Pit stop in Richmond for Ford marketing exec

On Wednesday, a marketing executive from the Ford Motor Company stopped by Cary Street with the car the company hopes can breathe new life into the storied automaker.

The new Taurus is sculpted to look like rippling muscles. It has many new aspects, including detection collision radar all around the car.

A six-way massage system on the cushion and lower back of the seat helps reduce cramps and keep blood flowing while driving.

“It’s easy to get up to triple digit speeds, without even realizing,” said Craig Patterson, a marketing manager at Ford. Patterson is touring the country and promoting the new Taurus, which aims to capture some of the mass appeal from the 1980s and 1990s.

Patterson said that the worst of the sales slowdown is hopefully in the review mirror. Ford sales for the Richmond region rose 31 percent in August compared with the previous year, he said.

Patterson said that buyers had a lot of consumer confidence and were given a “buzz” when the “Cash for Clunkers” program started.

“The increase in percentages was a big success, but now the plan is to find creative ways to get people to the dealership,” said Patterson.

Mashalla Mukadam is a BizSense reporter. She chose not to test drive the new Taurus. Please send news tips to mm@richmondbizsense.com.