Taurus SHO, Maverick, Breakthrough Cars!

[AutobahnSHO]

So in 2002 I was living in Germany (thanks Army!) and a friend asked if I wanted to buy his 1991 Taurus SHO for $2k. I said YES!!!!!!! I had always liked them, had read about them, I had owned two regular Taurus and my family had a Taurus wagon for a long time.

That SHO was Amazing! Got it up to about 138mph on the speedo a couple times (legally!) and even though it was old by then, buddies knew it was a fast car. Then unfortunately it spun a rod bearing on Autobahn A6 coming home from Kaiserslautern (with full acceleration in between hills or traffic) with 172k miles on the odometer.

I Bring up the SHO because our (hybrid) Maverick will be the first Ford I've owned since then. The VALUE of great gas mileage for a low purchase price for this pickup is unbelievable! The original SHO also started just under $20k.

I think the Maverick will sell WAY more than the SHO was sold. Possibly as much as the regular Taurus? It was America's top selling car from 1992 until 1996.. I just can't see the Maverick NOT selling like crazy!!!!

For your reading pleasure: Tested: 1989 Ford Taurus SHO Shocks the World (caranddriver.com)

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[BlueSnake77]

So in 2002 I was living in Germany (thanks Army!) and a friend asked if I wanted to buy his 1991 Taurus SHO for $2k. I said YES!!!!!!! I had always liked them, had read about them, I had owned two regular Taurus and my family had a Taurus wagon for a long time.

That SHO was Amazing! Got it up to about 138mph on the speedo a couple times (legally!) and even though it was old by then, buddies knew it was a fast car. Then unfortunately it spun a rod bearing on Autobahn A6 coming home from Kaiserslautern (with full acceleration in between hills or traffic) with 172k miles on the odometer.

I Bring up the SHO because our (hybrid) Maverick will be the first Ford I've owned since then. The VALUE of great gas mileage for a low purchase price for this pickup is unbelievable! The original SHO also started just under $20k.

I think the Maverick will sell WAY more than the SHO was sold. Possibly as much as the regular Taurus? It was America's top selling car from 1992 until 1996.. I just can't see the Maverick NOT selling like crazy!!!!

For your reading pleasure: Tested: 1989 Ford Taurus SHO Shocks the World (caranddriver.com)

The Autobahn is great isn't it? I was stationed in Germany in 1985-86 when I was in the Army. I ordered a 1986 Dodge Omni GLH through the PX. It was built in (Detroit I think) and shipped to me. Had to take a train up to Bremerhaven to pick it up when it came off the boat. I was stationed right at the West/East border, so my first long drive on the Autobahn was to Cologne (Koln). The catalytic converter was in the trunk and a straight pipe in it's place since Germany was still using leaded gas at the time. The GLH i had was the non-turbo version so it only had the 110 hp 2.2L motor. Top speed was only 110 mph, but it was a blast to drive top speed legally. I'd be in the left lane doing 110 and here would come a Mercedes behind me flashing it's lights to geddahellouddatheway! at about 130+ mph. Had a great time in Germany. When I saw your avatar I instantly recognized it.

 

[whtnrdy]

i think the Maverick will sell well, but I don’t quite share the optimism that it will be the best selling car in America.

But the SHO was also kind of a dream car for me when it came out, and my dad‘s buddy had one so I got to be the passenger a few times. Maybe a year or two after you bought yours, I bought a manual red ‘94 off eBay. Beat the crap out of it for a year and sold it. Loved it even with the cracked transmission case and problems putting into first.

I always have one cheap used car that is from my, ahem, ”dream” list, and I would buy another SHO. But I currently have my sights set on mid 80s V8 Thunderbird. It was my first car, and I will own another.

 

[06Warrior]

In 1994 I had a 89’ Mustang GT convertible. A Taurus SHO came along side me and we gave it a go. I stayed ahead of him but not by much. I was surprised how quick they were.

I believe Yamaha made the engine on those.

