As Chairman of the Board and CEO, Caldwell approved and oversaw the development and launch of the Ford Taurus (and its corporate sister the Mercury Sable) which were introduced to the media days before his retirement, thus allowing him to take public credit for the Taurus program, which became one of the biggest successes in automobile business history. On February 1, 1985, Caldwell retired from Ford, He later accepted a position as senior managing director at Shearson Lehman Brothers in New York. On September 23, 1985, he was one of 21 new members appointed to the President's Export Council. He was inducted into the Automotive Hall of Fame in 1990.