Here’s my problem: the Taurus SHO’s 365hp EcoBoost (born TwinForce) V6 only offers ten more horses than a Lincoln MKT or MKS with the same unit. Quick! Which one of those is based on the Ford Flex? Doesn’t matter, ’cause the Flex is getting this engine too. Unlike the MKT (market?) and MKS (Mark Kay Sucks?), SHO actually stands for something: Super High Output. The Taurus SHO’s ten more ponies does not a legend make, IMHO. Thankfully, FoMoCo’s got some of the best chassis tuners in the world (most of whom spent the last twenty years or so tweaking cookin’ Euro Fords to greatness) to ply their dark arts on this big, bad boy. And when I say big, I also mean heavy. When you’re torquing that much power, the Taurus (born Taurus) needs all of its all wheel-drive to get the twist to where the rubber meets the road (hihowareya?). And now… the magic number is… $37,995. Plus the not quite so optional if you’re at all serious about this Performance Package (price unknown). Forty-grand for a fast Ford Taurus? This thing better SMOKE around corners. We shall see…
I have seen this car and in just three years Ford has built a competetive full size car. Something GM hasn’t done in 15. From the 500, to the remington razor taurus to this is pretty remarkable. Ford also has a decent small car focus, and a good intermediate, fusion. Add that to the F150 and they can make a case for a plan to go foreward. Note, there is no sable to this car. Finally, rationality prevails in Detroit. Will it take on Avalon and Accord? At least it could compete, something Impala first designed in 1999, won’t.
Word is this rig will start at $38k. However, allegedly it’ll get 25 highway despite 365hp/350lb-ft and AWD. Sounds good, but I feel like I’ve been here before.
Hooray for Ford. I´ve not seen it in person, but I hope it is a major hit for them. Has anyone noticed, they did this without Bob Lutz?!
If you’re fortunate enough to achieve 0% financing on this whip you will still be out > $791.00 a month for four years.
Wouldn’t there be other cars to consider if you’d be willing to part with that kind of money every month and you want an AWD with some juice under the hood? Is this a decent deal for what you get?
Kudos to Ford for looking after car enthusiasts. However, I’m not sure if it’s the right time to introduce $38K vehicle in the middle of a recession. But in a few years after depreciation does it’s job, it would make a great purchase.
Better spec’s than the fugly Acura TL for many thousands less, priced on top of the Maxima, but with AWD and 75 more hp. This SHO will top $42k once you add the navigation, backup camera, BLIS, etc. Still less than comparable cars.
Now Ford just need to get butts in the seats. Enough open minded people willing to give Ford another look, and the tide will turn.
This car will be the death knell for the MKS now that so many dealers sell Ford and Lincoln. The base FWD MKS stickers for $38k. The MKS with Ecoboost will probably run $45++
dwford :
Who do you see as this vehicle’s competitors? Are we looking at another Cadillac CTS situation, where the ultimate differential is interior space (i.e. CTS vs. BMW 3-Series)?
Also, any word on the Mercury edition? EcoBoost Sable. You GOT to put Mercury on your list.
If that pricing is accurate, it’ll kill sales. They’ve got to earn their way to that kind of pricing on a Ford Taurus. Of course, 365hp won’t hurt in this regard. But you can buy a 362-horsepower RWD Pontiac for less, and how well is that selling?
On the handling front, nothing I’ve driven off of this chassis has handled well. If Ford’s handling wizards can make this car handle well, then they truly are exceptional.
This SHO just doesn`t seems to stand out enough in regards to performance to justify the SHO name. Lincoln MKS will be almost the same car with similar performance, except for different handling characteristics. $40k for a Taurus? I am not sure the Taurus name can command that price premium; especially with so many other entry level luxury brands in that price range. Now if Ford boosted the ECO tech engine to 425hp and included a dual clutch paddle shift transmission, than it would surely create a cult following like the original.
$38k will be worth it just for the looks of 335i, S4, and other C300s or IS350 drivers smoked by…a ford!
I was balking at the price of this thing.
Compared to the Chrysler 300C and the Hyundai Genesis, this car doesn’t have alot of draw for that price.
For that much money, I might as well finance $10,000 more and get an MKS.
I make the same comment on every SHO post: People in this segment (and I include myself, as a Lexus IS owner) aren’t looking for a hopped up rental car.
The technical specs look good and the styling is fresh (at least for now, until you start seeing 3 or 4 at every stop light). But $38K is a lot for a Taurus, especially when there are a lot of genuinely upscale alternatives at that price range.
I’m sure the new SHO will appeal to some value shoppers (like the Hyundai Genesis, which at about the same price range and with a real V8 looks like a strong competitor to the SHO). But lets be honest – Most buyers in this price range are at least in some part brand snobs, and want to see some measure of exclusivity as return on their investment.
