Taurus Hot Rod Question

Why did Ford stop producing the SHO versions of the Taurus? I know that they did produce a very slick Sport version, but nothing minacious like the SHO.

Thank You.

I believe the general concensus is poor marketing killed the SHO. The SHO was expensive, and the general public had no idea what they were getting in a SHO for the money because of the poor marketing.

Ford had engines built specifically for the SHO, they did not share them (in mass) between product lines, so that kept the cost up. Same for the front seats, they didn't share them with other models.

-Rod

Poor marketing:- Must be somtehing to that Rod because where sporty cars are concerned I thought I was a pretty hip Dude but until I started participating here I never heard of a SHO Taurus. Maybe Ford was afraid it would cut into Mustang GT sales market. HA! I bet many a person sitting at a stop light ready to drag race and floored it was surprised to have their doors blown off by a SHO.

Cops ears get pointy when they see a hot car like a 'Stang GT or Corvette. Neighbor of mine has a boy who had a red Corvette and a city cop gave him a $250. ticket for improper lane change. Went to court and the Judge reduced it to $200. Well, big deal. Nice, polite kid, not a hot rodder and said the cops were always stopping him so he sold it and got a pick up truck.

People didn't want to pay more for a Taurus. Seems like some people that have a Taurus SHO don't even know that it is faster than a normal Tarus.

Those people don't have 5 speeds, and need a tune! :) Sorry its an older thread, but www.bringbackthesho.com . Twin Force Motor, all wheel drive? It's not outside the realm of whats possible. Not practical, and there in lies the problem. :(

And yes, if you don't know how to drive, I've spanked many mustangs because they couldn't catch me in the gear personally developed by Jesus (3rd ) :smokin: , and thats because they fell behind those 2 car lengths when they realized my redline is @ over 9 grand due to the UDP's. :) Newer Cobra's are another story. I know better there.. lol

Anyone here remember years ago, when one of the car mags built a one-off SHO station wagon, bright red I think it was,, turned out fantastic.. i'm thinking it was possibly an 87 or 88??? I know it was the 5 speed, pretty sure the Yamaha engine..

Sounds like you're probably thinking about the one that Ford made at the request of Car and Driver magazine. Unfortunately, I haven't found any pics of it.
http://www.shotimes.com/php-bin/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=13

-Rod

Let me poke around for a few, I know I have a pic or 2 somewhere of a red one.

http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g284/thepimpskillet/showagon1.jpg

http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g284/thepimpskillet/showagon2.jpg

I know the second was an MTX, no clue on the first tho. :)

Shorod, that's the one,, I bought that issue specifically because of that article.. don't normally read car mags, but that caught my eye.

hey
im bout to hop into a very creative project.. im going to change a 95 3.0GL into the 95 3.2SHO.. any suggestions?

Well when you say 3.2, are you going to keep it automatic? Or want to use a 5 speed? I would have to double check for sure, but I'm almost certian you need a SHO subframe unless your crafty with a welder. :) You'll need a computer from a SHO as well.


Now if your going to use the 3.2 with a 5 speed, then you're going to need a subframe from a 5 speed, and its computer. You then will need the accessories and heads from a 3.0L. I'll have to look around there is a site that has all that info somewhere.

I believe the general concensus is poor marketing killed the SHO.
Yes, I don't know why it is but Ford does not properly promote these types of cars. They used to have a similar Lincoln (LSC?) which fell off the face of the Earth too. I can't give Ford all of the blame though. Smaller cars were just becoming all the rage for their gas milage, plus the SHO was not very inexpensive. You had to be a real SHO fan or collector to want one. I remember the first time I drove one I was impressed, but I do not miss them, especially everytime I step on the gas of my Duratec. Yes I know it's technically not a 'SHO' but it has some real kick of its own when you need it :grinyes: I have a feeling that Ford will be bringing back the SHO one day soon :)

Don't give up hope... Lincoln's MKX or whatever it is, has an all wheel drive system, yes? And Ford has a nifty 'Twin Force' motor crankin about 400 horses? And the Taurus is back next year? It's not that far of a stretch if they want to compete with all those ''SS'' models. :)

www.bringbackthesho.com

http://www.bringbackthesho.com/gallery/09TaurusSHOfront1BK.jpg

Plenty of people are trying to push these ideas along to the people at Ford. :)


Me personally, I think they killed it when it went to an Auto only. Even the automatic V-6's are so much different to drive than the sticks. The gear ratios are so different its crazy. The 5 speeds, vs the autos were 1 full second quicker in the 1/4, and a lot faster if they get a driver upgrade. I put a few simple bolt ons on mine, and I've got a good 250 hp, and can make nifty noises with my tires going into second and third. It's down right amazing what you can do with a little boost and giggle gas too... :)

I think part of the problem may be the "Honda Civic" issue. This is where some people, especially "kids", get these "cheap" cars (often they're marketed to younger people anyway, such as the Honda Civic, Pontiac Vibe, Psion, etc.) and soup them up. That's not to say that these cars are inexpensive, poorly made, or whatever, but they do seem to find themselves in the hands of these newer drivers who want to go fast (and are modified with aftermarket parts) for max speed. This also may can be done with less cost to the user (with limited income in this case) than what Taurus SHO may could be purchased for (because of Ford's "bigger motor goes faster" approach!). A possible better move for Ford may be the "Vulcan plus Super" approach to getting a fast undercover pavement burner (by taking one of the smaller motors already offered on the Taurus, and putting a few hop-ups on it to make it more powerful. From there, it's just gearing. :grinyes: The Taurus, as of 1996, was being made more upscale, and though I'm seeing a few SHO's on the road 'round B'ham AL, the SHO may be too upscale for this peticular model car, which always was set up as an inexpensive (but not cheap) car.

You gotta pay to play.. :)

It seems like Ford could hop it up some for us for less due to their massive buying power (we are talking about a multi-million dollar a day company, aren't we? :cool: ) and let us decide what we do and don't want by having it as options (again, at lower cost to us than the aftermarkets, remember we're talking about a big company buying the stuff for us!). Perasonally, I couldn't agree more about the manual vs. auto issue, though those autos can be programmed to do the quarter better, but must be dedicated for that purpose. Most cars are made for driveability on the Sunday drive, not racing the strip (and some may argue, even myself, that the Sunday drive programming could be better). Anyway, they don't, so I'm going to end up getting a fairly minimalist Ranger and then dropping in some bolt-ons. That'sactually some money they would miss out on though I'm buying their product.

What gets me is they spend so much on accessories and engine then when they trade or sell they don't get half of what they have in it, if that. They probably don't know what a 'sleeper' is but I've blew the doors off quite a few little ricers with my 03 Vulcan. Who'd expect an old Dude like me to enjoy varoom-varoom pedal to the metal and it always surprises them an old Dude in his golden years just smoked 'em off the line and ate their lunch. :popcorn:
There, take that, . . . that'll learn ya' durn ya'. :evillol: