Wagon Wednesday – 1993 Ford Taurus Wagon is another rarity here

Antti Kautonen

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Yes, it’s another Taurus. This 1993 Taurus Wagon follows up the bulbous 1997 sedan I saw a little while ago, and where I live it’s rare enough get photographed. Also, everything outside was so gray I fiddled with the clarity and vibrance sliders to jazz things up a bit – and that does improve the Taurus ever so slightly.

The sky blue Taurus is in direct contrast to the blobby Micra behind it. Curiously, the Micra is most likely just as rare your side of the Atlantic than the Taurus is here, and vice versa.

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Behind the breathing oval logo lives the 3.8 Essex V6 and not the 3.0 Vulcan. That alone improves things a bit.

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It’s certain the Taurus has done family-hauling duties for twenty years now. It’s also been rust-proofed a couple times over to keep it free of crustiness, and that probably means whoever drives it likes it enough to keep it around, but not quite enough to keep it spotless. To be honest, the week I shot the Taurus was terrible in terms of muddiness.

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Like with the previous Tauri in my posts, I believe the car has been bought new State-or Canada-side, and brought here when the time has come to return to the homeland. The dealer sticker is too faded and dirty to make anything out of it other than FORD – MERCURY.

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The Taurus is an uncommon enough sight here, to make it as interesting as a Citroën CX or XM estate in my eyes. Since my significant other has been throwing cues I should invest in a wagon next time for stuff-hauling needs, for weirdness’s sake I could just as well opt for a Taurus wagon. She did mention a E39 wagon and not one of these, but manual E39 wagons are a dime a dozen and still more expensive…

[Images: Copyright 2013 Hooniverse/Antti Kautonen]

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Antti Kautonen

Antti Kautonen

The resident Finn of Hooniverse. Owns old Peugeots and whatnot, writes long thinkpieces on unloved cars. These two facts might be related.

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8 responses to “Wagon Wednesday – 1993 Ford Taurus Wagon is another rarity here”

  1. Van_Sarockin Avatar
    Van_Sarockin

    It's getting hard to find these over here too, in any condition. They were impressively capable when they came out. Wagons have really continued to improve, when you cand find them now.

    Reply
  2. FuzzyPlushroom Avatar
    FuzzyPlushroom

    One, the 3.8 Essex isn't really an upgrade. The transaxles in these weren't very good up until roughly the turn of the century, and the 3.8 doesn't really get along with its head gaskets. The Windstar minivan shared both parts and added several hundred pounds of lard; few remain on the road for good reason. By comparison, the Vulcan is a stone axe, and doesn't chew transaxles as quickly due to its lower torque output.
    Two, are the last four digits on the plate '5599'? 😉

    Reply
    1. LTDScott Avatar
      LTDScott

      Yup, I think the 3.8L with AXOD is the worst powertrain combo in recent history when it comes to reliability. I worked as a tech at a Ford dealer in the late '90s and I used to be able to swap a Windstar transmission with my eyes closed.

      Reply
      1. dukeisduke Avatar
        dukeisduke

        Yeah, just read all the 3.8 threads on flatratetech.com. The Essex motors had tons of head and intake gasket failures, especially on FWD cars like the Taurus/Sable, and the Windstar/Monterey minivans. I'd take a 3.0 Vulcan any day over a 3.8 Essex. I used to know a guy with an early Windstar, and he'd been through two 3.8 rebuilds/long blocks and two AXODs.

        Reply
  3. Syrax Avatar
    Syrax

    That's my favorite generation of the March/Micra. SR.
    <img src="http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h272/squarepants_06/matlock%20jap%20meet/P3100104.jpg"width=500/&gt;

    Reply
  4. racer139 Avatar
    racer139

    One of my good friends has a 93 wagon in very near mint shape, it has 110k km on it is green with tan leather guts and was owned buy the old lady on the corner who sold it to him for $300 after she could no longer drive it. he changed all the fluids and replaced the wheels with 16" from a bubbke taurus. He says its great to drive and easy to keep on the road as far as mateinence goes….. well I think Im gonna start bugging to sell it to me… I have a couple of chinese knockoff gt28 turboes that may find their way onto it, set at a moderatly low boost pressure of course. Maybe a little lower and with some nicer wheels and sticky rubber…..Look what you have done.

    Reply
  5. C³-Cool Cadillac Cat Avatar
    C³-Cool Cadillac Cat

    This is dirty?
    Antti, this was the state of both my wife and I's vehicles for 8 month of the year when we lived in the Colorado mountains.
    Living off a usually muddy road doesn't help things.

    Reply
  6. Vairship Avatar
    Vairship

    Funny how back in 1993 cars could get along with a small front air intake, but nowadays we have gaping maw grills (which look hideous in most cases). Audi, I blame you for the "extends vertically through the bumper" grill fashion.

    Reply