When the second generation Taurus and Sable debuted in 1992, their exterior styling was of the evolutionary variety. Since the first generation was an instant sales success, Ford was intent on winning a second or third sale with existing fans of the model while drawing in an even larger customer base. This was particularly true for the new Mercury Sable, which was not as daring in appearance as its first generation. (Note: The Taurus is a 1995 example from Canada, and is in sporty SE trim. The Sable wagon is a 1992 LS from the US.) The new-for-'92 Taurus softened its exterior over the previous generation, and was on the whole more aerodynamic looking. At the front end headlamps grew longer and thinner, and lenses were newly convex. At either corner, the indicator lens wrapped farther into the fender than previously. The bumper wore smoothed lines and was also softer at the corners. Perhaps controversially, Taurus maintained its grille-free visage and air intake was via the lower valance. New to the design was a wrap-around nose piece that ran under the headlamps and around to the wheel arch. It functioned as a filler between the headlamps and bumper, as the front end gained some vertical area in the 1992 design. The character line along the body was in the same place as the first generation, but was less bold. Flared wheel arches were also softened. Body side trim was revised slightly, and (from 1993) color-matched trim was no longer reserved for SHO examples. The doors and side windows of the Taurus were a carryover from the first generation. At the rear, styling was so similar to the first generation that casual onlookers may not have noticed any difference. The tail lamps were only slightly revised, and cut a softer angle toward the license plate. Reverse indicator lighting was segmented into finer sections, compared to just four sections per side in the first generation. Notably the lamps were located higher up than previously, which meant the trunk lid curved around them. Aside from the interruption of the rear lamps, the trunk lid was otherwise the same as the first generation. Rear bumpers across all models gained more ribbed detailing and looked slightly sportier than the first generation. Wheel designs were also new across the lineup. The Sable was (by intent and necessity) revised a bit more than the Taurus in its second generation. Sales showed the Mercury offering needed to be more in line with the more mainstream and much more successful Taurus brother. To that end the light bar was slimmed compared with the initial version, and was more integrated into the front clip. Notably the Sable maintained its air inlet detailing from the first generation and used vertical slats instead of the uninterrupted horizontal intake of the Taurus. The bumper was simpler than the first generation, and much smoother than that of the Taurus. Both models now wore the same body character line across sedans and wagons. You may recall the first generation Sable was free of any character line in either body format. The Taurus opted to use the Sable's completely smooth hood design in its second generation. Arguably the Sable pulled off the smooth look a bit better with fewer seams at the front, given its flush logo and light bar integration. Along the side of the car, body trim was slightly different than the Taurus, and Sable did not display its trim level on the door. Lower sills were unique to the Sable and had a flared shape to them. Sills on the Taurus went straight across, sans any curvature. The Sable maintained its flat rear wheel arch, a key visual detail of the first generation. This arch was also present on the Taurus wagon, since the Sable wagon always dictated the appearance of the Taurus wagon. The rear of the Sable was where the most differentiation happened, both from its Taurus brother and the first generation design. Recall the Sable was previously two inches longer than the Taurus. For its second generation both cars were the same length. That meant a full redesign of the Sable's rear. The wrap-around rear side glass had to be shortened and reshaped to fit with a more upright rear window. As the rear end was shortened, the trunk lid was also revised. Unlike the Taurus trunk, the Sable's rear had to accommodate a light bar like the front (heckblende if you prefer). That meant the trunk lid cut a straight line across the rear. Said trunk lid had a cleaner implementation than the Taurus, as the trunk lock cylinder was located in the rear lamp trim. Rear lamps were completely redesigned to be smoother and a bit slimmer, and lost their vertical smoked lines. The new design was an ovoid red lens that went up and around the license plate. A smoked area at either side of the license plate recalled the color scheme of the first gen lamps. Like the Taurus, wheel designs for the Sable were new in 1992. We must have a word on wagons here, in part because your author just noticed something for the first time. Both the Taurus and Sable wagons retained unedited aft the rear doors for the second generation. Ford simply grafted the existing first-gen rear end onto the new wagons, revised the brake lamps very slightly, and called it a day. Perhaps it was not deemed cost effective for a declining market to make any meaningful updates. The lack of differentiation in the wagons was a cost saving move. Unfortunately that sort of methodology would continue in the future as the Taurus and Sable converged. More on that next time when we take a look at the much modernized interiors for 1992. Become a TTAC insider. Get the latest news, features, TTAC takes, and everything else that gets to the truth about cars first by subscribing to our newsletter.
Liked by Camille Smith, Lucas Wilson
Liked by Camille Smith, Lucas Wilson
Liked by Camille Smith, Lucas Wilson
