Super Happy Occupants: 1992 Ford Taurus SHO

Remember the time when only nutty people drove fast cars?  Most everybody else just picked something to get them from point A to point B, but a small group of nutters knew how to select cool options and get themselves into something that might spin off the road or burst into flames at point C.  Yeah, now every modern car is stupid fast and this next thing is slower than your neighbors new Camry...but at least its got a manual gearbox and a little bit of something called character. Find this 1992 Ford Taurus SHO offered for $4900 in Ventura, CA via craigslist. Tip from Rock On!

Yamahahahaha! 1989 Ford Taurus SHO

The Taurus SHO (Super High Output) was a limited edition sports sedan built by Ford's Special Vehicle Team, yup the same guys who developed the SVO Mustang, Mustang Cobra, etc.  A first generation SHO may feel slow in comparison to today's big DOHC V6s mounted in every economy sedan (or the twin turbo 3.5 V6 SHO), but back in 1989 when it was new, there weren't many 4-door cars capable of 6.6 second to 60mph and a 143 mph top speed. Find this 1989 Ford Taurus SHO offered for $2,500 in Colorado Springs, CO via craigslist.  Tip from Rock On!

SHO Off:1992 Ford Taurus SHO

Ford Exec's circa 1984: "Man...other than the Mustang our line up is B-O-R-I-N-G!!!  We need to have some fun with a sedan, throw some smack down on them-der Germans ya know.  Screw the Europeans...let's get a Japanese company to massage us a proper engine for shits & giggles!"  Find this 1992 Ford Taurus SHO for sale in Scottsbluff, NE for $3,000 via craigslist.

Green Machine: 1996 Ford Taurus SHO

For the 1996 model year, the Ford Taurus SHO was completely re-envisioned by the madmen at Ford's Special Vehicles Team.  Gone was the revv happy Yamaha tuned V6 mated to an optional 5-speed and in its place was a 3.4 liter V8 attached to a 4-speed automatic.  If you are willing to live with an automatic gearbox, the third generation SHO is certainly a more refined and slightly faster car than the previous generation.  Find this 1996 Ford Taurus SHO offered for $3,295 in La Mesa, CA via craigslist. Tip from Steven.

Show Me The Money: 1994 Ford Taurus SHO

The second time the SHO name appeared on the back of a Taurus was in the second generation Taurus built from 1991 through 1995, and it used the same Yamaha built V6 for shredding the front tires.  Today, it is one of the more interesting ways to go 143 mph in a sedan for less than $2k.  Find this 1994 Ford Taurus SHO offered here on eBay for $1,600 buy-it-now located in San Diego, CA with 4 days to go.

5k: Furious Front Driver: 1990 Ford Taurus SHO

Ford's special vehicles team (SVT) was busy celebrating their success with the SVO Mustang when they decided it was time to show those Germans a thing or two about building a sport sedan. The took the basic Dn-5 platform Tarurus and added a high revving V6 to create a sleeper in its day. Find this 1990 Ford Taurus SHO offered for $3000 near Portland, OR via Craigslist. 

Seller Likes Fords: '87 Merkur XR4Ti, '88 Thunderbird TC, 90 Taurus SHO

By and large, people tend to be creatures of habit, specifically when it comes to stocking their garage with vehicles from a particular manufacturer.  Sometimes when the habit gets out of hand, the seller needs to thin the herd, and today's seller is offering a trio of late '80s Fords for a decent price.  Find them here: a 1987 Merkur XR4Ti for $6,900 CAD ($5,731 USD), a  1988 Ford Thunderbird Turbo Coupe for $7,200 CAD ($5,981), and 1990 Ford Taurus SHO for $7,000 CAD ($5,814 USD) all located in St John's Newfoundland, Canada via Kijiji.ca. Tips from Grumbling by Lotus.

5k: SHOcase of the Dakotas: 1987 Mercury Sable wagon, SHO swap

One of the more unfortunate tendencies of human beings is to reduce a culture to stereotypes and rash generalizations. For example, the Dakotas are not merely Fargo jokes and wide open spaces, but an exercise in pragmatism. As in, inexpensive land, low taxes, low unemployment, low crime (except for that fellow with the woodchopper) and a low chance of getting heat stroke. Like a 220-horsepower family wagon, it does the job right without begging for attention, which is a polite way of saying it has all the sex appeal of a Cosby sweater. Find this 1987 Mercy Sable wagon with SHO swap for sale in Rapid City, SD for $4,500 via craigslist.

