Comments about this vehicle

Author	Message
Snookie ◊ 2006-02-23 00:46	1986 Ford Taurus, Detroit Police
qwerty_86 ◊ 2006-04-27 06:49	This car has some funky headlights: And I just liked this picture: -- Last edit: 2012-08-07 19:07:08 (G-MANN)
G-MANN ◊ 2006-04-27 16:30	The story behind this is that originally Robocop was supposed to have his own futuristic police car, but what they came up with looked ridiculous, so director Paul Verhoeven spotted a Ford Taurus on the road and decided to use them as the police cars in the movie. -- Last edit: 2006-04-27 16:30:58
qwerty_86 ◊ 2006-04-27 21:20	Yeah. A lot of people thought they used a 1985 Taurus SHO in the movies. But there was no 1985 Taurus and the SHO didn't come out until 1989!
Snookie ◊ 2006-05-13 15:54	I have the model version of this car. They made the same mistake. It's a 1985 Taurus SHO.
qwerty_86 ◊ 2006-05-14 07:06	Snookie wrote I have the model version of this car. They made the same mistake. It's a 1985 Taurus SHO. The model kit was an '89 SHO. There was no 1985 Taurus. http://www.taurusclub.com/encyclopedia/Other/Models.html
Snookie ◊ 2006-05-15 23:52	Yeah, I know. But the one I had implied that the car was a '85 SHO, when the '85 Taurus never existed, and the SHO wasn't released til 1989.
carfan ◊ 2006-07-15 14:34	What's the difference between a Taurus and a Taurus SHO? Is the Taurus SHO a police package or something?
antp ◊ 2006-07-15 15:11	The engine. Cf /vehicle_25301-Ford-Taurus-1989.html
explorer4x4 ◊ 2006-07-15 15:22	Did the Robocop Taurus have a V6? What amazes me (and makes me sort of sad) is when you look back at 1950s American mid-size sedans, the basically all had nothing smaller then a V6 and today in mid-size sedans, a 4-cylinder is standard and sometimes an optional V6. Everything today is slow, weak and usually ugly. Remember the Cadillac Series 62 or Plymouth Belvederes?
qwerty_86 ◊ 2006-07-18 05:28	Yeah, the Robocop Taurus was a LX in the first movie so it had the 3.0L OHV V6 with 4-speed automatic overdrive transaxle. It made 140 hp @ 4800 RPM and 160 lb.-ft torque @ 3000 RPM. It wasn't a powerhouse motor, but it moved it fine. The standard engine in the L/GL was a 2.5L HSC I4 which is a bored out version of the Tempo's base engine. Later models with the police package had the 3.8L OHV V6 which made 160 hp @ 3800 RPM and 220 lb.-ft torque @ 2200 RPM. The 3.8L police package could give a Caprice and Crown Vic a run for it's money. The Taurus could even out-handle a Crown Vic or Caprice in the corners so I wouldn't say it's slow. Plus it had the SHO's suspension and steering for a more refined ride. The 3.8L police engine was a little different than the stock 3.8L that came in the Taurus/Sable. In fact, they used the police engine in the Lincoln Continental and Ford Windstar. The current version of the 3.8L police engine in the Windstar makes more power than the regular 3.8L in the Mustang! I believed they bored and stroked it for the 4.2L V6 used in the trucks. And the Taurus SHO (Super High Output) with the 3.0L DOHC Yahama V6 and 5-speed transaxle made 220 hp @ 6000 RPM and 200 lb.-ft torque @ 4800 RPM. With the special suspension upgrades and larger wheels, it was a real mean car. It could pretty much keep up to a BMW of the same era. It was designed to be a sport sedan and pretty much started the trend of 200 hp four-door family cars. Also many midsizes of the '50s and '60s did come with six cylinders although it was in an inline configuration rather than a Vee. I believe the 1962 Buick Skylark was the first American car with a V6 (the 231ci or better known as the 3.8L) which is still used today. I know that a lot of Chevys (Impalas and Bel Airs) in the '40s and '50s came with inline-6s. V8s were probably standard in the full-sizes, but most mid-sizes at the time had a V8 as an option. -- Last edit: 2006-07-18 05:36:01
hughie522 ◊ 2006-11-05 12:23	Was there more than one variation of this car seen in the movie? Because some of the pictures provided by qwerty_56 do not look the same as the one at the top.
sirdavester ◊ 2008-10-13 20:50	The Taurus Sucks And everyone knows it so why couldn't they have used a crown victoria or a dodge diplomat like what real the real poilce use because i had a '95 taurus and everything that can go wrong with one of those thing can go wrong like the transmission, the motor, suspension, ignition and electrical the windods woludn't roll down and the stereo would turn on when the car statred also son in conclusion the taurus sucks and everyone knows it okay.
Neptune ◊ 2008-10-13 22:03	Just because one is bad doesn’t mean the rest are. I knew people who swore the Taurus was one the best cars they ever owned. There are going to Lemons in all car brands.
CougarTim ◊ 2008-10-13 22:07	Careful, Neptune. When you argue with a troll on the internet, no one wins.
Murf32 ◊ 2008-10-29 19:56	The car here as per qwerty 86 - I agree has to be an LX Taurus, the reason I make this claim is the alloy wheels which were multi-spoked, these here are painted Flat Black the LX alloys were silver painted, additionally, this car does also have the corner lights which I think were standard on the Sable - and standard on the LX. That, and there have been some scenes from the first movie where the camera has confirmed the body side moulding with the name, "Taurus LX" on it. This car has to be the hero model as it comes with the alloy wheels, corner lights, brush guard w/driving lights, and the roof mounted search light. I wanted to say that the lightbar is by CODE3 as part of their strobe system with the alley lights and front and rear take downs, the rear should have the amber inserts in addition to the Red/Blue strobes. If anyone can confirm that, please, let me know
Murf32 ◊ 2008-10-29 19:59	Link to "upload.wikimedia.org" - Image of above car, but, in civilian guise.
