keep thinking, but please dont do anything.

FORD should focus on the broader markets first, then perhaps when sales are good focus on the niche market. Spend the money where it counts: on making better powertrains and better overall vehicles.

I think that picture of what one could look like is pretty sweet, except the front bumper is really ricer trash territory. So really probably just a normal taurus with bigger wheels and a v8! It'd be pretty cool, but it better be RWD to fight the G8.

Best thing about the SHO, for it's time that is.. was that Yamaha engine that made a Taurus actually exciting to drive. A new SHO would have to be a totally different car than before to keep up with today's performance.
Like waldorf and statler said, "keep thinking, but please don't do anything."

I wouldn't buy one. Regardless of looks, performance, or drivetrain layout. But still, it ought to be RWD.

What kind of loser is an 'SHO fanatic' anyways. Pick a better car to love.

Ford's better idea (haha). I would think they would be focusing (no pun intended) on higher miles per gallon, hybrids, all electric, etc. If I want to go fast in a Ford, I'd buy a Jaguar (which I've owned 2, and my pocket book survived) or a Mustang. If I wanted to.

If ford was seriously considering using a twin turbo 6 in future models this would be an interesting car to showcase it with. Especially since the car is already available with AWD and a 6spd auto.

Give it 18" wheels, make them .5"-1" wider then change the quarter panel sheet metal a tad to widen the fender flares for a more aggressive look and to 'hold' the larger wheels. Give it a more aggressive front fascia and a small lip spoiler on the rear deck lid.

With the right transmission and suspension tuning that would make one very interesting sports sedan that might shoot some life into that product. Especially if it started around 30k before you started slapping on additional options.

The real fear isn't if ford would do it or not. It's if they'd just do it half way and charge someone an additoinal 4k for an appearance package.

"Especially if it started around 30k before you started slapping on additional options."

Yeah, that's where the V-8 Pontiac G8 starts.

What would you rather have (keep in mind they're both domestic):

a. A simple F/R N/A V-8 layout

b. A complicated FWD base AWD layout with a twin-turbo V-6...from a company that hasn't sold such a car...well ever.

yeah, that would be a nice police car. Ford Impala.

This makes so much sense! Think about it: you can get a Charger SRT-8, an Impala LTZ, a G8 GT, and, if you're looking slightly more upscale, a Buick LaCrosse Super. But you can't, as yet, get a performance Taurus (SHO.) Providing Ford actually did a good job on this car and didn't make it look like a) a Euro joke, or b) a Japanese joke, then I think there might be something going here.

@ Alex,

Impala LTZ? Are we talking that FWD piece of shite?

Buick LaCrosse Super...ROTFL, another FWD POS. And you have to laugh at those Tiger Woods Buick commercials, because you just know multi-millionares drive rental grade American cars.

The Lexus ES350 is the best FWD entry-Lux sedan in the $30-40k range. Or the Toyota Avalon, it's essentially the Japanese (quality/resale) version of a Buick.

Redneck Rick:
"Hey, Hillbilly Bob, let's put a V-8 in a FWD car, you know how good those 1990's Caddies were, Yee-hah!."

Hillbilly Bob
"Yeah, that's really our only option Redneck Rick, seeing as how we didn't use the massive profits from SUV/Truck sales from 5-15 years ago to re-invest in the company, Git-R-Done!."

Redneck Rick:
"You're right Hillbilly Bob, let's just blame our junk bond status and crappy cars on Unions and Pension packages."

Hillbilly Bob:
"Here's a great new marketing idea to move our shitty cars Redneck Rick, let's show a lot of Blacks, Hispanics and Country Folk in our advertizing campaign and use hip-hop music and "American Revolution" slogans so the idiots will eat it up. Long Live the Alamo!!"

...shut up retard...

thank god, finally a suitable upgrade for all those looking for a replacement to their mercury marauder. seriously though, even if it had a decent v8, it would still have a live axle like the mustang, so it would be a 30k+ car with technology that wasn't adequate in the 1980's. way to go ford. and people complain that kias and hyundais are outdated...

I am sorry, but this is not the car for Ford to start considering making into a SHO replacement. Really, this car is purchased by retirees that are missing their Crown Vics and Town Cars. I see the guy that buys this car holding onto muscle shirts that are two sizes too small, simply wishing he could still wear a mullet, and thinks all beer should be consumed from a can.

Ford, bring over your fuel efficient small cars first, then focus on redesigning this car to make its driving dynamics less boat like before considering a sporty version.

@ akkadain
wtf are you talking about, teh last show had irs and this chassis doesnt have the mounting points for a live axle. It will more then likely use the rear suspension from a mondeo or jaguar s type with the v8 from one of those cars hwich would be a shame. The last sho cars were loads of fun all the way up to 140 mph.

