2005 Ford Five Hundred

There are two ways to approach life - you can be conservative or you can take risks. Opportunity for risk is everywhere, whether it be skydiving, applying to be a contestant on Fear Factor, eloping with a stranger, or buying a Yugo. Should things go well, there's an intense sense of satisfaction and fulfillment when a risk pays off. But, if they go badly, there are broken bones, divorces, the stigma of driving a really bad car, or in the case of Fear Factor, uncontrollable vomiting. Not good.

So, maybe it's better to be conservative, or at least that's the thinking at Ford Motor Company, as evidenced by the 2005 Ford Five Hundred. No sirree, no risks taken here, and the result is a perfectly capable and comfortable vehicle that offers a long list of attractive features, yet suffers for its mediocre engine and forgettable styling. But, Ford can't be blamed for taking this approach. Back in the mid 1980s, the company took a big risk with the first Taurus, an exercise in styling that instantly dated the competition and drew praise for years. But then Ford tried to replicate that success with the bubbly 1996 redesign of the Taurus, and quickly saw the flipside of taking risks. And it's that resulting mindset, one of going to the edge and then paying the price, that's behind the new Five Hundred.