NEW YORK -- Ford Motor Co. is betting that its 2000 Taurus, restyled without the oval look of its predecessor, will have broader appeal in the high-volume market for midside family sedans.

When Ford introduced its second-generation Taurus in 1995, it made a styling splash with an unusual oval design: There were oval headlights, oval windows, oval taillights, oval vents, even an oval radio and climate-control pod.The redesigned Taurus sold well -- it remains Ford's best-selling car. But it wasn't as big a hit as the original '86 aero-look Taurus. Since it lost the title of the nation's best-selling car in 1997, the Taurus has remained in third place well behind the more conservatively styled Honda Accord and Toyota Camry.

With that in mind, the new design, to be unveiled Tuesday at the New York International Auto Show, has shed most of the oval styling cues in favor of a cleaner, more understated look. Its Mercury twin, the Sable, will undergo a similar transformation.

Ford is betting the new Taurus will have broader appeal in the high-volume, midsize family sedan market -- a segment where standout styling doesn't always translate into standout sales.

"It still has a Ford look to it, yet at the same time they took away some of the bizarreness and made it more functional," said analyst James Hall of AutoPacific Inc.

Ford also is adding an array of safety and comfort features to the Taurus and Sable to make them more competitive with the fresher competition from Toyota and Honda.

Analyst Chris Cedergren of Nextrend contends the styling of the second-generation Taurus was not necessarily the reason its sales failed to keep pace. Initially, Ford priced the car too high. And the segment for years has steadily lost buyers to sport utility vehicles and other light trucks.

"If they had made the car more traditional back then, would they have sold any more?" Cedergren asked. "I don't think so."

Ford also cut back on less profitable fleet sales of the Taurus in 1997 after deciding the cost of maintaining the sales crown had become too high. Since then, sales of Taurus to rental, government and business fleets have declined 10 percent, spokeswoman Anne Doyle said.

While Ford had hoped the second generation's unique design would appeal more to import owners willing to pay a little more, it may have put off customers more concerned about space and comfort. One problem was its swoopy, ovoid contours made it look smaller than the original Taurus, even though it was a bit larger, Hall said.

"If you make the customer think the car looks smaller, in some cases it doesn't even get considered," Hall said.

With its more substantial rear end, a higher roof line and larger trunk, the 2000 Taurus looks its size. Rear headroom was increased by nearly 2 inches and the trunk holds more than a cubic foot more space, addressing common criticisms of the current Taurus.

The 2000 Taurus represents what the industry calls a "reskin" as opposed to a complete redesign. The structure and basic mechanical parts remain largely unchanged from the '99.

"The face-lift addresses everything Ford could address for the money they wanted to spend," Hall said. "Functionally, they've made the car better."

Ford plans to promote the car's enhanced safety features when it goes on sale in the fall with the Sable. They will be the first Fords equipped with a new system of computer sensors that adjust the speed of the air bags' deployment based on the severity of the crash, the driver's seat position and seat-belt usage.

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The Taurus and all other 2000 Ford cars also will come with a standard emergency trunk-release latch designed to allow a person who becomes locked inside to get out. The t-shaped release handle glows in the dark, which Ford says will make it especially easy for a trapped child to find.

Front side-impact air bags also will be available as an option, as will power adjustable accelerator and brake pedals. The latter feature is a safety advantage for short drivers, who may otherwise be subjected to air bag-related injuries from sitting too close to the steering wheel.

Prices are expected to be announced by late summer.

The New York show opens to the public Saturday and runs through April 11.

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