If you follow such minutia (or read all 80 pages of our Detroit auto show coverage), you probably already know that the Ford Five Hundred is slated to get a Fusion-style, three-chrome-slat grille and a 260-hp, 3.5-liter V-6 for 2008.

It also shouldn’t come as a shock to anyone that the Five Hundred name has garnered precisely zero brand equity in its three years on the market. Blame it on the car’s inadequate power, its lack of competitive safety features, or its utterly forgettable styling.

You might also know that the Taurus, which was once America’s best-selling car, is now out of production after years of neglect and sales that dropped in direct proportion to the number of times Ford cost-cutters said “Put off those Taurus updates for another year.”

The obvious solution (even to people with a marketing degree, apparently) is to ditch the Five Hundred nameplate and revive the Taurus designation for Ford’s big sedan. Why didn’t we think of that? We’re not going to be too hard on ourselves, as Ford itself apparently got this bright idea after it had already introduced the vehicle as the 2008 Five Hundred at the Detroit auto show in January of 2007.

The only problem with this name shuffling is that long-time Taurus buyers may be confused by the re-badged Five Hundred, as it’s a much bigger and more expensive car. But what do we know, Ford has confirmed that it won't de-content the Taurus and chop its $24k price to be competitive with the smaller Toyota Camry and Honda Accord which start around $20,000 for four-cylinder models.