@RF: no Sable Ecoboost; Sable and Taurus X are about to go out of production.
Why did Ford chop 6 cubic feet out of the interior volume for the 2010 Taurus? (108 vs 102) It wasn’t all for styling, was it?
We’re not talking about a trim line that is done for sales quantity. Ford has to make cars like this to keep the name associated with performance. Even if they sell only a few a year, it must be done.
Anyway, when you are trying to reinvent yourself and rebuild your reputation, you have to start somewhere. If that somewhere is a $40K family sedan, then so be it. The lessons they learn from making, marketing, and selling this car could pay off in a big way down the road. I guess it’s like real-live R & D.
Does Ford really think people will buy a Taurus given its unique features in its market/price range? People don’t spend that kind of money at a Ford dealer! (unless its a truck)
This may be the best Volvo-Ford ever, but it sounds like the Taurus will go down the same path to doom that all of its D3 relatives found.
And I thought the first three SHOs had to (occasionally) move off the lot with a large wad of incentives!
As a huge fan of the original SHO this thing feels like a let down. It needs a Yamaha engine for starters, and I have nothing against Ford engines, just a traditionalist to the name. Secondly this thing is a boat. Great replacement to the crap-tastic panther platform, but when I think Taurus, I think mid-sized. Last, pushing $40k does not sound like a poor mans sports sedan. The SHO needs to be BMW type performance at a Camry/Accord price. The original had it’s flaws, but this isn’t a refinement of that…it’s a complete rethinking of the original concept.
I don’t ever recall SHO spec Taurii being a huge sales success for Ford. They were designed to add some lustre to the nameplate and continue the tradition of Ford being able to make tire-shredding fun out of anything. If I recall, the SHO was always premium-priced versus its lesser stablemates.
At $40K (or so) the model does creep into territory occupied by some luxury brands but so what? There is a certain joy in having a vehicle with a downmarket nameplate that can run or beat upmarket brands.
Everyone’s freaking out over $37k, but let’s face it: $37k isn’t what it used to be. And for that money, there aren’t a lot of options if a large performance sedan is your thing. Even the old razor-blade Taurus was miles ahead of the Charger and 300C in build quality. The RWD-only G8 is definitely not an option for those who live in snow country. What are the other options with a back seat large enough to fit real adults – or a couple of 6’2″ teenagers – comfortably?
Of course all of this depends on how well it drives. If Ford’s managed to build a large sedan with “pace and grace”, $37k is not too much to ask.
I can’t count the number of times I’ve read a review of a domestic product that said “it’s a good start, but if they just applied a little more effort, they could charge more and have a great product”. Ford’s testing that theory here. As Casual Observer points out they don’t exactly have to sell a whole lot of these. It’s not like they can’t take the same bits and build MKSes or Flexes out of them if demand wanes.
Nice interior, but if that picture is anything to go by, what is the love affair Ford seems to have with massive, monolithic dashboards that seem to heave up into the windshield, and drop precipitously down towards the front occupants legs? It’s like staring at the south face of Mt. Everest.
I was looking into a co-workers new Mustang GT yesterday, and found that same aspect viscerally off-putting; same feeling I had the first time I rode in a latest generation Mustang. It feels imprisoning.
It looks like a lovely car. But at $38k it is simply not going to sell. Mark my words, within 3 months of it being released, Ford will have at least $3,000 on the hood. And they still won’t be able to move them.
With the economy in the tank, the interested in buying full-size, 360+ hp, $38k cars are few and far between.
How much is Audi charging for the S4 again? I haven’t driven either, but based on interior styling, exterior styling and power, the Ford seems to be a bargain compared to the Audi
Sometime in the late 90’s I purchased a used 1993 SHO. My recollection is that I paid $8K for it with 100K miles but with a new transmission from the cars first and only owner. In the paperwork I got from the previous owner was the original window sticker. The sticker price when new was over $29K. I believe that car was rated at a little over 200 hp. It would seem that given that the new one above should be more car, and given that this is 2009, the list price seems to be what would be expected. I would also expect that at some point after original introduction discounts would apply, just as they did in 93.
And for the record, though it was not the most reliable car I’ve ever owned, it is the one I most enjoyed driving.
I live in a snow-prone area and I’d take the Genesis or the G8 over this in a heartbeat. I think most people forget that RWD has come a long way with traction and stability control systems (and IRS).
It’s definitely am improvement over the outgoing 500/Taurus as far as appearance, but it’s still too big. I still think of the Taurus as a Camry/Accord fighter that it used to be, not this behemoth.
