Ford had a good thing going with the Taurus branding (my parents bought three of them over the years), but then for some inexplicable reason they killed it off

Ford had a good thing going with the Taurus branding (my parents bought three of them over the years), but then for some inexplicable reason they killed it off and went with the 500 or whatever. My parents no longer drive Fords; their default choice was taken from them. For some reason it's only the muscle car brands that get any respect from their manufacturers in the US; you won't see the Mustang, Charger, Challenger, or Corvette being renamed any time soon.