The Ford Taurus is no more. Let that sink in; it takes time to get used to the absence of a product that has become as familiar and symbolically significant as a Big Mac or Jumbo Jack. Unfortunately, the similarities run a bit deeper: the Taurus is one piece of sloppy meat whose ingredients never really changed, that most people bought for being cheap, and that cursed its buyers with unseen consequences in the long run. The Taurus served its purpose, but most of us can agree it's time Ford sent its old bull off to Bovine University for an industrial-grade clubbing.And why wait? Its newer, shinier, more contemporary replacement is already here. Following the Focus and Five Hundred, Ford gave its new middle child the moniker Fusion, a name that means "the merging of different elements into a union." Two of the elements in question would be Mazda engineering and Ford styling, a union that has created more than a few cars in the recent past. The Fusion combines space and speed like no Ford before it, and seems perfect for anyone who's been waiting for their Probe to sprout two extra doors, for their Contour to grow a real back seat, or for their Taurus to get a personality. And really, any outsider open to the idea of a four-door Ford should find reasons to give it a shot as well.