The Ford Taurus is recognized all over America as one of the country’s mainstream sedans, so it may come as a surprise Ford looks set to kill it off – again.

That’s not strictly true, though, as the 2016 Taurus was shown this spring at the Shanghai Auto Show, and sports far more equipment and new Fusion-based looks. The issue, according to Automotive News, is that it’s just not coming to the U.S. and Ford would rather you buy a Fusion or one of their crossovers instead of a Taurus.

Taurus sales in the U.S. have plummeted pretty badly over the last few years – they’re on par to be the worst since 2009 and roughly a quarter what the model did 20 years ago when it was the best-selling car in America. Some of the blame lies in the fact the current car is effectively more than a decade old. Or that the large sedan segment it lives in has been severely depressed this decade as more buyers switch to smaller sedans or crossovers.

That brings us to the related Ford Explorer. It’s made in the same plant as the Taurus and Explorer sales continue to boom. Even the police prefer the Explorer to the Taurus, with the SUV outselling the sedan by nearly 3 to 1 through July. Without a significant change in these trends, the Taurus will likely be phased out over the coming years, despite dealers continuing to clamor for the car.

All of this sounds odd when you consider a decade ago when then-new Ford CEO Alan Mulally started work and wondered why Ford had just discontinued one of the most recognizable nameplates of the 20th century. After all, the original 1986 Taurus was a groundbreaking piece of design when it was launched. While it did take a healthy dose of influences from Audi and even the Ford Sierra, it proved mainstream cars didn’t have to look conservative to appeal to a wide range of buyers.

Sure, Taurus became a synonym for “rental car” as early as the mid-’90s (those who’ve seen the film Flirting With Disaster will know exactly what I mean). Making a new, better Taurus seemed like a better idea at the time than trying to familiarize buyers with a new name. But that groundbreaking new Taurus never came. Or rather, it showed up and was called the 2013 Fusion.

The Fusion is now Ford’s bread-and-butter midsize sedan like the Taurus was in its heyday, with sales now rivaling top-sellers like the Toyota Camry and Honda Accord. The Explorer, meanwhile, is the default family wagon the way the Taurus wagon used to be. And if you want to spend at least $40,000 on a large sedan, Ford desperately wants to point you to the upcoming 2017 Lincoln Continental or even an MKZ.

So like names such as Crown Victoria, LTD and Fairlane, the Taurus seems headed for the history books. Or, China in this case.

 Top photo: 1986 Ford Taurus. 2015 model pictured below

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