This is an expensive car but lets be honest, it’s the top model and intended to be rather low volume. On the plus side, it’s a really good looking car (IMO) and should sell pretty well in lower trims. For those looking for a successor to SHO’s of the past, your best bet will be to wait for ecoboosted Fusions. The Fusion is a lot closer to what the original Taurus was (except the Fusion handles well in all trims) since the newer Taurus’ grew into a fullsize car.
A few things to keep in mind –
The SHO is not meant to be the high volume seller. The new Taurus comes in at $25K with the base 265hp V6 and FWD, the SE, SEL, and FWD LTD will be the big sellers, the SHO is a halo car for the Taurus nameplate.
Also, vs the MKS, the base MKS engine, and again the high volume seller, will be the 3.7 liter 270hp, not the EcoBoost, so, I don’t see this eating too many MKS sales.
The Camry/Accord figher is the Fusion, the new Taurus shares nothing with the old Taurus but the name, and that includes market segment. Ford played with the idea of an Ecoboost Fusion before putting the idea on hold until after the rollout of the new bodystyle. I would expect a Fusion SHO to make an appearance in another year or so priced significantly closer to where the old Taurus SHO came in.
The front end looks great, but the rear reminds me too much of the Sebring.
I agree with those above who said that this isn’t intended to be a huge sales success. It will be there to make the $25K Taurus look better. Even if every model will not be a huge profit maker, they need a complete solid model line. With the upcoming models, Fiesta, Euro Focus, new Fusion, and new Taurus, they will have a solid line up ready to fix their reputation. Sure this will take years, if not a good part of a decade. Look at what GM is doing. They have a couple good cars mixed in with a bunch of outdated brand diluting crap. It’s like yesterday’s Malibu/Impala article. The whole lineup has to be good, not just a couple of cars.
Now that it looks like they have the Ford lineup in order, it’s time to look at Lincoln. What a quagmire that is. First thing they have to do is get rid of all these re-badged Fords. The whole lineup should be RWD. If and when they move the Mustang to independent rear suspension, they need to make a Lincoln sedan based on that platform. The Ford Falcon’s platform should be used for a larger sized sedan. Both should have their Euro team do the suspension, and Volvo should do the seats. all that would be left would be the flagship sedan which they would have to develop from scratch, but doable.
If all this sounds improbable, what was everyone saying they should do with Ford cars a year ago? That they should bring their fine Euro cars over, and look what they’re doing.
It is a good looking car…but that is about it.
It is not a real SHO…no Yamaha engine and no wild intake manifold.
And why would anyone buy this car…with a TT/DI V6 (remember, Ford has issues getting spark plugs to work correctly), when they can go and buy a completely loaded G8 (with a proper engine and proper drive wheels) and then slap a supercharger on it, and still have money left over?
It also begs the question…why buy the Lincoln Taurus? A stripped model starts at $38K…same as this completely loaded Taurus.
Sure, sell the Euro Focus or a Ford Mondeo, but Ford is not a brand that will be able to get that kind of premium for the SHO. The Taurus name isn’t even close to recovering from that long rental car death spiral and the target audience has less of a history with turbos than V8’s.
For everyone saying that there are people that can afford a lux brand but will choose a non-lux brand, non-snob sleeper, just remember the VW Passat W8.
P71_CrownVic: not a real SHO? Yes it is. That’s what it’s called.
Why the stupid deck lid spoiler? serious. so functionless & tasteless. These things are the opera windows and vinyl roofs of the current age.
Why can’t that be a dealer installed option? It could be part of the Detroit douchbag package for under-endowed engineers. It might include:
+Deck Lid spoiler
+Fake side fender vents which are now universal on EVERY CAR so they have lost all meaning….
+Double bladed windshield wipers.
+SHO Emblems scattered throughout the interior in case your forgot what kind of car you have. SHO logo embossed in seat backs, stamped into door sills, extra badge above glove box. Embrodered into floor mats, and the all important exterior trunk lid and fender badging.
As a side note to GM: Your cars now look like the palm rest of a cheap laptop computer. In addition to all the usual Brand X Model Y badging there is now GM Corporate badges stuck down low on the sides and some stupid FLEX FUEL badge on every new GM car I see. NO ONE, and I DO MEAN NO ONE in the history of the USA has EVER put a FLEX FUEL into their car. I know I know…. some farmer in Kearney NE or Keokuk IA just did last summer. STOP!! I guess all of this is easier and cheaper than actually having to engineer a world-class competitive product…. Now that may be the root of all Detroits REAL problems… right?
OK, I understand that this is a 5k/yr halo model. Got it.
