Ford Taunus

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Not to be confused with the Ford Taurus.

Image:Ford Taunus 17M 1960.jpg Image:Ford at Power Big Meet 2005.jpg

Ford Taunus was a car sold by Ford in Germany (some versions were similar to the Ford Cortina in the United Kingdom). From 1952 to 1968 all German Fords were called the Taunus using the model names 12M, 15M, 17M, 20M, and 26M. The "M" is said to stand for "Masterpiece". Taunus was also sometimes adopted as the brand-name in export markets, particularly where British and American Fords were also available.

The 12, 15 and 17M models had a V4 engine, later ones a straight-4 or V6 engine. The 12, 15, 17 etc. refer to the engine displacement; 1200, 1500, 1700 cc etc.

The model line is named after the Taunus mountain range in Germany.

In 1970 a new Taunus, the Taunus TC, was introduced, as a two- or four-door sedan, station wagon (or Turnier) and coupé. It was very similar to the British Ford Cortina Mk III, having been developed under the auspices of Ford of Europe, and many components were identical. The 1976 Taunus and Cortina models were identical in all but name, 'Taunus' being the name used in left hand drive (LHD) markets, and 'Cortina' in right hand drive ones, although the Cortina name was used in LHD South Korea and Taiwan. Australia even had 3.3 L and 4.1 L Cortinas.

Image:Cortina.mk4.750pix.jpg The Ford Taunus TC series was conceived in the late 1960s to be a "world car" alongside its technical sibbling the Cortina mk III, with construction and design work taking place on both sides of the Atlantic. As for the design of the first generation, it was done under the supervision Semon E. "Bunkie" Knudsen, of former General Motors fame. The car is often nicknamed "Barock 2" (pointing back to the Taunus P2 series of the late 1950s, commonly known as the "Barock-Taunus") or "The Knudsen Nose" by its german owners because of the pointy hood scoop that ,as the legend has it, was put there on direct order from Knudsen. Otherwise the major design work is rumoured to have been done by italian auto designer Luigi Colani, who also did design concepts for BMW's motorcycle division in the late 1970s. As from the 1976 model year Taunus and Cortina are equally the same cars; the Taunus TC along with the Cortina mk III and their successors has been produced in slightly updated forms in Europe, Argentina and Asia (even some Cortinas built on a license by Korean automaker Hyundai) up until the last turkish Otosan-Taunus left the factory in the mid-nineties. However the major components remained basically the same through the entire production run with the biggest re-engineering presented with the introduction of the 1979 model year, only receiving minor body changes. The 1979-81 series shares a good deal of its mechanics with the first generation Ford Sierra. The Taunus TC and Cortina mk III series is very easy to service and shares a lot of mechanical components with the other European Ford cars of the period excluding the Ford Fiesta, making them extremely easy to maintain.

In 1982 production of the Taunus ceased, and it was replaced by the Ford Sierra. Production continued in Argentina, which had a local coupe version until 1984, and in Turkey, where a restyled version of the last model continued in production until 1994.

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