1k: SHOchero: 1989 Ford Taurus SHO Truck

The theme is really subtle here and you might miss it if you aren't paying attention. When the Taurus first came out it was referred to as the Jelly Bean and some people (in OK anyway) called it the Moon Car. The fact that this one is running Moon-Eyes and Moon discs only adds to that!  Find this 1989 Ford Taurus SHO Truck offered for $1,500 in Olney, IL via craigslist.  Tip from James.

5k: Dennis Gage Owned: 1990 Ford Taurus SHO

The first generation Ford Taurus SHO was engineered by the nutters on Ford's Special Vehicle Team starting in 1989.  Today it is an appreciating classic, but this particular example is owned by mustache enthusiast and My Classic Car host Dennis Gage.  Find this 1990 Ford Taurus SHO here on eBay currently bidding for $6,000 with 3 days to go.

2k: Inconspicuous Acceleration: 1988 Nissan Pulsar, SHO V6 swap

The worst part about custom cars is that those with the means aren't the ones who become the owners. Not that this 220-horsepower Pulsar (that is, without the 55-horsepower dry shot of nitrous) necessitates a blank check to Nissan or Pininfarina or some obscure coach-building machine shop. Any red-blooded Joe with a blue-collar paycheck could acquire, complete, and maintain this project with no problem. But a bottle-fed, Yamaha-engined, front-drive, open-bed compact with t-tops only has the formula for sheer absurdity. An open budget and an unchecked imagination would completely furnish it with the ostentation it deserves. Find this 1988 Nissan Pulsar with SHO V6 swap in Fort Wayne, IN for $2,300 ($2,000 sans nitrous) via craigslist.

3k: SHOulda Been A Wagon: 1992 Ford Taurus Wagon, SHO swap

Few automobiles offer the versatility of loading up all seven seats and outgunning the poky semi-truck while looking like a casserole-carrying preacher's wife. This manual-shifting, 220-horsepower Taurus wagon is the front-drive Roadmaster rival that should have been. With handy upgrades and a price lower than its load floor, it's ready for your cargo and heavy right foot. And lots of casseroles. Find this 1992 Ford Taurus GL Wagon with SHO drivetrain swap in Detroit, MI for $3,000 via craigslist. 

10k: Classic SEMA Car: 1998 Ford Taurus SHO Rage Concept

The third generation Ford Taurus SHO was built from 1996 to 1999, with the last example leaving the assembly line in June of 1999.  It seems strange then, that Ford would have released a Ford Taurus Rage Concept car at the November 1998 SEMA (Special Equipment Manufacturer's Association) trade show, but sometimes in these big companies the guy who is folding the toilet paper has no idea who is going to wipe the butt and doesn't care.  Regardless, an SHO concept car has been bouncing around on ebay for at least the past decade with various sources of conflicting information dating to the early days of the internet. Find this 1998 Ford Taurus SHO Rage Concept currently bidding for $10,600 reserve-not-met with 4 days to go on ebay, located Warren, MI.

Mid Week Match-Up: Road Trip Time

It is Wednesday so that means it's time for another Mid Week Match-Up (TM)!  Last week, we featured a request from a reader who wanted "insanity" for about $1500 and many good suggestions were added to the comments.  Today, we are looking for a turn-key vehicle that can be picked up for around $5000 and used for a long distance road trip.

What do you suggest?

5k: SHO Boat: 1993 Ford Taurus SHO

The Taurus SHO (Super High Output) was a limited edition sports sedan built by Ford's Special Vehicle Team (the same guys who developed the SVO Mustang, Mustang Cobra, etc).  The SHO may feel slow in comparison to today's big DOHC V6s mounted in every economy sedan, but back in 1989 when it was new, there weren't many cars capable of 6.6 second to 60mph and a 143 mph top speed.  Find this 1993 Ford Taurus SHO for sale in Denver, CO for $2,500 via craigslist.  Tip from slowcarSLOW-MPGlol

5k: SlusHbOx: 1999 Ford Taurus SHO 3.4L V8

The third generation Ford Taurus was another mid-sized front-drive rental fleet reject from Detroit, but Ford put its Special Vehicle Team on the job and they came out with a new generation of the Taurus SHO (Super High Output), this time with a V8 instead of the previous V6.  Find this 1999 Ford Taurus SHO for sale in Fogelsville, PA for $4,600 buy-it-now on eBay.