After 21 years and sales of nearly 7 million cars, this week Ford is set to discontinue production of the Taurus, the car credited with both saving the automaker and turning the American market towards aerodynamic, more efficient cars, The Associated Press reports. The Taurus made its debut late in 1985, initially equipped with V-6 and four-cylinder engines. Buyers snapped up more than 263,000 units in 1986, its first full year on the market. It became the best-selling car in America in 1992 with sales of nearly 410,000, and it held the top spot for five straight years until it was unseated by the Toyota Camry in 1997. Even as recently as September, it remained Ford's top-selling car, according to The Associated Press. In the late 1990s, Ford begin to focus on high-profit trucks and sport utility vehicles, leaving the Taurus almost unchanged for 10 years with little advertising support. The lack of attention to the Taurus has angered workers at the Ford assembly plant in Hapeville, Ga., where the end of production is being met with sadness.
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