But a Taurus over $40k, and a Fusion over $30k? (the Hybrid will be, in any case). For a US-made car? Never mind the Euro models, which will have a massive price premium due to costs and currency.
Comments above are talking about cross shopping Audi S4(!!), Acura, BMW, Lexus?
This is not where Ford needs to be. They are eating their own (Lincoln) lunch.
Get back into the ring with the Cam-cord. Make the world’s best $25k car.
I am going to respectfully disagree and say that this car will hit it’s sales target (judging by specs, pictures, and prices named).
Here’s why: People drop 28-30k on gussied up Honda Accords w/ FWD and 260 HP.
I think if Ford does this right, which will be a marketing feat, their pricing will actually work.
First off – No one buys an American car for MSRP anymore. It’s not acceptable. You walk in there with the sure knowledge that thousands of dollars will magically dissapear from that initial price.
So if Ford marketing can convince people to SEE this car, and then Ford makes it’s actual price around 33-34k….then I think we have a winner, considering the power and drivetrain.
To sum up my argument: Ford can make this work with proper marketing, but I’m not sure they are up to that challenge….however, the raw figures allow for success :)
Joe
In reality, there is a huge difference between $40-$42k and $34-35k. That difference will determine if this SHO is successful or not. It might also determine if this iteration is profitable for FoMoCo or not.
If I had to pick, I would take the SH-AWD TL every time over this SHO. Fugliness be damned. Just my humble opinion and taste.
not a real SHO? Yes it is. That’s what it’s called.
Couldn’t be more wrong.
If Ford called it a Mustang…or F-150…would it be true?
missing the point. This will be a VERY nice car for $40k. I’d take this over a V8 Genesis, which was my previous 40k sedan pick. This will be a great, comfortable daily driver with explosive performance to boot. What does Audi give you for 38k? A loaded A4 2.0T? Meh. BMW? Meh again.
FoMoCo’s got some of the best chassis tuners in the world
???
I guess they have all been hiding in the Old Country (or working in Japan for Mazda!)
This new Taurus will absolutely find its way into more buyers’ hearts than the old one on looks alone. If it can dance, all the better.
Problem is… nobody’s buying, so virtually anything launched this year will be DOA.
What a bummer.
Everyone is talking about an A4 because of price, but the new Taurus is closer to an A6 in terms of size & power.
$38k, 365 HP, AWD Taurus
vs.
$60k, 330 HP, AWD A6.
How much of a brand snob are you? $22,000 is a lot of money.
Boy this post sure brought the Ford haters out in droves. You haven’t seen this car in person, you haven’t driven it and still you pan it because it is a Ford, a $40K Ford at that, how dare lowly Ford reach for Volvo/Audi territory. This is the face of the new Ford so get used to it. World class product at slightly less than world class prices. Get it? Get used to it, OK? Now picture Mullally and company in the boardroom singing and dancing to Gloria Gaynor’s “I will survive”
Farago, if you think 365 HP from that motor is a bit of a letdown, don’t worry. Someone’s going to do an ECU reflash that makes it creep closer to the 400 HP mark.
That being said, is it okay to say that I’d take SHO over a Mustang?
No manual? Booo!
An extremely good looking car, though. This is much more worthy of the Taurus name than the current generation.
Actually, while we are on size, the current/new Taurus is almost as big as an Audi A8, Mercedes S class, or Lexus LS (just looked up exterior and interior dimensions on edmunds, aside from the Mercedes having an obscene amount of rear hip room, everything else falls within a couple inches either way). It is a big car.
As for its SHOness, the formula seems to fit very well – take your family sedan and give it gobs of power. Given that the Duratec 3.5 liter V6 is one of the best mainstream engines being made right now, and Ford’s experience with direct injection tuning gleaned with Mazda and their DISI 2.3s for the Mazdaspeed 3s and CX-7s, it makes a lot more sense to develop the engine in house vs. using an expensive Yamaha made engine for a single car. Also, there are no spark plug issues regardless of rumors that seem to be coming from under a bridge.
Also worthy of note is the Ford AWD system is capable of sending up to 100% of torque to the rear wheels at any given time, it is a very robust system.
@ cdnsfan27 :
“This is the face of the new Ford so get used to it. World class product at slightly less than world class prices. Get it? Get used to it, OK?”
So what is Mercury then? Or Lincoln?
The sad fact is that the whole D3 platform has been a complete bomb. I give Ford credit for its sticktoitiveness in trying to make something out of this platform, but in this case I think it is time to give up. Only old people want a sedan the size of a Taurus. No one wants a performance version of it or a funky version of it or a luxury version of it.