@unknown

1. i think it's a little disturbing you know the taurus chassis well enough to know whether or not it could handle a live axle or not

2. plenty of cars can go 140, and most of them are not 'loads of fun'

3. the sho has never made any sense. through the contour svt on that pile as well. they may have been mildly fun/interesting, but that doesn't mean they were good ideas. it's just like all the kids with spoilers and fart cans on their dodge avengers. some vehicles are simply not good platforms for performance. the taurus is engineered to have a soft and compliant ride, and while you could throw thousands worth of suspension parts on it and a v8 with whatever axle and have a half-way decently handling ride, why not just buy a car that was engineered to be sporty in the first place. might as well turbo up a dodge dynasty, lower it, throw some rims on it, and call it 'fun'

4. bottom line for ford is, they need to be trying to take back some market share from honda, toyota, hyundai, not pandering to people with more wheels on their house than on their cars. how about making the taurus actually competitive in it's market segment before giving us a performance model

I think it would be good to get a new SHO out there pouinding the pavement i bet it would make for a great sleeper with all the ricerz all flying arround the place.

Ford should think about bringing back the SVT division and let them do the Taurus in an SVT way.

I never said the car couldnt handle one I said it wasnt designed for one. They had to severaly redesign the mustang chassis to make it take a live axle rather then use the lincoln irs which that chassis is based off of. Youve never driven in a sho so you dont know what it is like. The early cars were not built very well as were most cars from the 80s and early 90s. The sho engine was developed by yamaha and had little to nothing to do with a ford design. It had a very nice ride and was very subtle like a early bmw m5. Chances are this car will be awd using the current awd system they have. And what do you know about a car being a good platform for performance. The toyota ae86 had a live axle and was made into a performance monster.

I loved my SHO, but I hated the repair bills.

BTW: To replicate the orginal SHO you would need to use the Fusion (or better yet the Mondeo) since they weigh as much as the early SHOs did.

The original SHO was a much smaller car. A Fusion SHO would be a more like the original.

now we are talking.

Ford, please make a Mondeo Cossworth. Produce it in Germany/Belgium. Ship it to the states.

Use the Volvo T-6 engine. It should fit.

Dont touch anything else, dont listen to the SHO-retards but throw-in 26 cupholders for good measure, if you must.

One thing I have not figured out yet is why Ford did not plop the V8 & AWD into the Taurus/FiveHundred a long time ago and call it the SHO. That driveline combination already existed on the Volvo XC90 in 2005.

waldorf and statler:

agree. but, as per Kenneth, then why not put the V8 of XC90 in it?

This is a car that will sell. More and more people are choosing to drive an older performance car and modify them. This is an excellent design, it was sporty and fun the last time they made it, and with a turbo six it could outperform lancers and wrx's on the track. This car could be the poor man's BMW if done right. On the other hand, if they release it and the best its' got under the hood is 300 hp then it's going to be another cheap knock off of the original and they will further cheapen their brand yet again.

"I think it would be good to get a new SHO out there pouinding the pavement i bet it would make for a great sleeper with all the ricerz all flying arround the place."

Remember, it took a "ricer" engine, built by Yamaga to make the SHO what it was in the first place.

http://home.pon.net/hunnicutt/SHOpage.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_SHO_V6_engine

Make that "Yamaha"...with an h.

" I think it would be good to get a new SHO out there pouinding the pavement i bet it would make for a great sleeper with all the ricerz all flying arround the place."

Remember, it took a "ricer" engine from Yamaha to make the SHO what it was to begin with.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_SHO_V6_engine
http://home.pon.net/hunnicutt/SHOpage.htm

I support Ford's plans 100%.

Just bring over the Ford Falcon

@ unknown

never said the yamaha engines weren't good, never said live axles are evil, the ae86's were awesome, my point was simply that ford needs to concentrate more on technology and refinement in order to compete with... well anyone. I had a friend with a SHO, sure the engine was nice, but it was still a taurus. cheap, outdated, low value american automobile all around. I'm not an america basher, chevy has made great strides in returning to respectability and is pretty competitive now with the new malibu, I'm just saying ford is in trouble, and rather than giving us a SHO, why not bring over some of european models that are actually decently refined. If you are a purely value oriented shopper, it's not hard to see your dollar gets you so much more with so many other manufacturers. This is where ford needs to *ahem* focus

"What would you rather have (keep in mind they're both domestic):

a. A simple F/R N/A V-8 layout

b. A complicated FWD base AWD layout with a twin-turbo V-6...from a company that hasn't sold such a car...well ever."

Well I was trying to limit what i was saying to how you could make a taurus somewhat appealing to buyers.

If you want to talk about what Ford should do to compete with the G8 then I'd say to hell with the taurus all together.. Leave the Fusion to handle the FWD sedan market and import a left side drive falcon. Those already come with turbo 6s and v8s. In sedate trim and performance trim.

For those of you 'ripping' on the current Taurus...

