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Wikipedia: Ford Taurus X
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History
The following section is an excerpt from Wikipedia's Ford Taurus X page on 5 July 2016, text available via the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.
The Ford Freestyle also known as Ford Taurus X is a crossover utility vehicle that was sold by Ford from 2005 to 2009. Essentially the replacement for the Ford Taurus station wagon, the 2005-2007 Freestyle was produced in a single bodystyle with six or seven-passenger seating. As the Taurus made its return for 2008, the Freestyle was rebadged the Taurus X.
Manufactured alongside the Ford Five Hundred, Mercury Montego, Mercury Sable, and the 2008-2009 Ford Taurus, the Ford Freestyle/Taurus X shared the Volvo-derived Ford D3 platform. Front-wheel drive was standard, with all-wheel drive as an option. All versions were produced at Chicago Assembly, in Chicago, Illinois. Unlike the D3 sedans, the Freestyle/Taurus X was sold exclusively as a Ford. Following its discontinuation in 2009, it was not directly replaced, but its role in the Ford line was largely taken over by the larger Ford Flex.
The Taurus X ended production on February 27, 2009 and was marketed in the United States and Canada, as well as South Korea and the U.S. territories of Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands, and Guam.
Background
The Freestyle was previewed at the 2003 Detroit Auto Show with a Freestyle Concept before entering production for the 2005 model year. The vehicle was originally going to be called the Ford CrossTrainer, but had been renamed the Freestyle by the time the concept was released, due to Ford adopting an ill-fated naming scheme in which all Ford-branded passenger cars except the Mustang and Thunderbird would have a name start with the letter "F".
Design overview
For the Freestyle/Taurus X, Ford used its Volvo-derived D3 platform architecture. Sharing a common platform with the Ford Five Hundred and Mercury Montego, all four vehicles were derived from the Volvo P2 platform used for the first-generation Volvo S80 and Volvo XC90. To accommodate production costs for Ford and durability concerns for North American roads, a number of revisions were made to the platform, making the final vehicles significantly different.
Power came from a 3.0 L (181 cu in) Duratec V6, with an output of 203 hp (151 kW) at 5750 rpm. The Freestyle, along with the Five Hundred, Mercury Montego, and the Ford Escape Hybrid, were the first American Ford vehicles to use a continuously variable transmission (CVT). The Five Hundred and Montego used a belt type CVT, while the Escape Hybrid used a CVT transaxle that utilized a planetary gearset controlled by the electric generator, similar to the Toyota Prius. All Freestyles were equipped with the CVT, but only all-wheel drive (AWD) Five Hundred and Montego models used the CVT (FWD versions used an Aisin F21++ six speed automatic). 55% of buyers selected the Haldex Traction-equipped all-wheel drive model rather than the expected 40%.
Model history: Freestyle (2005-2007)
Introduced as a 2005 model largely in place of the Ford Taurus station wagon, the Freestyle was marketed as a crossover utility vehicle, a new market segment at the time. As with the Ford Five Hundred/Mercury Montego, the Freestyle was available with front-wheel drive as standard with all-wheel drive as an option; the CVT of the all-wheel drive Five Hundred was the sole transmission on the Freestyle. The 203hp 3.0L Duratec V6 was the standard engine.
In contrast to a Taurus station wagon, the Freestyle featured forward-facing third-row seating (similar to the Ford Explorer and Ford Expedition). Although designed with ground clearance between a sedan and a small SUV, the Freestyle featured what Ford described as "command seating," seating with a higher H-point, to increase driver visibility and ease of entry and exit.
The Freestyle was nominated for the North American Truck of the Year award for 2005 (placing second behind the Ford Escape Hybrid).
| 10 February 2015 13-55331 Gene Edwards v. Ford Motor Company United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit Briefs filed under seal. Download 13-55331 Gene Edwards v. Ford Motor Company - 328MB - 37:39 | |
| 8 February 2018 16-55868 Gene Edwards v. Ford Motor Company United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit Ford Motor Company, and Gene Edwards and others, cross appeal the district court's judgment on remand from a prior appeal concerning attorneys' fees in a diversity putative class action concerning a safety defect. Download 16-55868 Gene Edwards v. Ford Motor Company - 121MB - 30:17 |
| Date | Document Name & Details | Documents |
|---|---|---|
| 5 April 2005 | Safety Compliance Testing for FMVSS 201: Occupant Protection in Interior Impact, Upper Interior Head Impact Protection 2005 Ford Freestyle National Highway Traffic Safety Administration |  PDF - 12.8MB - 175 pages |
| 16 June 2005 | Safety Compliance Testing for FMVSS 201: Occupant Protection in Interior Impact 2005 Ford Freestyle National Highway Traffic Safety Administration | PDF - 5.6MB - 106 pages |
| 23 September 2005 | Safety Compliance Testing for FMVSS 225: "Child Restraint Anchorage Systems" 2005 Ford Freestyle National Highway Traffic Safety Administration | PDF - 10.3MB - 109 pages |
| March 2007 | Calspan On-Site Side Impact Inflatable Occupant Protection System Investigation Subject Vehicle - 2005 Ford Freestyle National Highway Traffic Safety Administration | PDF - 260KB - 25 pages |