365hp is a LOT. The first and second gen SHOs had 220hp, and the third gen had a 235hp V8. 365 is plenty SHO for me.
guyincognito So what is Mercury then? Or Lincoln?
Mercury can and should be toast as it is in Canada where dealerships are Ford/Lincoln. Lincoln should compete with Caddy. Does it? No!!! Could it? Sure with time and money..It is not high on Ford’s to do list at the moment. Fix Ford first and then tackle Lincoln
Those of us who are Ford devotees (myself included), especially SVT / SVO / SHO groupies (again, guilty), will have a very difficult struggle with the only choice of a slushbox. This looks like it will beat the Holden GXP hands down, except in a straight line. I think I’m going to have to keep my current Contour SVT running a few years longer.
FoMoCo’s got some of the best chassis tuners in the world…
If you could get Ford’s chassis tuners, Honda’s transmission wizards and GM’s engine builders together, you would have a powertrain and platform second to none.
I would also say that Ford seems to have some pretty well-built machines these days too.
However, allegedly it’ll get 25 highway despite 365hp/350lb-ft and AWD
If you don’t get on the boost, anything is possible. Spool up the turbos, though, and you’re into the teens.
Does Ford really think people will buy a Taurus given its unique features in its market/price range? People don’t spend that kind of money at a Ford dealer! (unless its a truck)
This is one of my bggest complaints about the renaming: “Taurus” is not a nameplate with equity unless you work for Hertz or Avis. Five Hundred may not have sold, but that has everything to do with Ford not telling anyone about it, not the name itself. I thought it was a classy badge, myself.
Ford’s bringing back “Taurus” is akin to GM resurrecting “Cavalier” or “Lumina”.
Ford won’t be singing “I will survive” after the cash infusion from the asset hock and Jag.-LR sale is gone. Despite the decent cars they pump out nowadays, they’re still bleeding red ink and suffer from delusional product planning.
I do think the Taurus looks great and will probably be a competitive, including the SHO, but the car isn’t the high-volume car that a Taurus needs to be. There are just too many cars in this segment and nothing that really makes the Taurus stand out that’s going to make it a hit (like the 300 had, with its now-dated styling). The Taurus, on price and size, is stuffed directly in with the likes of the Avalon, Maxima, 300, G8, Azera, Impala, and Buicks. Any real money-makers in that group that aren’t fleet queens? A few people will want SHOs for the various reasons mentioned in the comments here, but why waste the Company’s precious resources of on such a low-volume vehicle? Why does the Taurus even need to have a performance image? Do most mid-large sedan buyers even know that there WAS a SHO???? Doubt it.
I like the car but it’s not what it needs or should be, from a business perspective. And despite what Ford keeps telling you, it’s not in good enough shape to bring out anything less than a hit. Now, more than ever, I don’t feel that Detroit lacks engineering competence. Business acumen, however, is a different story…
guyincognito –
Lincoln is (well, at least is going to be) a true luxury brand, a premium product at a premium price. However, years of neglect and reliance on repeat towncar buyers left Lincoln in a bad place. While the MKS may not be a luxury sports sedan in the image of the BMW 5/7 or the Mercedes E/S, it is very capable and a great value as it is currently priced. The 2010 MKZ is a major update, the MKX is just as good as any other luxury crossover, and the upcoming MKT may bring back some of the Navigator glory days. Ford needs to play it safe with Lincoln for now though and get buyers back with affordable luxury cars that hit the value button, and then as the customer base grows develop unique RWD sport platforms.
So, as lincoln has a chance to grow upmarket, so does Ford to fill in the places Lincoln leaves behind. Mercury may get squeezed out of the middle, but, if all Lincoln dealerships can be combined with a Ford dealership, there is no longer a point for Mercury anyway.
The D3 platform has been incredibly successful with the MKS, has had a slow start but is gaining momentum with the Flex, and will hopefully continue to pick up speed with the MKT.
The public didn’t buy enough american cars when they were built to be cheap above all else, so now that we are getting some quality in them you have to accept that the prices are going to go up.
Me, I think I’d rather have a noveau Ford Puma…
Dear Lord, does this car ever look like the MKS. And that’s a problem: the otherwise-handsome, unique Lincoln, suddenly, looks like a Taurus with a baleen grill.
The real test: Will Conan O’Brien buy one?
The new Taurus (not the SHO edition) was at the Washington, D.C., auto show.
The Taurus is a very handsome car in “person.” It has real presence. In the looks department, it can hold its own with competing models from GM, Chrysler, Toyota and Hyundai. If anything, the Taurus is the best looking out of the bunch.
