<p>Filed under: <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/category/sedans/" rel="tag">Sedans/Saloons</a>, <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/category/ford/" rel="tag">Ford</a>, <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/category/driving/" rel="tag">First Drive</a></p><a href="http://www.autoblog.com/photos/first-drive-2010-ford-taurus-sho/2100402/"><img vspace="4" hspace="4" border="1" alt="" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2009/06/01-2010-ford-taurus-sho-fd-580op2.jpg" /></a><br />
<div align="center"><em><strong><small>2010 Ford Taurus SHO - Click above for high-res image gallery</small></strong></em><br /></div>
<br />Incendiary Statement of the Day: American automakers haven't made many good sport sedans. It isn't because we can't build 'em - it's just that for one reason or another, U.S. automakers have historically refused to take the segment seriously, all but ceding it to the Europeans and the Japanese. <br /><br />Thankfully, the Detroit 3 have produced some models that buck the trend, and even better for us, most of them are recent offerings. Cadillac's stonking new CTS-V isn't just a sport sedan - dollar-for-dollar, it may very well be the best in the world. Pontiac's G8 GT and GXP are two excellent examples, and Chrysler's 300C SRT8 and Charger SRT8 make decent cases for themselves, although they're arguably more muscle cars in sedan wrappers than four-door barnstormers. What else is there? In the last 25 years or so, not a whole lot. Once you get past the first-gen CTS and perhaps the Lincoln LS, you're dealing with short-lived, small-volume factory skunkworks models like the Dodge Spirit R/T and SRT4, as well as the Ford Contour SVT. In fact, you're skating on thin (sport compact) ice... until you get to the first- and second-generation Taurus SHO of the late-Eighties to mid-Nineties. <br /><br />Ah, the Taurus SHO. While it's probably true that the fog of time has conspired to give us a rosier view of the 1989-1991 SHO and the 1992-1995 model that followed the original, few would deny that its spirited 220-horsepower Yamaha-sourced 3.0-liter V6 was anything less than a wondrous engine, or that the standard Taurus' revolutionary slipstream bodywork and tidy dimensions lent itself well to the genre's ethos. Further, for an American mid-size sport sedan, it was the only game in town, yet it acquitted itself handsomely against contemporary Nissan Maximas, and pricier competitors like the BMW 3-Series.<br /><br />The SHO took a wrong turn (as did the entire Taurus franchise) with the softer V8-powered 1996 third-generation model, and slow sales saw the model expire by 1999. A decade has passed since that car went off to the Great Crusher in the Sky, and now Ford has returned with an altogether different SHO for 2010. Does it live up to the original, or is it more in keeping with the underwhelming model that preceded it so long ago? Let's find out.<br /><br /><br /><div class="postgallery"><p><strong>Gallery: <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/photos/first-drive-2010-ford-taurus-sho/">First Drive: 2010 Ford Taurus SHO</a></strong></p><a href="http://www.autoblog.com/photos/first-drive-2010-ford-taurus-sho/2100402/"><img src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2009/06/01-2010-ford-taurus-sho-fd_thumbnail.jpg" alt="" title="" /></a><a href="http://www.autoblog.com/photos/first-drive-2010-ford-taurus-sho/2100403/"><img src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2009/06/02-2010-ford-taurus-sho-fd_thumbnail.jpg" alt="" title="" /></a><a href="http://www.autoblog.com/photos/first-drive-2010-ford-taurus-sho/2100408/"><img src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2009/06/03-2010-ford-taurus-sho-fd_thumbnail.jpg" alt="" title="" /></a><a href="http://www.autoblog.com/photos/first-drive-2010-ford-taurus-sho/2100404/"><img src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2009/06/04-2010-ford-taurus-sho-fd_thumbnail.jpg" alt="" title="" /></a><a href="http://www.autoblog.com/photos/first-drive-2010-ford-taurus-sho/2100409/"><img src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2009/06/05-2010-ford-taurus-sho-fd_thumbnail.jpg" alt="" title="" /></a></div><br /><em><strong><small>Photos Copyright (C)2009 Chris Paukert / Weblogs, Inc.</small></strong></em><p><a href="http://www.autoblog.com/2009/06/23/first-drive-2010-ford-taurus-sho-offers-excellence-without-emot/" rel="bookmark">Continue reading <em>First Drive: 2010 Ford Taurus SHO offers excellence without emotion</em></a></p><p style="padding:5px;background:#ddd;border:1px solid #ccc;clear:both;"><a href="http://www.autoblog.com/2009/06/23/first-drive-2010-ford-taurus-sho-offers-excellence-without-emot/">First Drive: 2010 Ford Taurus SHO offers excellence without emotion</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://www.autoblog.com">Autoblog</a> on Tue, 23 Jun 2009 11:59:00 EST. Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.</p><h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href="http://www.autoblog.com/2009/06/23/first-drive-2010-ford-taurus-sho-offers-excellence-without-emot/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/forward/19074962/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a> | <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/2009/06/23/first-drive-2010-ford-taurus-sho-offers-excellence-without-emot/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a>
