GTP Cool Wall: Ford Taurus SHO

  • Thread starter TheBook
  • 63 comments
  • 7,132 views

Ford Taurus SHO

  • Total voters
    91
  • Poll closed .
TheBook

TheBook

Literary Member
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United States
Sturgis, MI
GTP_ty00123
1996-99 Ford Taurus SHO

1996-1999-ford-taurus-sho.jpg


STICKER PRICE $29,000

POWERTRAIN Transverse front-engine/front-wheel drive
ENGINE 3.4 liter DOHC V8
Horsepower: 235 hp @ 6100 RPM
Torque: 230 lb-ft @ 4800 RPM
Redline: 6800 RPM
Compression ratio 10:1

DRIVE TRAIN Four-speed automatic

WHEELS & TIRES Rim width: 6.5 inches
Tires: P225/55ZRx16
BRAKES Front: 11.6" ventilated discs
Rear: 10.1" solid discs
ABS

DIMENSIONS & CAPACITIES
Curb weight 3440 lbs.
Wheelbase 108 in.
Length 198 in.
Fuel tank 16 gals.
Oil 6.5 qts with filter

FUEL EPA 16 city / 25 highway
91 Octane

PERFORMANCE From a Motor Tred review of a '97:
0-60 in 7.5 secs
1/4 mile in 15.7 seconds
 
My turds look nicer than this! They come out faster too :lol:

Seriously though a four speed automatic just doesn't sound right, this might be a car someone else likes but for me it just has nothing. I'll give it one thing though...it has character, it looks like the sort of car that if you buy you'll hate it but grow to love it dearly. Maybe the looks could grow on you too...not for me though.

Meh for me.
 
The third generation SHO just wasn't completely insane like the first two generations. The second generation one probably has the worst torque steer out of any car I have ever driven, but it insanity made the car (it wasn't cool though).

Honestly it looks like a Taurus, with everything being designed around an oval. There is nothing that would really make me go that's awesome. Plus you'd have to explain it to everyone who thinks it's just a crappy Taurus from the late 90's. About the only redeeming factor is that is has a V8 engine that isn't the size of a house.
 
There is nothing cool about this Taurus, because no matter what you do to it, it will always be a Taurus that every person over the age of 60 drives. Especially this one, which I think most will agree, is the worst of the bunch.

Seriously Uncool
 
I vote seriously uncool, maybe it would be "meh" if it had a proper trans and was rear wheel drive.

I feel this thing was doomed for uncoolness from the moment it was created.
 
Cool if only because of memories of riding in the rear-facing seat of a wagon test mule of one.

Makes me sad that they didn't actually build it but oh well.
 
It's the Bean. And the only good version ever created, Virtual or not, was the Mark Martin Replica that doubled as a Supertouring car in GT2.
 
- 7.5 seconds to 60
- Interior plastics and panel gaps
- Looks like a frog
Big Picture: It's a 90's American car

+ Subtle, so at least you aren't showing it off


Uncool
 
I submitted this becuase I own a 2nd gen ATX and i just think all SHOs are cool becuase there sleepers and there different then the belly button wagon performance cars like camaros and vettes.

astrosdude91
Uncool. The only thing that saves it is the V8, no matter how depressing the V8 might be. Also it's not the first gen SHO, one of which is owned by none other than Conan O'Brien!

As far as Taurus' go, this is the craziest, acutally the dummest:
Click to expand...


I know that car its on the SHO forum I'm on. Its a 4th gen im just not sure if its the 8 or the 6 though?

Edit: i was wrong it wasn't the car i thought. If you read the owners comment its the stock Duratec with Y-pipe off.
 
Last edited:
A FF car with a V8 engine that only pushes 235 HP.
A 0-60 time of 7.5
A 4-Speed Automatic.
And it's a 90's American 'sports' car.
What more can you expect from a Ford Taurus?
Seriously Uncool.
 
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A depressing sign of the times for Ford management in the mid-1990s. I can applaud the normal Taurus for attempting to be so different (though I wouldn't say cool), and if anything this version is even less cool than a similar Taurus with the V6 in it.

Seriously Uncool.
 
I dont get why you people dont like these things. I mean the first and 2nd gens you voted uncool and now this one is going to be seriously uncool. It's the first true american sports sedan, it's a sleeper and it had the luxury and performance of the 525i of the time at half the price.
 
Toronado
Because the third gen SHO wasn't a sport sedan. It was a barge. I actually voted cool for the 1st and 2nd gen SHOs.
Click to expand...

Aye. Only way to make this gen cool is to give it a Racing Modification...

valvoline-taurus.jpeg


((My favorite car for the Super Touring championship, bar none.))
 
But I'm talking in about all three generations, the 1st and 2nd gens were voted uncool and now this one is going seriously uncool. the 0-60 on my 2nd gen ATX is also 7.5 and it doesnt seem like much but the cars pretty wild when you put your foot down and the butterflys open up. the thing halls butt, plain and simple
 
That probably would have been something to bring up in the relevant threads, then. As I said, I voted cool for both of those cars (Sub-Zero for the original, actually). But this particular iteration of the SHO has all the sportiness of a Cadillac DeVille, and that sportiness is lumped in with the already Seriously Uncoolness that the 3rd Generation Taurus was known for since it was new.
 
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Being the first German sports sedan is cool because of cars like the M3

Being the first American muscle car is cool because of cars like the Charger

Being the first American sports sedan is uncool because of cars like this gen of the SHO
When we think "American sports sedan" we think of bloated styling, inefficient performance, ten-ton handling, and the worst build quality in history.

EDIT: Besides, this ISN'T the first American sports sedan, this is the third generation of the SHO, the mustang was the first pony car, but the mustang II that came out 2 generations later was terrible in every way.
 
Seriously uncool. Despite having fun drives in GT, this car in real life makes molasses look as fast as a Saturn V rocket. Sorry Ford.
 
Toronado
:confused:
Click to expand...

I'm writing off the Taurus SHO, not all American Sports Sedans. The first 2 generations now carry the curse of the third, so to speak

EDIT: This being the third generation SHO in particular. The mustang point was an attempt to clarify that the later generations of the car don't carry the distinction that the first did.
 
when I said it was the first american sports sedan I meant the SHO in general. As for the fact that 7.5 second 0-60 is slow by modern standards. You got look at 1996 when the car came out:
Mustang GT 215 hp 6.8 0-60 15.3 1/4
Mustang Cobra 305 hp 5.4 0-60 14.0 1/4
Camaro Z28 275hp 5.7 0-60 14.1 1/4
Camaro SS 305hp 5.3 0-60 13.8 1/4
Corvette 300hp 4.9 0-60 13.3 1/4
Corvette GS 330hp 4.7 0-60 13.3 1/4
Viper RT/10 400hp 5.0 0-60 13.2 1/4
540i Sport 282 hp 5.8 0-60 14.4 1/4
M3 Automatic 317 hp 6.7 0-60 15.3 1/4
F355 Spider 380 hp 4.9 0-60 13.4 1/4
 

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