Familiar as it might look, this car doesn’t really exist.
The Ford Taurus certainly does, millions and millions of them do – or at least did. But the Taurus woodie is a product of Hollywood, and Hollywood alone.
Only fleetingly, too, as the “Ol’ front-wheel-drive sleigh to embrace the frosty majesty of the winter landscape and select that most important of Christmas symbols,” according to Chevy Chase’s Clark Griswold in National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation.
Legendary late car customiser George Barris is reputedly behind the Taurus’ modification, and presumably the stiffening up of the suspension to cope with such a large tree on the roof, and it’s one of his more mild creations. Credits include the original Batmobile and Mannix roadster.
The Taurus itself is an important car, let alone this unique-to-the-UK woodie. Launched in 1986, the Taurus was the first ‘jellymould’ car Stateside – ‘jelly bean’ according to Ford USA.
‘The Taurus’ aerodynamic body style broke tradition with the boxy sedan shapes of the time, helping the car become one of Ford’s most popular vehicles ever’, Ford says. ‘The car was an important part of a worldwide shift in automotive design. Within Ford, the car represented a shift toward increased quality standards and front-wheel drive designs.’
The first generation was available as a V6 or straight four-cylinder and in various iterations lasted until just a few years ago
This first-generation ‘woodie’ will be familiar to anyone who attended the American Assembly in May, complete with Red Sox sticker on the back. If you missed that, you’ll find it on the Winter Wagons lawn at the Scramble on Sunday 8 January.
