With the arrival of the new Fusion mid-size sedan, Ford's venerable Taurus should be ready for pasture. But the old veteran keeps hanging on, mostly for the continuing business of fleets and rentals. Although the 2006 Taurus does appear on our Web site, it is nowhere to be found on Ford's consumer site, giving us reason to wonder how long the 2006 run will last. If you really want a new Taurus, your local Ford dealer will probably oblige. But why would anyone take the aging Taurus over the Fusion? Perhaps the best reason is initial value. Even fully loaded, the Taurus is offered at a very attractive price. The downside is you'll be buying a car without the latest safety advances, such as head-curtain airbags, and one that's at the end of its model run, which will not help resale value.

* Ratings from previous model year shown