The problem is that I was left wondering who would pay the extra money for the MKS (which is an attractive car in its own right) when the Taurus looks like the bigger, more “important” one.
psarhjinian:
The Taurus name has definitely lost some of its luster, but when it was introduced it was a game changer. The only reason Ford dropped Taurus was because they wanted all Ford models to begin with the letter F (what were they thinking). I think it was smart bringing back the name… albeit attached to a much larger car. The Lumina and Cavalier were never game changers in the way the Taurus was, and maybe will be again.
Get back into the ring with the Cam-cord. Make the world’s best $25k car.
My thoughts exactly. In the early to mid-1990’s Ford was selling over 400k Taurii each year. It was a highly profitable vehicle in that segment. The Camry of those days was designed directly to compete with the Taurus. For a brief moment Ford had the gold standard in the biggest volume vehicle segment around. I have no doubts that Ford could engineer a vehicle that would put the cam-cords of today back on the drawing board. Instead they dump precious R&D into this beast.
Why Ford had to kill the Taurus name only to rusurrect it for a full size vehicle is beyond me. While I do enjoy the Fusion, it’s the vehicle that should have the Taurus name, and getting an SHO version. The big Taurus is an attractive vehicle but only as a Crown Vic replacement. If that segment needed a power car the Marauder would’ve been a success…or the Impala SS. Both have very meager cult following, that’s it.
I’m looking forward to this, it looks fairly good, the price is not terribly bad compared to the TL with SH-AWD or, honestly, any other 350HP+ AWD sedan. My question is: What will Ford do to screw it up? (Oh, and what’s the 0-60 time?) Seems like 5.6 sec or so since the 300HP AWD S60R upon which this platform is based was around that time with 300HP and a 6 speed manual.
The new Taurus isn’t much bigger than the current Accord. Back in the early 90s, the Taurus sold well but mainly to fleets (rental and corporate) or the 3.8l was starting to be avoided for both head gasket and ATX issues. The Camry was still slightly smaller (moreso narrow than anything else) and the Accord was quite a bit smaller than both.
Mullaly felt that the Taurus nameplate had more ‘cachet’ than 500. I disagree, 500 makes me think of great Ford sedans of the 60s (and I’m under 30). You know the rock-solid and reliable sedans.
Taurus is a fitting name for this model though, moreso than the current 500 redress. I still think Fairlane would have been great.
Alex- the S60 is not a P1-based car like the S80. The Ford D3 chassis is essentially a P1 chassis. I bet this car will be comparable, speedwise, to the S60R, given a weight/power ratio being somewhat similiar.
With that said, I really like this car! It would be a great cruiser even in non-SHO guise.
Too bad the Evo X is so much more expensive than this…
-oh, wait.
++Now that I check the price of the forthcoming Mazdaspeed 6, it’s a shame it will be so much more expensive than this…
-oh, wait.
etc. etc. etc.
“John R :
February 11th, 2009 at 7:42 am
Word is this rig will start at $38k. However, allegedly it’ll get 25 highway despite 365hp/350lb-ft and AWD. Sounds good, but I feel like I’ve been here before.”
Dunno but IIRC any Subaru (starting under $20k) does more than that while sporting a superior AWD system… I understand there’s a bigger/stronger engine at play but speaking of mileage why is it such a good news for a Ford sedan…?
Because it’s a BIG sedan…compare it to the likes of some Euro midsize sedans and it’s more relative. Especially since it’s derived from a Euro-platform.
If I was in the market, and $40k was my budget (granted I have no kids, and 1 wife & don’t haul anything), this is not in the first 10 cars I’d look at.
1st year model (isn’t it?) = no purchase
no stick = no purchase
can it get to 60 under 6 seconds ? under 5?
What is the weight/how is the handling?
What is the actualy street price going to be? If after discounts you can easily bargain to $32k that would make it ALOT more palatable. $38-$42k with options is simply too pricy.
For that price, I’d grab an 335 (with all that wonderful down low torque), an elise, an evo, a wrx, or maybe a base corvette.
Even from ford itself, a mustang GT for $30k’ish can hit 0-60 in under 5 these days and has a proven track record (even if depreciation is cliff-face like).
Why Ford had to kill the Taurus name only to rusurrect it for a full size vehicle is beyond me. While I do enjoy the Fusion, it’s the vehicle that should have the Taurus name, and getting an SHO version. The big Taurus is an attractive vehicle but only as a Crown Vic replacement.
The Fusion is really a replacement for the Contour, which replaced the Tempo, which was about the size of the Camry. It was not designed to replace the Taurus; that was the job of the Five Hundred.
The Crown Vic was supposed to soldier on in the fleet market and is a separate case altogether.
