CHICAGO | Just weeks away from halving production and cutting almost 800 jobs at its Chicago Assembly Plant, Ford Motor Co. hosted a media tour there to tout its flexible manufacturing system and its EcoBoost engine.

But neither innovation is giving Ford what it and other carmakers, need most: consumer demand for their products.

Although the recently introduced Lincoln MKS has gained marketshare in its high-end luxury category during each of the three months it has been available, sales of the plant's other product are lagging.

Taurus sales dipped 25 percent in September compared to the same month in 2007, while Taurus X sales fell 63.9 percent and Mercury Sable sales dropped 57.7 percent.

Ford currently is planning to stop production of the Taurus X and Sable in the spring, according to a plant official, who asked not to be identified.

"We're going to building all smaller cars," the official said.

Ford spokeswoman Anne Marie Gattari, called the matter a "rumor" in August and this week said the company recently reiterated "its commitment to the Mercury brand," but would not comment further.

When the plant eliminates one of its two shifts Nov. 3, it will reduce its salaried and hourly employee roles by 792, cutting the positions of its more than 600 temporary workers,plus an unknown number of regular hourly workers. Cuts will be based on seniority.

About two dozen salaried employees also will be affected, said Bill Russo, Ford's director of manufacturing. Some can transfer to other projects or plants or, if they came through the hourly ranks, have the option of returning to an hourly position, he said.

The plant, which has the capacity to annually produce 135,000 vehicles per shift, will operate on one 40-hour per week shift, Russo said. Line speed -- the number of vehicles produced each hour, will be at 50 vehicles until January, when it will be increased to 60, he said.

The assembly plant will begin building the new, redesigned Taurus during the second quarter 2009, with retooling currently occurring in the product supply base, Russo said. During a six-month period, 99 prototypes will be built.

Its flexible manufacturing system, which allows the plant to build multiple vehicle models on one platform, is making it possible for Ford to quickly change production to the smaller vehicles being demanded by its consumers, he said.

"It's one design, one manufacturing process equalling multiple models," he said. "It allows the plant to build a wide variety of vehicles."

Flexible manufacturing was introduced at the plant in 2004 at a cost of about $400 million with the production of the 2005 Ford Five Hundred, Ford Freestyle and Mercury Montego. The Taurus and Sable were reintroduced in 2007 for the 2008 model year.

With flexible manufacturing, changing or adding vehicle models costs "significantly less," Russo said.

The Ford plant also boasts that 80 percent of its automation is generic, meaning 80 percent of the robotics, tools and equipment can be used in the production of any model, which reduces changeover time to less than three months.

The EcoBoost engine is the cornerstone of the company's plan for delivering producing vehicles with more power, more fuel efficiency and lower carbon dioxide emissions, according to Brett Hinds, Ford's advanced engine design and development manager.

EcoBoost will be available on the Lincoln MKS next spring, and by 2013 it will be available on all Ford models, including its trucks and sport utility vehicles.