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<div align="center"><em><strong><small>2010 Ford Taurus SHO - Click above for high-res image gallery</small></strong></em><br /></div>
<br />Incendiary Statement of the Day: American automakers haven't made many good sport sedans. It isn't because we can't build 'em - it's just that for one reason or another, U.S. automakers have historically refused to take the segment seriously, all but ceding it to the Europeans and the Japanese. <br /><br />Thankfully, the Detroit 3 have produced some models that buck the trend, and even better for us, most of them are recent offerings. Cadillac's stonking new CTS-V isn't just a sport sedan - dollar-for-dollar, it may very well be the best in the world. Pontiac's G8 GT and GXP are two excellent examples, and Chrysler's 300C SRT8 and Charger SRT8 make decent cases for themselves, although they're arguably more muscle cars in sedan wrappers than four-door barnstormers. What else is there? In the last 25 years or so, not a whole lot. Once you get past the first-gen CTS and perhaps the Lincoln LS, you're dealing with short-lived, small-volume factory skunkworks models like the Dodge Spirit R/T and SRT4, as well as the Ford Contour SVT. In fact, you're skating on thin (sport compact) ice... until you get to the first- and second-generation Taurus SHO of the late-Eighties to mid-Nineties. <br /><br />Ah, the Taurus SHO. While it's probably true that the fog of time has conspired to give us a rosier view of the 1989-1991 SHO and the 1992-1995 model that followed the original, few would deny that its spirited 220-horsepower Yamaha-sourced 3.0-liter V6 was anything less than a wondrous engine, or that the standard Taurus' revolutionary slipstream bodywork and tidy dimensions lent itself well to the genre's ethos. Further, for an American mid-size sport sedan, it was the only game in town, yet it acquitted itself handsomely against contemporary Nissan Maximas, and pricier competitors like the BMW 3-Series.<br /><br />The SHO took a wrong turn (as did the entire Taurus franchise) with the softer V8-powered 1996 third-generation model, and slow sales saw the model expire by 1999. A decade has passed since that car went off to the Great Crusher in the Sky, and now Ford has returned with an altogether different SHO for 2010. Does it live up to the original, or is it more in keeping with the underwhelming model that preceded it so long ago? Let's find out.<br /><br /><br /><div class="postgallery"><p><strong>Gallery: <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/photos/first-drive-2010-ford-taurus-sho/">First Drive: 2010 Ford Taurus SHO</a></strong></p><a href="http://www.autoblog.com/photos/first-drive-2010-ford-taurus-sho/2100402/"><img src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2009/06/01-2010-ford-taurus-sho-fd_thumbnail.jpg" alt="" title="" /></a><a href="http://www.autoblog.com/photos/first-drive-2010-ford-taurus-sho/2100403/"><img src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2009/06/02-2010-ford-taurus-sho-fd_thumbnail.jpg" alt="" title="" /></a><a href="http://www.autoblog.com/photos/first-drive-2010-ford-taurus-sho/2100408/"><img src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2009/06/03-2010-ford-taurus-sho-fd_thumbnail.jpg" alt="" title="" /></a><a href="http://www.autoblog.com/photos/first-drive-2010-ford-taurus-sho/2100404/"><img src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2009/06/04-2010-ford-taurus-sho-fd_thumbnail.jpg" alt="" title="" /></a><a href="http://www.autoblog.com/photos/first-drive-2010-ford-taurus-sho/2100409/"><img src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2009/06/05-2010-ford-taurus-sho-fd_thumbnail.jpg" alt="" title="" /></a></div><br /><em><strong><small>Photos Copyright (C)2009 Chris Paukert / Weblogs, Inc.</small></strong></em><p><a href="http://www.autoblog.com/2009/06/23/first-drive-2010-ford-taurus-sho-offers-excellence-without-emot/" rel="bookmark">Continue reading <em>First Drive: 2010 Ford Taurus SHO offers excellence without emotion</em></a></p><p style="padding:5px;background:#ddd;border:1px solid #ccc;clear:both;"><a href="http://www.autoblog.com/2009/06/23/first-drive-2010-ford-taurus-sho-offers-excellence-without-emot/">First Drive: 2010 Ford Taurus SHO offers excellence without emotion</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://www.autoblog.com">Autoblog</a> on Tue, 23 Jun 2009 11:59:00 EST. Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.</p><h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href="http://www.autoblog.com/2009/06/23/first-drive-2010-ford-taurus-sho-offers-excellence-without-emot/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/forward/19074962/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a> | <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/2009/06/23/first-drive-2010-ford-taurus-sho-offers-excellence-without-emot/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a>
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