Others criticized its conservative exterior styling, likely to only appeal to older buyers. While the Five Hundred would attract attention for its high interior volume, design functionality, value, and large number of safety features, along with its styling, many reviewers criticized the performance of the 3.0L V6 engine and CVT transmission (in comparison to other vehicles). Ford designer J Mays said "I don't think the Five Hundred or Freestyle was one of my brighter moments in Ford, but designing a car is not a solo effort and a lot of people have input on the kind of product they want. I've been at the company 13 years and I've been through five CEOs. Some of those CEOs have had more conservative tastes than others." Mays later conceded of the Five Hundred's styling: "It's just lacking in the emotional appeal that we should have put into it. We were being good team players, and we did our best to wrap what was a best in class package with sheetmetal, and we ended up with a car, I think, that compromised itself in terms of style. But we will never make that mistake again. In fact, we haven't made a mistake like that since we did it. I think of all the cars I've designed in my career, I regret not pushing harder on that car."