Taurus' near twin, the Sable was plusher, a little more expensive and sometimes even larger. With softer handling and important styling differences, the Sable attracted a somewhat different audience. And the Taurus borrowed from the Sable more than you might know . . .
Mercurys are Fords with a difference, and the Sable was indeed different from the Taurus. When introduced for 1986, the Sable was both slightly longer and heavier than the Taurus, and yet the rear of the wagon was a Sable design, not a Taurus one. From the windshield back the cars were virtually identical, but in front the Sable sported a highly futuristic "light bar" that brought the headlights together. Besides having more standard equipment than a Taurus, there were fewer models, and certainly no performance ones. The dashboard was completely unique (until 1990) and the ride was plusher. Overall the Sable was the upscale wagon you could take out on the town.
By 1992 the Taurus and Sable were twins, except for the front styling. Did you know that if you ordered a Taurus SHO, you got Sable cornering lights as standard?
When the all-new 1996 models came out the Taurus and Sables were still twins, with only front-end styling differences. The Sable had a discernable front bumper, where the Taurus did not, and if you look carefully all wagons have Sable rear doors.
The revised 2000 model went for a much more conservative look inside and out. No longer cutting-edge, the Sable was a well-appointed, reliable, quiet and refined wagon.
2005 was the final year for the Sable wagon, and by then it had more chrome in the grille. For this final year you could get a "monotone" package that included a body-colored grille, bodyside molding and 14-spoke wheels. To date there has been no word of any replacement for the Sable wagon.
This is the story of my personal ride, a nicely equipped 1998 Mercury Sable LS. As far as I can tell no one has done a really thorough job of archiving one of these wagons on the web for people to view, so I set about to change that.
I was a former Taurus owner: I had a 1988 GL wagon (above, left) for 6 years before trading up to a silver 1997 LX wagon (above, right). A couple of years ago I had a serious accident that totaled the silver Taurus, and I was lucky enough to replace it with a sweet Sable LS.
The new car (photos below) was 8-1/2 years old and came with only 63,000 miles on the odo. Compared to my 1997 Taurus which was all cloth with a folding center console and no sunroof, I finally had all the options I wanted. Being silver my Sable's chrome looks great, and the Sable has twice the chrome as a Taurus. With a softer ride than in the Taurus and more polarizing styling, I really fell in love with this car. When they were introduced in 1996 I didn't go for the looks, but 10 years later it has really grown on me.
Here's the facts: Duratec 3.0 DOHC 24 valve V6, 4-speed auto transmission with overdrive and lockout, dual exhaust, 4 wheel disc brakes with anti-lock, chromed aluminum wheels, 2nd generation airbags, variable assist power steering, power windows, power door locks, power mirrors, cruise control, lighted / dimming visor mirrors, 6-way power driver seat with lumbar, 6-way power passenger seat, leather wrapped steering wheel, automatic temperature control, rear seat air conditioning and heating vents, Mach Audio with AM/FM / cassette / 6-disc CD changer with 6 speakers and 80 watts, power antenna, leather and cloth seating, power sunroof, tinted privacy glass, and rear facing third row seat.
I live in Las Vegas in Southern Nevada. My brother lives in Berkeley, California. To break my Sable in I took the following 1,900 mile long trip from Las Vegas to Berkeley, to Eureka, to Reno and back to Las Vegas in late April 2006.
The yellow highlight shows the path of the trip. Trip is repeated between Las Vegas and Tonopah.
Downtown Tonopah. About 6,500 elevation with 2,700 residents.
Downtown Tonopah. Another angle.
Highway 120 between Benton and Mono Lake. This road is closed in winter, but had just recently been re-opened. Just inside the California border, this is a very wild road. Instead of excavating a path for the road, they simply paved on top of the landscape. There are sections that dip up and down like a Ruffles Potato Chip!
Continuing along Highway 120. Getting into the snow!
Continuing along Highway 120. Finally, some forest!
Overlooking Mono Lake on Highway 395.
Mono Lake: different angle to catch the snowy hills.
Bridgeport, California. A lovely little tiny town, it has a great fishing lake.
Bridgeport, Ca. The blue restaurant across the stree is where I always stop for lunch. It was closed!
Walker, Ca. One of those little communities that you'd like to live in if they had a decent supermarket and a Wal-Mart.
Overlooking Topaz Lake, just back over the border into Nevada.
Highway 50, south and west of Tahoe. I had just gone over Luther pass (7,500 ft) where the rain had turned to snow and the wet pavement had become slush. What a hairy ride! You can still see some snow on my grille and headlights.
Sunday afternoon tour of the bay. This is the San Francisco Marina district.
With Alcatraz in the background.
With the marina in the background.
Kites are flying.
The vista point just into Marin county looking back at the Golden Gate Bridge.
The Sausalito Marina.
A better angle.
Overlooking the Bolinas Lagoon on PCH Highway 1 just north of Stinson Beach.
Stopping for a break at Point Reyes Station.
A quick stop for a picture of Bodega Bay.
Posing with the mouth of the Russian River where it spills into the Pacific.
A shot on a cliff at over 500 feet above the Pacific below. In the background are the famous cow-goats of Northern California.
Point Arena. Famous for lesbian antique dealers and a grand old lighthouse.
Mendocino. Great little tourist village of shops and galleries.
Mendocino with the ocean in the background.
Cleone, Ca. Just a few miles north of Ft. Bragg. Nice little craggy beach.
Newport, Ca. A few miles further up from Cleone.
Eureka, Ca. At Waterfront Drive.
Eureka, Ca. At Waterfront Drive. The homeless were just getting up and saying good morning to each other.
A little rest area between Eureka and Redding.
Weaverville, Ca. Population 3,554 just a short trip from Redding.
Gorgeous Whiskeytown Lake, just outside of Redding.
Donner Pass, Ca. Lightning, thunder and big snowflakes in late April . . . hairy going until the snow turned back into rain.
Carson City, NV. I couldn't get a good shot of the Capitol so I settled for the Legislature.
The sign says it all.
Most of Genoa wasn't open for business, except for the bar in the background. It was only noon but folks were drinking.
The teal-roofed building was a wine cellar. I bought 3 bottles of wine as a souvenir.
A nice rest area along the Walker River.
Another view.
