“The wind has set it free” in the words of Ford. Image from the 1988 brochure.
As I’ve been watching this automotive trend changing, with electric vehicles and so many manufacturers moving to new horizons, I began to think back to a big change that took place at Ford in 1986. That was the Taurus and Sable project.
Ford spent some 3 billion dollars and took a big gamble with these new vehicles. They were a new shape, more aerodynamic than ever before, and Ford had committed to a better build quality.
My father-in-law Paul and I were both very intrigued by this new line, and he decided in 1988 that he wanted a station wagon. So, we were off. The first stop was at our local Ford dealer. Paul wanted a fully loaded version (sans a moon roof) and he wanted silver. Ford had one loaded LX wagon in smoke grey. He didn’t like it but the salesman mentioned looking at a Sable. He reasoned that Mercury, being the higher end, would have more loaded units.
The next stop was the Lincoln Mercury where we found the future car. I should mention that Paul and I often shared vehicles, based on the needs at the moment. This was great for me because I wanted to experience every car I could.
He signed a four-year lease and was off to the races. This car was so very nice. It was loaded with the Equipment Group 467a, including the new Essex V6 option.
I was to take a road trip from Davie Florida up to Tampa. Paul suggested I drive the Sable. What a nice highway car that was. The steering was so much better than what I was used to, it was very quiet, and I thought it had one of the best climate systems of the day.
At the end of 1989, Cindy and I found out that we were expecting our child, Jacob. The lease on our black Mustang was up and Paul offered for us to take over the Sable. We agreed and he leased a 1990 Mazda MX6 (Paul owned two businesses and leasing was a more practical thing back then.) Our next big road trip was to Ohio to see my family. Again, the Sable was just a great traveling car. Cindy loved the power passenger seat and I just liked the way it drove.
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But, all was not heavenly. At 8500 miles, the transaxle began to shift very erratically. We took it to the dealer, who added some anti-friction fluid.
By 10,000 miles, overdrive had clocked out. And this was before our trip to Ohio. Ford, where quality was job 1 began to argue with Paul. They started by refusing to repair the issues, saying that “ it was only a lease.” Being that he also drove a Lincoln, he called the 800 number on his Lincoln Commitment card and explained that his Sable was sold off by the same lot as his Lincoln, so the commitment should be the same. Ford couldn’t argue and sent an engineer to the dealership.
He told Paul that they were beginning to see that the torque of the newer engine was too much for the transaxle. They also found two broken motor mounts- another known issue.
They agreed to completely replace the transaxle and motor mounts if he agreed not to pursue the Lemon Law. They told him that parts alone were just north of the $4200 cost. So he signed a waiver to not only not go through the Lemon Law, but to run out the rest of the lease.
For the next two and half years, the Sable developed some electrical issues (part of a recall where the power seats could cut into their wiring causing vehicles to burn) and at the very end, more transmission issues.
But all in all, in the 47,900 miles, we were all very impressed. Sure, they had some teething issues, and that caused some frustration. By then, Paul had become an Acura customer, and we moved to our Chevy Blazer. But I still give credit to Ford for taking such a risk.
Related CC reading:
My dominant memory of Sable is a drive back to the Twin Cities from Duluth, Minnesota on Interstate 35 at the car’s introduction. Dusk settling in, I wondered what the other-worldly light bar approaching me from the rear was.
In 1989 I bought Ford’s Taurus SHO which was a true sports sedan with the 220 hp Yamaha-engineered block. One of the most-missed cars of my lifetime.