RISK MAKER; Ford had to take chances with the Taurus-starting day one-if the company was going to survive.(NEWS)

Byline: DUTCH MANDEL

History will show how close, in the early part of this century, the family-owned Ford Motor Co. came to extinction. Its vision was foundering, its reputation was tarnished, and the likelihood that it would pull out of a terminal tailspin was looking more dismal by the day.

Then soft-talking, question-asking, no-BS-ing Boeing executive Alan Mulally grabbed the reins. With a mission of putting value into the Blue Oval, he started a revolution of confidence through laser-guided questions and tough choices. Why had the venerable Taurus name changed? Why build cars in Europe that people in the United States can't buy? Why is it so tough to get answers?

This revolution sparked critical thinking, which fired long-dormant creativity, which, among other things, begat the Taurus. Part Darwinism, part "what if fantasizing, Ford returned to its foundation: making cars that people must have.

The 2010 Ford Taurus begins to answer those questions, and it is an example of American ingenuity forged in steel ingenuity that began in the ones and zeros of computer data.

"The computer let us take a year out of the normal development of this car, said Peter Horbury, Ford design vice president for North America. "Taurus was created in nearly 24 months from start to finish.

That's fast, and necessarily so. The Taurus is based on the Volvo-derived D3 platformshared by the Ford Flex and the Lincoln MKSwhich allowed engineers to use finished hard points and engineering specs. The Taurus is a "top hat design that includes only body and interior.