The Five Hundred as a new nameplate (and Avalon/Maxima competitor) makes sense as long as the cars below each remain a sane size—which they haven’t. The Five Hundred/Taurus’ problem is the same as that of the Avalon, Maxima (and to a lesser degree, the Impala): the Fusion, Camry and Altima have all increased in size over their predecessors, and made the larger cars more or less redundant. Every make (Hyundai: Sonata/Azera/Genesis, Kia: Optima/Amanti, Chevy: Malibu/Impala, Buick: Lacrosse/Lucerne, etc) except Honda does this, and even Honda is having trouble sorting out the Accord, TSX, TL and RL.
You can only sell so many pairs of shoes in the same size.
What Ford is doing here is not unlike what Nissan is trying to do with the Maxima: make it a premium car without a premium badge. The problem is that such a strategy just does not often work in North America. It’s certainly stupid with the so-alike-it’s-stupid MKS in the same showroom. The Maxima suffers the same: squeezed between the top-trim Altima and the G35, it’s sales have been in free-fall for years, although part of that could be because it’s ugly.
One must die so that the other may live.
The Lumina and Cavalier were never game changers in the way the Taurus was, and maybe will be again.
The thing is, by the end of it’s run, the kind of people who would buy a half-million Tauruses per year did not see any value in the badge. Outside of gearhead forums, “Taurus” is something you rent or hail, not something you want to own. This was why replacing “Escort” with Focus was smart, and replacing Five Hundred wasn’t.
If Ford wanted to play that game, they could have dusted off “Galaxie” or “Falcon”.
The Fiesta is goingto be up against the same problem: the kind of people who buy mass-market cars in North America are going to confuse “Fiesta” with “Festiva”. They’re not going to remember some car from a quarter-century ago, or the European Ford that’s generally done well, they’ll remember the crappy rebadged Kia. It should have been named something else.
The real test: Will Conan O’Brien buy one?
I’m tempted to say yes. He needs a car now that he’s moving to Burbank to take over for Leno, and the trunk just might be big enough to transport La Bamba’s hat and Max’s baggage…
willman: Mazdaspeed 6??? I thought Mazda decided against it. The old one didn’t sell.
Anyway, after the aftermarket guys reflash the ECU, they might consider doing a casting of the Yamaha V6’s gorgeous ‘nest-of-snakes’ intake manifold (cue Jezza: how hard can it be?) and replacing the plain-jane plastic shroud covering the Ecoboost. Irrelevant, but a little style under the hood can’t hurt, right?
psharjinian: The Fiesta is goingto be up against the same problem: the kind of people who buy mass-market cars in North America are going to confuse “Fiesta” with “Festiva”. They’re not going to remember some car from a quarter-century ago, or the European Ford that’s generally done well, they’ll remember the crappy rebadged Kia. It should have been named something else.
The Festiva was a pretty tough little car. It looked like a phone booth, but it ran and ran.
Its replacement – the Aspire – was a crappy car.
And the Escort actually had a fair amount of brand equity. Not the most exciting car, but Ford was smart enough to raid the Mazda parts and platform bins when it developed the second-generation Escort, so it was a reliable car.
For that matter, the first-generation models were pretty good once Ford got the bugs worked out about by 1986. Several friends and family members had late-1980s Escorts, and the cars soldiered on through some nasty conditions, despite some not-so-benign neglect.
psarhjinian – The Fusion is really a replacement for the previous Taurus, not the Contour. The Contour and Tempo were odd little perversions of the market, cars that were ‘not-quite-midsized’. Ford very well intended for the Five Hundred to replace the Crown Vic, even as a police cruise, unfortunately, no one else bought in to it.
There will be an interesting situation after the Fiesta launches and the Euro focus arrives stateside however – will the new larger Focus end up in that weird ‘not compact but not midsized’ segment that the Contour languished in?
I wouldn’t worry about any Festiva issues, people old enough to remember the Festiva aren’t going to be the target demographic for the Fiesta.
I like it.
It’s a great looking car, inside and out. It’s got tons of power, decent mileage, AWD, a Performance Package that sounds pretty hardcore, and the best Nav system on the market.
As it is, this stacks up tremendously well against similar midsize Japanese and German competition.
It just needs a stick to completely convince me.
When the Fusion and 500 (current Taurus…we’ll keep with 500 for ease of reading) were introduced, both the Taurus and Crown Vic were supposed to be withdrawn completely (not even fleet status) but they were kept on for a few years after the Fusion and 500 were introduced. With that said, the Fusion is slightly smaller than the previous-gen Taurus and larger than the Contour. (And the 500 is larger than the previous Taurus with comparable room to the CV). The Focus fit nicely between the Escort and Contour, effectively taking sales from both…mainly because the Focus had comparable interior room to the Contour and at a slightly lower price. The Mondeo (nee Contour) grew a little larger in it’s second-generation.
