Ford may cull Taurus X and Sable

DEARBORN, Mich., Aug. 11 (UPI) -- No. 2 U.S. automaker Ford Motor Co. has plans to discontinue the Mercury Sable and the Taurus X crossover in 2009, company documents said.

Documents reviewed by The Detroit News revealed the company will discontinue both models, but maintain production of the Ford Taurus, the newspaper reported.

Sales of both cars are down. The Sable, formerly named the Montego, has seen a drop in sales of 8 percent this year, while sales of the Taurus X crossover, formerly the Freestyle, have declined 25 percent this year.

Ford would not confirm a decision had been made on either vehicle. But, Ford vice president of global quality Bennie Fowler said the company was still focused on quality improvements.

Fowler said Ford was aiming for an average of 800 errors per 1,000 vehicles among its small cars launched in Europe, a rate better than Toyota's in that class and 500 less than the industry average.

Fowler said each U.S. Ford plant will send 5 to 10 hourly workers to Wayne State University this fall to train for Six Sigma black belt certification.

"We're playing to win," Fowler said