Ford Taurus – The Car’s The Star

With Christmas just around the corner it’s definitely time to break out the seasonal movies and we thought we’d feature one of our favourites in this episode of The Car’s The Star. Without revisiting the ‘is Die Hard a Christmas movie’ debate (it is, by the way) we’re turning our attention to the Griswolds and 1989’s National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, including the humble Ford Taurus that has somewhat of a starring role, at least in the first five minutes anyway – enough to leave an impression on us as young car fans. If you’re not familiar with the series each film centres around the hapless adventures of the Griswold family, led by well-intentioned patriarch Clarke W. Griswold (played by Chevy Chase) and their misadventures whilst embarking upon various different family holidays.

And it’s that nostalgia of those family getaways every one of us has experienced at least once in our lives, whether as a child or from the perspective of an adult and parent, that these movies so successfully tap into. Each film is a comic look at the trials, tribulations and ultimately rewarding experience that is the big family vacation and National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation is no exception. This entry in the series sees the Griswolds holed up at home with their extended family to try and enjoy, as Clarke puts it, ‘a good old fashioned family Christmas’. What could possibly go wrong?

Now, you might be thinking that a family Christmas comedy may not be the greatest example to feature in this series but if we told you the film pretty much opens with a car chase then we’re sure your interest will be well and truly piqued, so hear us out. As the film begins we find all four Griswolds crammed into the family’s 1989 Ford Taurus estate; a frankly hideous combination of mauve paint coupled with faux wooden-panelling. It’s quite the vulgar and tacky looking thing, but then that’s kind of the point.

If you’re familiar with other films in the National Lampoon’s canon, specifically 1983’s National Lampoon’s Vacation, then you’ll get the joke and Clarke’s reasoning for owning such a naff looking car. The Taurus in this film is clearly a continuation of the even more ridiculous Wagon Queen Family Truckster that featured heavily in the previous instalment – a car that deserves its own entry in this editorial series, and one that we’re sure we’ll get to in the future. But back to Christmas Vacation and the Ford Taurus.

The reason for the Griswold road trip is to ‘acquire’ a family Christmas tree but instead of simply purchasing one from a dedicated outlet, Clarke decides that it will be a far more rewarding experience to head into the woods and cut down one of his own, seeing the trip as the prefect excuse for a familial outing – a sentiment not shared by his wife and kids. On their way into the wilderness Clarke is tail-gated by a rather erratic pickup truck driver and rather than letting the slight go like an adult he decides to bait said driver by emphatically giving the middle finger as he drives by, a gesture that does not go down too well.
In an act of retaliation the pickup brake checks the Taurus causing Clarke to almost lose control, leading to the decision to overtake the truck in order to leave it behind, whilst throwing out another insult as he does so. This game of cat and mouse continues and as Clarke attempts to overtake his nemesis once more he pulls out directly underneath a logging truck that he’s failed to notice has begun to pass him. It’s an impressive stunt that subsequently leads to an even better one as Clarke swerves violently to extricate the Taurus from the lorry, causing him to hit a snow bank and take off, jumping the Taurus an impressive distance and skidding to a stop precisely at his destination. It would seem pride really does come before a fall, as they say.

While the Wagon Queen Family Truckster mentioned earlier was based upon an ’83 Ford LTD Country Squire station wagon it sadly wasn’t actually a real model, having been dreamt up by custom car builder George Barris, The Ford Taurus, on the other hand, was a bona fide American production car that enjoyed a whopping 33 year run. The version featured in Christmas Vacation is a first-gen estate which would have been fitted with either a flat-four or V6 engine. It was an all-new model for Ford and a move away from the boxy, rear-wheel drive cars that it had been producing previously. It was well received too. The Ford Taurus sold incredibly well despite reservations from the motoring press as well as Ford itself who thought the public would renounce the car for being too advanced. First generation cars, like this one, topped a million sales and went on to win multiple industry awards.

Lead designer Jack Telnack and his team at Ford employed a more rounded aesthetic with the Taurus that was aerodynamically more efficient than previous models leading it to be deemed “futuristic” – a quality that no doubt landed it another starring role in 1987’s ultra-violent cyborg movie, Robocop, taking centre stage as the protagonist’s police car (note: Robocop is most definitely not a Christmas movie…). And it was rather revolutionary, in the grand scheme of things, in that it helped kick start a new era in American car design, inspiring other manufacturers to adopt similar techniques and remaining in production until 2019. That’s quite the legacy and one that the Griswolds (and officer Murphy) are very much a part of.

Looking for a car to star in your own heart-warming holiday? Here’s where you can find a Ford Taurus for sale.