Following the leak of a single camera-phone photo of the 2010 Ford Taurus, Ford has told employees children will not be allowed at its Design Center on the nationally recognized "Take You Child To Work Day" on April 24th. The directive comes from design boss Peter Horbury.

According to our sources, and based on the recent internal spy photos of the upcoming Ford Taurus, parents who work at the Design Center will not be allowed to bring their children to work, and it's unlikely alternate accommodations have been made for these parents and children.

We're trying to get a copy of the memo, but in the meantime - we think Ford needs to find a new place for these families to "share" what mom and/or dad do on April 24th.

It's unclear if Ford has determined how the Taurus photo leaked or how it relates to Take You Child To Work Day.

In January, Ford announced it would make the unprecedented move of redesigning its Taurus sedan after a year on the market, and today our spy photographers captured the first images of the next Taurus’ interior.


The current Ford Taurus was unveiled in early 2007 as the 2008 Ford Five Hundred. It was then renamed to Taurus in an effort to take advantage of the nameplate’s strong mindshare. The car was “facelifted” to give it more style than the original 2005 Five Hundred. Unfortunately, the move was not enough to boost sales or public perception of the model.

As a result, Ford CEO Alan Mulally ordered a complete redesign. Less than six months ago, he told the press the 2010 Taurus would be “the one we should have made originally.”

Ford has decided to combine elements of its “Bold American” and European “Kinetic” design language for the 2010 model. While this isn’t Ford’s all-new design language (which will debut in several years), it is certainly a move in the right direction.

Although the car spotted today was heavily clad in camouflage, an earlier image leak and our artist’s illustration show what the production Taurus will look like. The basic three-bar grille remains, but it has been grafted onto a trapezoidal opening. A similarly shaped inverted air intake sits below the grille. The headlights have some detailing similar to other American Ford products, but their shape is decidedly European.

Underhood, Ford is expected to equipped the Taurus with its new family of ECOboost engines, including a high-performance, 350 horsepower SHO model.

Interior shots show an upscale interior, complete with a twin cockpit design similar to that seen in the Chevy Malibu.

Is it a groundbreaking design? Not especially. Will it allow Ford to compete effectively against its Asian competition? Absolutely — and that’s what counts.