Quote:
Originally Posted by bomelia
For grins, I went to the Ford website and chose to "build my own" SHO Taurus. Nothing too good for me! Added all the cool options. And then some. Decided against the 20" wheels as id started to have the "hood" look going on. Still, I got 'er pimped out real good. $47K. For a Taurus!!
See, to me, thats the problem with American cars. They wanna sell with the big boys but don't want to show they can play with the big boys.
$47K will get you some ass kicking imports that will still be worth something 4 years from today. Taurus? SHO or not, lucky to be worth 20% of its original value in 4 years.
Mike
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I priced out a fully loaded SHO with a dealer (there are a few out there now) and after "employee pricing " etc it comes in just over 40k. A comparably priced BMW with similar options and engine is 63k approx.
I haven't driven one yet, so I can't compare it to current offerings by other manufacturers but I am certain it is a step in the right dirction for Ford. One can't compare the technology in a new one to that of the SHO of 20+years ago. The new one has the latest engine technology (same as BMW)...direct injection, twin turbos, plus it has AWD, Synch, NAV etc. It will even run on regular gas (minus about 10 hp) and gets decent gas milage for a car that does 0-60 in 5.2 sec. As matter of fact Taurus SHO pricing is pretty much spot on its pricing of 20 years ago when adjusted for inflation.
As far as residual values are concerned, generally speaking of course, German cars tend to retain a greater percentage in 3 to 4 years than American cars, but they cost a lot more initially and as such in real dollars they are just as expensive to trade. At least that is my experience after owning 3 and 5 series vehicles.
Ill give Ford cudos for uping their game. In my view, the new Taurus has much promise (in the looks and technology department) and appears (on paper) to be a much better car on all fronts than the original. How much better (in the long run) remains to be seen.
I agree Ford has much to prove on the car front. Based on their past Taurus "exploits/flops" you have every reason to be skeptical.