2010 Ford SHO Taurus
 

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

I agree Mike. I have a 2006 Chevy Silverado, extended cab, 4 door with many options. I paid 32K for it and right now with only 25,000 miles it is worth only about 10K-12K if I am lucky. Not 20% but close enough.

Terry

And that 20% is assuming you do not have any major problems with the car. Remember the last version of the SHO? The camshaft gears were falling off the cams (or something to that effect) and basically wiping out the heads. Not good for an expensive car that was supposed to compete with BMW etc.

Hopefully Ford spent some serious R & D time on this one and got everything correct.

As far as I know the only American cars that can hold some of their value are the Viper, Ford GT, and 'Vettes. Even Shelby Mustangs have dropped quite a bit, but they still hold a better value than non-Shelbys.

$47K for a Taurus!?! I think you are an honest guy, but I'm really having trouble with that one...:eek:

Steve

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.

The SHO is AWD so I doubt it will drop in price as bad as a reg. If you've seen one in person.. they are SICK! I got to sit in one at the autoshow. Got a few pics. The 20's do not look all that big on the car. They fit well. I wish it would have been a ride and drive.

6 speed paddle shift, 365hp/350lbft, AWD = low 13's and 5sec 0-60

http://a332.g.akamai.net/f/332/936/1...ho.r34.500.jpg

The interior was just gorgeous! Especially on the red car they had at the show, but would look even better on the black.
http://a332.g.akamai.net/f/332/936/1...o.int2.500.jpg

Well, let's take the high number: $47K

The closest thing to it would be an Audi, with quattro. You would need to get an Audi A6 4.2 to match it in horsepower, and that's gonna cost you in the mid to high $60s.

A BMW 5 with a V8 would be about the same, without AWD.

A Mercedes E-Class 550, without AWD would be high $60s as well. I just bought one for work.

Resale value? No track record, so it will be low, but you have less going into it. The real deal would be as a leased executive business car, and that's where it should shine.

...but as good as this promises to be, I miss my black 89 SHO Q-ship. Only giveaway was the block letter "Yamaha" lettering I affixed to the right corner of the trunklid. Few tickets received driving that thing.

In the TV and radio advertising Ford flacks refer to it as the Taurus "Show". That's lame. It was originally just the initials S-H-O. which I think stood for "Super High Output" - no Jamo??

Assright. ;)

I just heard that, too, this a.m. I did a double-take (and a TIVO-rewind)... since it always has been, to me, the "ess-haich-oh."

Sounded dopey.

From what I read at C/D, it's a motor in search of a small, light chassis. Usual Ford/Gm knocks: wooden brakes, numb steering no chassis dynamics to enjoy. Pimp wheels. Old-man-nice interior though...

Wait-I'M an OLD MAN!

I know I felt old getting back into a four-door after the C6, even one that does 0-60 in 4.8 despite weighing a couple of tons.

I can actually arrive four hours into a drive without something hurting, and getting in and out of the vehicle doesn't have turn into a sordid affair.

Then again...some curvy two-lanes between here and the coast don't quite feel the same. Still fun...just not quite on the knife's edge as in a C6.

I will tell you what will get more people to buy them. Do like Audi once did. Guarentee the resale value against a comparable car.

Mike

And that would likely lead to a huge liability for Ford that they would need to cover (similar to providing aggressive leasing terms under the assumption that residual values will remain high--which often comes back to bite the car manufacturer in the arse).

It looks and sounds like a nice car. However, it seems that it's tough to effectively position a car like this for optimum uptake in the market under the Taurus badge.

Ford needs to put that drivetrain in the smaller, lighter Fusion chassis, then they WOULD have something!

Oh yeah!!!!!!! And keep the AWD!

They could call it Nuculer Fusion

BTW, I am not dissing Ford. I have had nothing but good luck with them. There is just something about the Taurus name being associated with a $47K price tag.

In the SHO world, that's nothing new. The Gen 1 SHOs were 30k in 1990, almost double what a 5.0 Mustang cost.

Just for fun, I went back and priced a non-SHO Taurus. Got it up to $41K. So my $47K quote was not off base.

Mike

Mike, I hear ya on the price. My opinion is that if you head down to your local dealer and sit in one of these SHO's... they're really not your stereotypical taurus. Ford likely used that name because it the Taurus was a GREAT name for them in the past as far as sales. I think you will be rather amazed by the class of this car.

As far as the "SHOw" vs S-H-O goes... I've heard alot of people call the old cars a SHOW. Many of these cars end their lives on the dirt track as FWD mini stocks. There is a video of one of them on youtube whipping the crap out of the a bunch of rwd mustangs and pintos on the dirt. Pretty funny.