---

Ford Gives First Look at 2000 NASCAR Taurus; 'Taurus 2k' Hints at New Styling Cues

20 May 1999

Ford Gives First Look at 2000 NASCAR Taurus; 'Taurus 2k' Hints at New Styling Cues

    DEARBORN, Mich., May 20 -- Ford released an
artist's rendering of the new 2000 NASCAR Taurus race car today -- nicknamed
"Taurus 2k" -- giving the public its first hints of the car that will make its
debut at the Daytona 500 in February, 2000.
    "The new 2000 Taurus race car will have an all-new look to reflect the
sleek design of the new 2000 model-year production Taurus," said Dan Davis,
director, Ford Racing Technology and head of Ford's worldwide racing program.
"But it's an evolution, not a revolution, when compared to the drastic changes
we needed to make when we went from Thunderbird to Taurus in 1998."
    The actual unveiling of the Taurus 2k race car will come later this year,
to coincide with the launch of the new Taurus production car.
    "Taurus has always been a hit with consumers, and it has certainly been a
hit on the race track with our teams and our race fans since its debut last
year," said Bob Rewey, Ford group vice president, Marketing, Sales and
Service, and the man with overall responsibilities for racing at the company.
    "We see this new NASCAR Taurus program as an important and integral part
of the Company's launch of the 2000 Taurus production car that the public saw
for the first time in March at the New York Auto Show," he said.  "It's
important to us and to our dealers that the new Taurus race car shares the
unique styling cues of the new production car that will be available in
dealerships this fall.  Racing the Taurus in NASCAR, America's top racing
series, continues to give us a tremendous opportunity to market the car to a
family-oriented audience that has a strong loyalty toward domestic products."
    "We see this as a terrific opportunity for our engineers to work with our
teams and further develop what has already proven to be a very successful
product on the track," Davis said.  "We're taking a lot of the lessons we
learned in the short time frame we had to develop the '98 Taurus, and adapting
those lessons to the development of the 2000 Taurus.  First and foremost,
we're working closely with NASCAR to ensure that the development of this
Taurus fits within the parameters that they're looking for in new race cars."
    Although there hasn't been a complete 2000 Taurus race car built yet,
advance research and work is currently underway by Ford Racing Technology and
three of Ford's top teams -- Penske Racing South, Roush Racing and Robert
Yates Racing.
    In addition, NASCAR officials were earlier given a preview look at the new
2000 model-year Taurus production car, and have been involved in development
plans for Taurus 2k.
    Taurus had a successful year on and off the track in 1998, capturing 15
wins in its inaugural NASCAR season and seeing a four percent sales increase
in the marketplace over the previous year, as it continues its reign as one of
the best-selling cars in North America.  Taurus sales to retail customers are
up 18 percent in the first four months of 1999.
    "Some of our dealers have told us they've seen a different kind of
customer showing interest in Taurus since we started racing it last year,"
said Rewey.  "That's important to us as we compete in a highly-competitive
marketplace.  NASCAR racing provides one more opportunity for us and our
dealers to market to consumers."
    In 1999, Ford Taurus drivers have captured an additional five wins in 11
races thus far this season, with Taurus driver Dale Jarrett leading the
Winston Cup point standings, and Ford leading the manufacturers' championship
over Chevrolet and Pontiac.