2011 Ford Taurus SHO Review

Return with me now to those thrilling days of yesteryear...before (well okay, just as) midsize muscle cars were coming on the scene...when a big car with a big engine was the hot ticket.

In Ford's case, we're talking about 1965:

Yes, they called it "The Velvet Brute"...a Galaxie 500 with a 425-horsepower 427 cubic inch V8 stuffed under the hood. You could even get it with a manual transmission. Well, full-size powerhouses didn't last much longer and if it hadn't been for Chrysler's 300C, Ford might never have tried the new Taurus SHO, but we're sure glad they did.

Oh, sure there were SHOs in the early 90s, but that was a smaller car...the Taurus' mission in life is to be the BIG Ford...so the SHO has a lot more in common with 7-Liter Galaxies in our book. And that's a good thing.

The Taurus SHO looks and feels special. The 3.5 liter EcoBoost V6 is a serious engine...and the SHO keeps the serious stuff coming...with a six-speed automatic transmission (with paddle shifters), all-wheel drive, a sport tuned suspension, Advancetrac with electronic stability control, high intensity projector headlamps and more.

And the interior kicks things up several notches too...possibly the best big American sedan interior I've been in for years, if not decades.

The SHO is even defensible on green grounds...getting an EPA estimated 17 city/25 highway miles per gallon...not that far off the base Taurus SE's 18/28.  And the safety aspect? Not to worry. Five-star crash ratings all around (four for rollover).

Where the difference comes in is the price tag. There's no question you get every penny's worth, but the still sobering fact is that the base price of a Taurus SHO ($38,020) is $12,600 more than the Taurus SE.  And when equipped like our tester (heated and cooled front seats, power moonroof, upgraded Sony audio system, heated rear seats, power sunshade, blind spot monitoring, rain sensing wipers and automatic high beam headlights, adjustable pedals, red candy metallic tinted paint, adaptive cruise control with collision warning, voice-activated navigation, multi-contoured seats and delivery charge), it'll crack $46,000 before package discounts (which whittles the tab down to about $45,600). You can't load an SE beyond $27,466 even if you check every single option box.

So, loaded, we're talking about an $18,000 difference in price tag. Don't get us wrong. We love the SHO. We'd gladly own one. We could even make the case for the price based on what you get. But this is America, where the "deal" moves cars more than merit or features...and where perceived value is a major factor, especially in a down economy.

Is there a sufficient market for a $45,000-plus Ford Taurus? Sure hope so, because it's one heckuva car.

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Ford Firm On Flex Future

Okay, that headline is either an audition for a gig at Daily Variety or a desperate cry for help.

But that's not important now.

The Ford Flex was supposed to be The Answer. The way forward from minivans. In fact, Ford stopped making its Freestar minivan and the Taurus X crossover in the belief that the Flex would deliver those (few) customers and a bunch more.

Hasn't happened.

Days go by...sometimes weeks...before I see a Flex on the streets of the car-crazy metropolis of four million souls in which I live and drive, a place where you'd die of internal bleeding if there were a "punch dub" game for minivans, Tahoes and even Suburbans.

Only 12,598 Flexes left dealerships for driveways and garages in the first four months of this year...which puts it on track to do less than 40,000 units sold in 2010. Not the stuff of which hits are made.

Still, Ford says it's happy. Why? They told the Detroit Free Press.

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BMW Diesel 6 To Power Carbon Motors' Police Car

Just ten days after Ford took the wraps off its new Taurus-based police vehicle, Carbon Motors, which says it will make only one car...the E7, and only for the police market, beginning in 2012, now says it'll be powered by a BMW diesel 6-cylinder engine.  Carbon will also be fighting Chevrolet's revived Caprice police cruiser.   Details from NASDAQ here.

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Ford Taurus Police Interceptor: Good Guys To Get Bad Ride

Well, that makes the Crown Vic Police Interceptor look like Grandma's black-and-white, now doesn't it?

Coming soon to a rear-view mirror near you. Full details from The Detroit News here.

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Ford Taurus Review

If there's a feeling I hate as much as any other, it's being too late. Getting to the party after all the fun's been had.

When I was a kid, a big Ford, optioned properly, was a cool grownup's car (think red Galaxie 500 XL hardtop or convertible with knock-offs and a big V8...or better yet, just look at the picture above).

By the time I got my license (a mere decade later), big Fords were grandma's cars. In fact, the only person I knew who owned one was my friend Sara's grandma.



And from there, they devolved into service animals. If you've hailed a cab or been pulled over by the police in the last 25 years, odds are it was a big Ford Crown Victoria.

So what, you ask? Well, the Crown Vic is on its way out. Available only as a fleet vehicle now, it'll be unavailable, period in a year or less. And it's here that paths of opportunity cross.

Ford's been trying to rehabilitate the Taurus nameplate since Alan Mullaly took over a few years ago and ordered the well-built, competent but bland Five Hundred rebadged as a Taurus. Here's the chance. Make the Taurus a little bigger and a lot better, and there's a vehicle worthy of being considered Ford's flagship.

Fully cognizant of what happened to the last guy who said this out loud: Mission Acccomplished.

The 2010 Taurus is a surprise and a delight. Big, roomy, powerful, carefully assembled of higher quality materials than the Blue Oval has been known for in quite some time. Yes, Virginia, this is a Ford interior:



The tester I drove for a week was the top-of-the line SEL model (base price $27,170)...with a 3.5 liter V6 and six-speed automatic transmission. Loaded with the rapid spec package that includes SYNC, reverse sensors, ambient lighting and 19 inch wheels as well as a separate leather package, the sticker stopped at $31,890.

The EPA says 18 city/28 highway.

The only downer I could find is the agressively angled headrests...which hit me exactly at a point where I had to tilt my head down slightly in order to drive. If I were shorter or taller (I'm six feet even), it probably wouldn't be a problem, but still.

The Taurus is a triumph for Ford...the first truly relevant family sedan that company's made since the first Taurus in 1986...and the first desirable big grownup's car since...well, probably the '63.

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New for 2010: The 1993 Ford Taurus

The folks at the news satire site The Onion have done it again. Funny and depressing at the same time:

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