Snookie ◊ 2010-05-22 09:31	http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4003/4628791044_f4af479ccf_b.jpg My illustration of above car
Dav ◊ 2011-02-27 13:53	Very nice! -- Last edit: 2011-02-27 13:54:51
oakskip ◊ 2012-04-25 08:11	Hi there, just so you know there was a story in Australia that this car was the latest (1988) Aussie Falcon "EA" inline 6 3.9 litre R.W.D. as Ford U.S had some involement in the design. Not too sure but doesn't look like a Taurus to me.
maxman ◊ 2012-06-25 05:09	oakskip wrote Hi there, just so you know there was a story in Australia that this car was the latest (1988) Aussie Falcon "EA" inline 6 3.9 litre R.W.D. as Ford U.S had some involement in the design. Not too sure but doesn't look like a Taurus to me. That is exactly what a Taurus looks like. 1986 Taurus.
karoomay ◊ 2012-06-25 05:15	I heard a remake of Robocop (unfortunately) is planned to be released next year, it make me wonder if they plan to use the Ford Taurus again.
Ford_Guy ◊ 2012-06-25 05:45	It would be cool if they used the new Police Interceptor (the police version of the Taurus) for accurateness and as a homage to the original film. One of the things that I've always appreciated about the RoboCop film is how much it actually ended up correctly depicting of the future. Including how Ford eventually released a police-package Ford Taurus for the 1990 MY. However, I wouldn't be surprised if the new Dodge Charger becomes RoboCop's new ride. -- Last edit: 2012-06-25 07:26:25
Neptune ◊ 2012-06-25 07:19	Or a Police Interceptor Utility (U502). Can’t really see him driving that though. The Dodge Charger would fit the role.
antp ◊ 2012-08-07 18:08
G-MANN ◊ 2012-08-07 19:03	^ This is where it would be useful to have a comment or section at the beginning of the page reserved for extra pics, because someone would have to scroll down quite far to see that. Although I think this page could do with a bit of cleaning, maybe archive most the comments above.
george1998 ◊ 2013-01-27 00:20	One of my favorite cars.
Pongmai510 ◊ 2019-07-26 09:40	Matte black police car as featured.
2491tj ◊ 2020-05-19 15:01	all these years later it turns out the taurus used in this first movie were in fact pre production prototypes (with non production round headlights) of the LX, borrowed directly from Ford..they were not in production when the movie was made, but after the movie was released, it generated peoples interest and they all went to purchase them from Ford,by which time they had gone from prototype to full production. people were surprised the car could actually be bought and was not a customised prop like the 6000 SUX
Nick Rynearson ◊ 2020-05-25 19:12	I'm pretty sure the only reason this car is in the film is because Ford gave them money to.
Mad_Max ◊ 2020-07-03 07:21	Nick Rynearson wrote I'm pretty sure the only reason this car is in the film is because Ford gave them money to. Actually, the film's director approached Ford first, not the other way around, so no it wasn't because Ford gave them money, it was because the original car planned for RoboCop looked goofy, then he saw one and decided to make the Taurus the OCP cop cars.
Nick Rynearson ◊ 2020-07-10 23:46	Right... The film is known for being over the top and got a lot of satire of Capitalism and the Police doesn't want to have some takes on the American Police Force but instead sell you on the all-new Ford Taurus that you can buy at your local Ford Dealership today for $11,163. This was the too "Goofy" original car they were going to use https://www.robertwebb.com/images/robocop/Roboconst1.jpg and here how it was supposed to look when it was finished https://www.giantfreakinrobot.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/RoboCop11.jpg
MagnumForce ◊ 2020-10-23 10:57	2491tj wrote all these years later it turns out the taurus used in this first movie were in fact pre production prototypes (with non production round headlights) of the LX, borrowed directly from Ford..they were not in production when the movie was made, but after the movie was released, it generated peoples interest and they all went to purchase them from Ford,by which time they had gone from prototype to full production. people were surprised the car could actually be bought and was not a customised prop like the 6000 SUX This doesn't make sense time wise - the Taurus was released in 1985, and Robocop was filmed in 1986 and released in 1987. I think the production team just dressed that specific car up with round sealed-beam headlights. As the story goes, Verhoeven saw the first Taurus sedans as they hit the market and decided to use them instead of the weird custom cars they had already designed.
Kowalski5599 ◊ 2021-06-05 14:03	Those round headlights in some pics always make me curious. Did anyone ever successfully replicate or reproduce them for a tribute car? Did any of these survive filming?
Gurkelstock ◊ 2022-01-20 20:13	The irony is that Hollywood made me (and probably others too) associate the fleet / police cars of the 1980s with boxy cars from the downsizing era like the Panther platform LTDs or the M-platform Mopars, i.e. cars developped in the 1970s. This Taurus however is one the most typical American cars of the 1980s, but is never seen as a fleet car in 1980s films. Instead it was used as 1980s Hollywood's vision of a futuristic police car. -- Last edit: 2022-01-20 20:17:28
ELEKTR0N ◊ 2022-07-08 03:23	…the 1986 Ford Taurus wasn’t capable of being a police cruiser…
Baube ◊ 2022-07-08 04:03	while the Taurus might not be the best , some others might help to reconsiderate the Taurus...

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1986 Ford Taurus LX [DN5]

1986 Ford Taurus [DN5] in RoboCop, Movie, 1987

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