It's not often that a company is able to create a product that winds up being an American icon, but Ford Motor (NYSE: F) did just that back in 1985 when they started pumping out the Taurus. The love affair with the Taurus came to a sad end back on October 27 when the final Taurus rolled off the assembly line at the company's Atlanta assembly plant.

Well, it appears that the company has had a change of heart. According to one company official, the Taurus name will be coming back to life! While it has not been officially announced by the company, it looks like Ford is going to start using the Taurus name on their Five Hundred model in hopes of ramping up consumer support.

I think that this is a great idea for the struggling auto maker. While sales of the Taurus had been dwindling over the last few years it is still a household name, and one that the car manufacturer should try to take advantage of if possible.

When Taurus was first introduced in 1985 the car was an immediate hit with buyers and helped lift the fortunes of the car maker, which had been losing billions in the early 80's. Perhaps the company is hoping some of that Taurus magic will return and help lift fortunes once again. Ford which lost $12.7 billion last year could definitely use a little of magic to help turn things around.

Look for an official announcement to come from Ford later this week at the Chicago Auto Show.

Michael Fowlkes has worked as a stock trader for seven years and spent the last two years working as an analyst for the online investment advisory service Investor's Observer.