Recently a hilarious Craigslist ad for a 1994 Ford Taurus SHO made its rounds on the Internet (and has now been unfortunately removed). The SHO seems like a laughable concept now, and it's possible that it was laughable at the time as well. However, the idea of a factory-tuned sedan is hardly a bad one as shown by the Cadillac V, Mercedes AMG, Audi S, and BMW M cars. Further, Ford could certainly use a kick in the pants, as they've been churning out nothing but yawners (with the exception of the various Shelby Mustangs) for a few years.
The Big Three have admittedly been against the ropes for those same few years, but Ford is doing the best of acting the part. GM responded to the announcements of their imminent death by peppering the market with incredible cars and trucks of nearly every variety. Chrysler is riding the wave of optimism generated when they were pulled (thrown?) from the clutches of Mercedes Benz. Ford, on the other hand, has made careful and effective improvements to their products while somehow managing to avoid telling anyone about them.
A return of the SVT program would certainly help to draw attention to some of their better products. The Focus and the Fusion (and the Milan and MKZ) would respond well to a performance boost, and would draw attention to their capable platforms. A current-generation Taurus SHO may not have the same flavor as those from the 90's, but there is certainly room in the Ford lineup for a power boost. John Coletti, where are you?
2 comments:
Ford is in the works of the Eco-Boost engine which is a twin turbo, 3.5L V6 that currently attains more than 340HP This engine is currently slated for the 2009 Lincoln MKS. I would expect Ford to also deliver this engine to the Fusion or Taurus. As well as their Mercury twins.
You Tube video of a Ford Taurus sporting the Eco-Boost.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jgilKUwMl2A&eurl=http://www.autoblog.com/2008/01/09/video-ecoboost-equipped-taurus-drag-races-cadilac-and-bmw/
That's great to hear! Thanks for the video link! It's unfortunate that the narrator, Derrick Kuzak, sounds like such an idiot.
For anyone that doesn't want to sit through the Mr. Kuzak's dull droning, the footage of the Taurus turbo is at 6:54. The rest of the video is a long-winded, buzzword-laden explanation of how direct injection eliminates the traditional disadvantages of turbocharged engines.
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