 

[Eagle11]

So in 2002 I was living in Germany (thanks Army!) and a friend asked if I wanted to buy his 1991 Taurus SHO for $2k. I said YES!!!!!!! I had always liked them, had read about them, I had owned two regular Taurus and my family had a Taurus wagon for a long time.

That SHO was Amazing! Got it up to about 138mph on the speedo a couple times (legally!) and even though it was old by then, buddies knew it was a fast car. Then unfortunately it spun a rod bearing on Autobahn A6 coming home from Kaiserslautern (with full acceleration in between hills or traffic) with 172k miles on the odometer.

I Bring up the SHO because our (hybrid) Maverick will be the first Ford I've owned since then. The VALUE of great gas mileage for a low purchase price for this pickup is unbelievable! The original SHO also started just under $20k.

I think the Maverick will sell WAY more than the SHO was sold. Possibly as much as the regular Taurus? It was America's top selling car from 1992 until 1996.. I just can't see the Maverick NOT selling like crazy!!!!

For your reading pleasure: Tested: 1989 Ford Taurus SHO Shocks the World (caranddriver.com)

Having done 3 European Deliveries of BMWs, have always taken them on the Autobahn, the last BMW my current M5, I could rev the engine past 4500prm (the engine needs a break-in period) even in 8th gear at 4500RPM the speedo was at 150mph. Solid as a rock !!

The Ford SHO was an amazing car, way ahead of it's time.

 

[rcheneyjr]

This will only be my second Ford. I had a '66 Mustang that I bought in '76 when I was poor. $300 for a lot of rust! It did have a 289 2bbl with a 3 spd manual, so it ran well. I sold it 2 years later for $120 when I left town for a real job. Good times!

 

[whtnrdy]

In 1994 I had a 89’ Mustang GT convertible. A Taurus SHO came along side me and we gave it a go. I stayed ahead of him but not by much. I was surprised how quick they were.

I believe Yamaha made the engine on those.

Yeah, and that V6 wound up to 7k, it was a fun car to drive. Pretty sure I still have the Car and Driver that had the one-off wagon on the cover.

 

[Eagle11]

Yeah, and that V6 wound up to 7k, it was a fun car to drive. Pretty sure I still have the Car and Driver that had the one-off wagon on the cover.

It was a Yamaha engine.

 

[whtnrdy]

It was a Yamaha engine.

Yeah, and that V6 wound up to 7k, it was a fun car to drive.

 

[Eagle11]

Yeah, and that V6 wound up to 7k, it was a fun car to drive.

At the time of the Development of the engine, Yamaha has 5 valve head motorcycle, and Yamaha wanted to do it to the SHO engine, Ford, said NO..

 

[TacoHolder]

Toyota sells over 300K Rav4s per year. I don't think they can even make enough Mavs to compete.

 

[AutobahnSHO]

Not yet anyway!

 

[Thrillhouse]

Ford sold almost 900,000 F150's in 2019 (pre-pandemic). The Maverick isn't even going to be Ford's best seller. The F150 has been the best seller in the US for over 40 years now.

 

[BMCGC]

I had a SHO.

The Yamaha V6 was a maintenance nightmare unless you had deep pockets, dropped it off and said "do whatever it needs."

They competed with BMW's and just like the BMW they were a great car until the 100k maintenance kicked in.

Ford has never done a good job competing with European sports cars.

Did Americans ever embrace the 4-door sport sedan?

Here's my ideal Sports sedan.

 

[AutobahnSHO]

Ford sold almost 900,000 F150's in 2019 (pre-pandemic). The Maverick isn't even going to be Ford's best seller. The F150 has been the best seller in the US for over 40 years now.

Now that Ford has no little cars, pople will be looking for something else. People (like me) who probably wouldn't be pickup shopping will be looking at them pretty seriously when they realize they get better gas mileage and utility for the same price as a Civic or other CUV.

Unless the Maverick is a maintenance disaster, I think they will sell as many as they can produce within a couple years.

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