Think about it this way: the Mazda6 took the place of the 626 but was a little bit longer and wider while still offering essentially the same drivetrain options and at around the same price (not including the GT-spec cars or wagon). the 6 and Fusion are the same size, as the Contour and 626 were of similiar size. Also, the Fusion offers an I4 (and performs decently with such a choice) where the Taurus did not.
Ford introduced both the Tempo and Contour to compete with GM’s “not-quite-midsize” offerings (Grand Am, Cutlass Calias/Achieva/Alero, Corsica/Malibu…) and the earlier Accords, Camrys, and Stanza/Altimas.
I think someone said it before, Ford’s lineup is most similiar to Nissan’s. Focus=Sentra, Fusion=Altima, Taurus=Maxima.
Sweet looking car. Unfortunately I won’t pony up the cash no way, no how.
Maybe on the used market… I guess I’m not helping Ford though except with a fraction of a fraction of a percent higher resale value.
The problem with the Nissan analogy is that the current Maxima is within a cunning runt’s hair of the dimensions of the current Altima. The Maxima has never really been a full full-sized car though.
I had never thought about it before, but you are right in that GM does have a history of offering a 4-segment car lineup with a compact, a weird tweenie size, a midsize, and a full-size (as evidenced in Pontiac’s Sunfire/GrandAm/GrandPrix/Bonneville). However, thankfully the weird tweenie size seems to be going away as now GM has a four size like Toyota with a subcompact Aveo-Yaris, a compact Cobalt-Corolla, a midsize Malibu-Camry, and a fullsize Impala-Avalon, which is I suppose what ford will be doing with the Fiesta/Focus/Fusion/Taurus.
Come to think of it, Honda has been the one mainstream level manufacturer which has resisted a three or four lobed line-up having just the Civic and Accord until the very recent addition of the Fit.
Personally, I think four is one too many, and that the Vera/Sentra, Yaris/Corolla, Fiesta/Focus, and Aveo/Cobalt segments all need to get merged together into one car each, but that is just me.
I like the Fairlane idea. It already makes the car more exciting, and it’s just an idea in a blog comment.
The price is steap for the SHO, but it has a lot of features for that price. Otherwise it’s a beautiful car. I love the interior and exterior. Bravo Ford.
I’m going to wait and just get a Pontiac GT G8. At least I can afford one of those.
This car is a bargain. Something comparable to this by any of the Germans would cost twice as much. The G37 is smaller and more expensive. Toyota and Lexus have nothing. The sheen as worn off the Genisis now that it’s just turned out to be a Korean Avalon. Every line on this Ford is thoughful, and the interior looks fantastic. As surreal as it is to say this about a Taurus, Ford appears to have gotten the formula right on this car. Finally. Time will tell how it does in the marketplace.
If GM can’t sell the G8 with the same power and RWD, I have no idea how Ford expects to sell this SHO for $8K more. It’s the perfect car for ten years ago.
There was a story a week or two ago about Ford’s warranty payment costs going down in the last few years. If they are actually building better cars, then the best way to dig themselves out of a financial crater is to pad their vehicles with some decent profit.
Many will balk at the pricing but if a few good reviews come out (plus the general consensus that it’s a good looking car) then they’ll sell them at this price. People laughed when Hyundai announced a V8 luxury car, but I’m not hearing as much laughter on that matter any more.
By low-balling and offering incentives on brand new models they’d just be propagating the stereotype that American cars are only good if they’re cheap.
“FoMoCo’s got some of the best chassis tuners in the world”
@Morea :
I guess they have all been hiding in the Old Country (or working in Japan for Mazda!)
I had a Ford Focus convertible last year as a rental for four weeks and drove it over 6,000 miles. The chassis tuning was sublime.
If GM can’t sell the G8 with the same power and RWD, I have no idea how Ford expects to sell this SHO for $8K more. It’s the perfect car for ten years ago.
The G8 is often marked up to high hell and people in the snowy regions balk at RWD. Granted it’s $8k more, but I doubt that will last. The SHO might sell in decent numbers after all.
Richard Chen,
I’ve sat in the new Taurus, and the revised interior feels much tighter than the one in the current car. The reduction feels even larger than the specs suggest. And it was done for styling.
Room at the expense of styling didn’t move the units.
I like the Fairlane idea. It already makes the car more exciting, and it’s just an idea in a blog comment.
“Fairlane” was the concept that eventually begat the Flex. Wouldn’t “Galaxie” (or Falcon) and “Fairlane” be so much cooler than “Taurus” and “Flex”?
Ford has good products, but utterly reprehensible marketing.