I've had my car for 4 years, and all it has needed were brakes and a battery. I've replaced my brakes 2 times.
It's one of the best cars I have owned. I hope to get 250 thousand miles from it. It's one of the most comfortable cars I've ever driven.
Ford still makes the Five Hundred, they just call it the Taurus now. Same for the Ford Freestyle, which was rebadged as the Taurus X.
This all came out of the realization by Ford that making all of their model names start with the letter 'F' was a poor decision; this has since been nicknamed the "Ford Fiasco".
They never stopped making them; they renamed it Taurus.
Actually they've renamed it the Ford Taurus, I don't know why they've had to rename it the Taurus again.
You have a great car, but 2 brake jobs in four years is a bit ridiculous. My 9-year-old Pontiac has had the front pads replaced (at 70,000 miles) but the rear are STILL original. My Dodge only had TWO brake jobs in 240,000 miles. You may have a problem with the discs or the pressure-relief valve in your calipers. Either that, or someone is telling you you need brakes when you DON'T (which happens an AWFUL LOT). As a mechanic I'm sold on Fords. One of ours made 325,000+ miles with less than $400 in total repairs.
As for the 500 being discontinued, the new Taurus is not only very similar in all dimensions and feel, but is also greatly improved. I'd recommend you try one out when your 500 is ready to be traded in another 300,000 miles.
They renamed it the Taurus because it wasn't selling well as the Five-Hundred, and the Taurus name was well established.
They did make some improvements on the vehicle though.
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