Perhaps you should do some research before you go sticking your foot in your mouth. The current Taurus (and the previous Five Hundred) are based on the exact same chassis as the Volvo S80 and XC90. A very stout chassis indeed. And either car will accept a high performance V6 or V8 engine with no problem as long as it also has the Haldax AWD system which includes independent front and rear suspension (I personally don't want the torque steer associated with 300hp going only through FWD).

I own an '06 Five Hundred AWD and I can't even count the number of 'ricers' that have been left behind by this car with only 208hp under the hood (and it weighs 2 tons with the AWD system) both on straight runs and curves (freeway ramps).

And for all you people bitchin' about large cars and mileage.... I can seat 5 adults AND get 30mpg on the highway.

Taurus SHO with a TwinTurbo V6 and AWD? Bring it on, it will sell.

Ford should make the SHO either an AWD or a Front wheel drive vehicle with V8 power or a their new Twin Turbo V6.

With the twin turbo V6, the car can be competitive with the Lancer Evo, Subaru Impreza, and even the Honda Civic Si.

With the V8, it could be competitive with the Pontiac G8, and the Dodge Charger R/T.

bleh, Ford? no thanks - rather burn my money to keep myself warm, at least then i'm getting something in return.

@saheed

Ford should make it left FWD and right RWD.
Diagonal traction. The brakes should work on the opposite sides.

The engine should be a V16, with cylinder shutdown.
When 14 cylinders are down, it can compete with a 2CV.
With all cylinders working, it can compete with TWO, yes TWO Pontiac G8s.

it's just an image thing, even if it blew the doors off of an evo (which isn't realistic btw) no one in their right mind is going to be like "I'm pushing a taurus!!!" the name is associated with a humble, boring family sedan. if ford wants to fight evos, it shouldn't do it with anything called taurus.

it's just an image thing, even if it blew the doors off of an evo (which isn't realistic btw) no one in their right mind is going to be like "I'm pushing a taurus!!!" the name is associated with a humble, boring family sedan. if ford wants to fight evos, it shouldn't do it with anything called taurus. There is a reason the G8 didn't keep the bonneville name...

do you guys think its weird that ford turned a profit without any word of there cars quality getting better? if it sounds too good to be true it normally isnt.

This will probably be a police car fleet vehicle, which it really stupid...all police cars should be vets or vipers, something that RUNS. Think about it.

The point of the SHO isn't to send sales through the roof. Instead it's meant to show what particular model can do. For instance, when you think of a nice Civic you think of an SI. When you think of a nice Mustang you think of a GT/Cobra. When you think of a Lancer you think of an Evo. You get the point.

@Saheed:

Have you seen the specs for the Civic SI? My wife's Sonata V6 is competetive with that stock... This thing wouldn't need more than 250hp V6 to match an SI. The SI is also one of the worst handling sport compacts out now. In R&T's test it came in second to last of 8 cars in handling and 7 or 8th for acceleration... It's a pretty pathetic attempt by Honda IMO.

lol @ "With the twin turbo V6, the car can be competitive with the Lancer Evo, Subaru Impreza, and even the Honda Civic Si."

Somehow having 300hp makes it as good as an Evo? WTF are you smoking? And how the hell can you lump the Civic Si in with the Evo? You need to get some help. Dumbass.

this thread makes me really wanna find one of those old shelby dodge shadows... now that was a REAL car...

"WVO:
This will probably be a police car fleet vehicle, which it really stupid...all police cars should be vets or vipers, something that RUNS. Think about it."

Most fat ass officers would have difficulty getting in and out of the vehicle.

the cops have a deal with crysler so there gonna be running around in chargers. As for this it may be alot in fleets but its not supposed to go head to head with a evo its mean to challege cars like the entry lvl bmw 3 series or pontiac g8 or dodge charger. If it gets the ecotec from the euro fords it will make 350hp and a decent awd system you will have a decent handling comfortable sleeper.

@WVO:

Police don't need vettes or vipers. Most police cars are more than capable of pursuing most cars. Plus, radios and helicopters are hard to outrun. Vettes and Vipers also would not do a good job of carrying all the required equipment.

@unknown:
Dodge has one major advantage with police departments right now. The Charger is able to pass the qualification requirements without extra welds or other mods to the basic structure. This allows the charger police vehicle to be produced without changing the setup on the production line. A department can order as few as one car and get it in a reasonable time. For other cars that require production setup changes, manufacturers hold the orders until they get enough to justify the changeover - this hits small town PDs the worst.

At the time the first SHO hit there weren't many performance sedans on the market, the M5 was really the only high-powered sedan available. The SHO was a great low cost option.

Now there is serious competition, with the G8 GXP, the SRT8 cars, the BMW M cars, Mercedes AMG cars, Audi RS cars and even the STI's and Evos of the world create significant competition for a new SHO.

The next SHO would need to be world-class. The thing the SHO would have going for it is Ford's SVT group.

I'm always interested in cars with more HP!