On February 27, 2009, Ford will officially cease production of its sedan-based crossover, the Taurus X, much to the dismay of youth soccer league parent volunteers everywhere. Originally introduced in 2007 as what many deemed an unnecessary and largely unwanted spin-off of the Ford Freestyle XUV, the Taurus X sat in Ford’s line-up as the car of choice for couples who had already begun to have children, but hadn’t quite reached the level of hopelessness and despair that would propel them to purchase a minivan.

Competing in a niche market that seemed to be dominated by the Ford Explorer from day one, the Taurus X was met with lukewarm enthusiasm from consumers and corresponding lackluster sales. Perhaps if it had debuted on the market 5 years ago, and perhaps if it wasn’t so damn fugly, the Taurus X might have risen to the same critical acclaim as the original Ford Taurus. Unfortunately, such was not the case. If given a few years or so to sway public opinion, the Taurus X might have had a chance, but now with domestic auto sales at an all time low and automakers fighting like G.I.’s in Saigon to stay alive, Ford doesn’t have a few years to spare. Thus, the Ford Taurus X will be dropped from the Ford lineup in February 2009, where it will then go to race with its compadres from GM on that great Nurburing in the sky.

Source: Ford