After a decade during which Ford’s ungainly, unimpressive, and unloved Taurus essentially decimated the automaker’s dominance in the midsize family sedan segment, the company debuts the crisply styled, sharply tailored, and undeniably handsome 2006 Ford Fusion.

When Ford redesigned the popular Taurus for the 1996 model year, the company shot itself in both feet with a double-oval-barreled shotgun, and in the process, handed the midsize family sedan segment to Honda, Nissan, and Toyota wrapped in a pretty red bow and served on a glittering silver platter.

Why it took the company 10 years to rectify this mistake is anyone’s guess, but the all-new 2006 Ford Fusion has the design, the performance, and the equipment to properly compete. The question is this: Is the Fusion too late to rebuild Ford’s midsize car market share?