The 3.0l Dohc Taurus Engine: A History

By Author: Peter Jones
Total Articles: 231
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When Ford released its first generation Taurus in 1985, no one could have known that in a few short years it would become the bestselling vehicle in the United States.
It started off humbly enough. Ford, in an attempt to compete with General Motors and Chrysler who had begun offering a wide array of front wheel drive vehicles, released a mid-size passenger vehicle to help the company along in its transition from Ford car engines with rear wheel drive to better, more modern Ford car engines with front wheel drive. What set this car apart though was its shape. While other cars of its time were boxy and wagon-like, the Taurus Ford was based on a rounded design model intended to improve aerodynamics and fuel efficiency.

At the time, the Corporate Average Fuel Economy standard (a vehicle pollutant restriction program by the United States government) was beginning to be applied more strictly. Along with its new fuel efficient Ford car engine, the Taurus Ford's innovative jelly bean shape allowed it to meet the new requirement easily, as opposed to its more squared contemporaries. This avant garde contour was a catalyst ...
... that started an automobile design revolution in the United States and led to the smoother, more rounded vehicle models that roam today's streets.

The combination of cutting edge design technology, a fresh, buyer preferred, front wheel drive Ford car engine, and an intuitive, user friendly interior made this car a smash hit. 2 million first generation Taurus Fords were sold and the car was given Motor Trend's prestigious ‘Car of the Year' award for 1986, as well as making Car and Driver magazine's ‘10 Best Cars of 1986' list. But that was just the beginning.

In 1992, after a drastic cosmetic and mechanical update—which included an upgrade of the Ford car engine in all models to V6 with automatic transmission across the board—the Taurus Ford became, by a wide margin, the official bestselling car in the entire United States.

It retained this title for 5 years and through a number of significant upgrades. In 1996, the Ford Taurus engines was redesigned from the ground up, being given an even more streamlined, ovular shape, which would in theory afford the automobile even greater fuel economy and style. The public was not happy with this new shape, however, and—although the Ford Taurus would remain America's bestselling car for 1 more year due to rental fleet sales—sales to private customers went significantly down.

The Ford company would redesign its beloved Taurus over the next few generations, replacing the ovular body structure and updating much of the interior, exterior, and Ford car engine design in order to revive the model. Today the Taurus Ford looks to be staging a striking comeback on the automobile market scene.

The 3 liter Ford car engine that is featured in this model comes with a double overhead camshaft design—a configuration used by many engines of today that usually includes multiple valves in each cylinder.

About: The intake valves are placed on one side of the cylinder, and the exhaust valves on the other in order to enhance the horsepower and breathing of this Ford car engine. This allows the Ford car engine to be smaller than many other engines, while still containing the necessary muscle to power this world famous vehicle.