We chose the Ford Taurus as the first entry in our Class of 1986 series because it's generally hailed as the most revolutionary car in America at the time. Of course, as many students of 1980s automobile history already know, the Taurus derived much of its design from another revolutionary car, the Sierra by Ford of Europe, which did make it to the U.S. domestic market, though under an assumed name: Merkur XR4Ti.

Ford of Europe introduced the Sierra in late 1982, followed by its three-door hatchback performance variant, the XR4i in 1983. Though endowed with rear-wheel drive, an independent rear suspension and the familiar Cologne 2.8L V-6, its radical styling kept it from selling like hotcakes. Nevertheless, Bob Lutz, at the time the man to see at Ford of Europe, came up with the idea of bringing the XR4i across the pond to the United States.

Though some have posited that he did so to satisfy Lincoln-Mercury dealers clamoring for a hot turbocharged hatchback similar to the Mustang SVO to sell (ignoring the fact that they already had the Capri), as Richard A. Johnson wrote in "Six Men Who Built the Modern Auto Industry," Lutz simply wanted to market the XR4i in America to allow Ford to directly combat BMW and Audi in the German import market.

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