Hella-Clean 1994 Ford Taurus Wagon Can Take You Back to Better Days
Mom, can we stop by Blockbuster on the way home? Brody told me they just got Space Jam in!
You know what? Screw 2020. We wanna go back to 1994. Fortunately, we don't need a nuclear-powered DeLorean DMC-12 to take us there—a pristine Ford Taurus station wagon would suffice, and as luck would have it, one just popped up for sale at a Toyota dealer in Boulder, Colorado.
This beaut is a 1994 Taurus GL wagon currently listed for sale by Larry H. Miller Toyota for the smokin’ hot price of $4,500. That may sound like a lot for a 1990s Taurus, but this is no driven-into-the-ground appliance like the Tauruses you can find at your local, seedy used car lot. No, this is a 67,927-mile survivor with tires that shine, paint that looks almost showroom-fresh, and an interior that could've just had its seat covers pulled off today. Even its factory AM-FM radio and tape deck remain in place, never retrofitted with the garish aftermarket units that plague so many 1980s and 1990s cars.
Though a lowly GL model, this Taurus features Ford's 3.8-liter "Essex" V6, which in its day produced 140 horsepower and 215 pound-feet of torque, much of which was lost in the four-speed AX4S transmission en route to the front wheels. It is by no means a fast car, but it seats seven in comfort and gets 29 mpg highway, both of which are the envy of some modern crossovers. Granted, it may not be able to compete with a modern CUV or even a more recent Taurus when it comes to safety, entertainment, or OBD2 diagnostic features, but at $4,500, it costs a fraction what you'd pay for a newer model with similar mileage and none of the Radwood cred.
We'd recommend buying it on those grounds alone if—snap back to 2020—coronavirus hadn't forced Radwood to put all future events on hold until public health improves. While we're sorry to break the spell of nostalgia, living in the present doesn't prevent us from enjoying old cars and if anything, the passage of time helps us appreciate treasures like these even more.
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