:rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

 

the ignorance of some customers was huge when they thought a taurus could compare to a bmw...i was disgusted when i read that part...sorry bimmers are in a class all by themselves...ford and especially a taurus sho can't even compare

 

Which shows the complete lack of intelligence on the part of the guy who said it, and/or how crappy American cars were if the Taurus was the closest domestic to a BMW.

 

The only Ford I would buy is their tried and proven F-Series pickup trucks.

 

The most dissapointing thing about Ford and GM, is that they are SOOOOO huge and have such deep pockets, that they can afford to make mistakes. HUGE mistakes. And the enemies they create (i.e. people like us) who refuse to purchase another one of their products, don't even phase them. So the very FEW really good cars or trucks they make exist in limbo, and the rest of the automotive world pushes the line on technology, performance, style, and quality. If Honda's Accord had developed serious issues, do you think Honda could wither the storm financially? Look at history.... Edsel, Pinto, Mustang II, Granada, Explorer, Taurus SHO 2nd gen..... cars which have completely polarized people against Ford for one reason or another, and yet they are still a freaking giant of a corporation. Smaller companies have those same failures and they dissappear into oblivion. Ford makes them and INCREASES their profits

 

Pretty much every Toyota DOHC head was designed and/or built by Yamaha.

 

Yup. At a time it seemed like they were going to merge. (and destroy honda)

 

The Toyota-Yamaha alliance just proves that Honda is at the top of the Japanese automotive world in terms of engine building.

 

Sure does. But Toyota has had some really good engines here and there, but overall Honda's comparable engines are more impressive.

 

I am one of the people quoted in the Detroit Free Press article. I am also the President of the SHO Club, the only national club for the Ford Taurus SHO.

While I can appreciate that some of you (most) are wild over your Honda's, you must understand that my members and most owners of the SHO Taurus are JUST as enthusiastic about their cars.

The people that were calling me names for comparing my SHO V8 (I own three SHO's, an 89, 91 and 96) to a BMW, need to read the Quote again.

I said the SHO "was the closest thing we had to an American made BMW" I didn't say it WAS a BMW.

I celebrate, with most of the automotive press and enthusiast community, that the "Beemer" is a benchmark car. but believe it or not, it isn't the dream car for everyone.

I took a brand new 2003 BMW 530i for a nice test drive last summer. Not the sport version, and not the manual trans version, because I was seriously considering what I would eventually want to replace my 1996 SHO V8 with, and the regular 530i is what I would be interested in.

My conclusion was that for 45 large, I could be REAL happy with my 96 SHO that I bought for under $10,000 a couple years ago. It performs very close to the 530 and is rated at more HP. 0-60 and 1/4 mile favor the Beemer because it is RWD and they probably underestimate their motors a bit. Also, the most startling difference was in the automatic trans. I would love my SHO to have the manual shift feature of the Beemer, it was a joy to use. With the SHO, you are better off leaving it in Drive and letting the tranny work, manual shifting is not very rewarding, but I have learned to live with that.

Plus no 6 cyl or 4 cyl car can equal the delicious sounds of a V8 motor. With a set of Bullett turbo's my SHO V8 has the same great sounds as many a Mustang.

In many other respects the two cars were close enough that I didn't want to take on a huge payment just to get the BMW name.

Yes, the SHO IS about as close as any American sedan has come to a BMW. I stand by my statement. After all, many people would say that no Honda is a BMW either!

I don't care to start any big war, I doubt I will be back to read responses, I just felt that since some of my friends mentioned the type of comments made, I wanted to help some of you understand that I and many others love the SHO for what it is. A superb performer for a big FWD sedan. It is like owning a British Sports car. You love it despite the warts and known problems.

I havn't said anything against Honda's anywhere, and I won't because they are great cars. Once they got up to speed on quality, with the help of an American, Honda has done a superb job of producing quality vehicles that meet the needs of a wide variety of people.

I am not a possible customer for Honda or Acura. I have driven many of them, and like the cars, but they don't do anything for me. But I am aware that there are groups like this that have a love of the brand and certain models within the brand.

I am sure there are people out there that consider the unwavering faith of THIS group odd. They can't understand why you would love the car.

Just like SOME of you don't understand why some of MY members and friends love our SHO's. It is a big world, and I pity the people that don't understand that there can be neat cars from about ANY manufacturer.

I have never been a "Ford or nothing" type of guy, in fact my first automotive loves were old Pontiacs and Chevy's. I also love the Europeon cars and have sold and owned Japanese and Europeon cars. I try to buy American when possible, but I don't hate ANY brand, I just LOVE certain ones. The Japanese/Yamaha heart in my SHO's is a source of price. They are great motors. The SHO V6 is just TODAY being surpassed in specific output for a big V6, and if Ford had stuck with it, think of what that jewel of a motor with dual length intakes (way before others) could do with Variable cam timing and some extra tuning. 300 hp is quite possible without a power adder, and people do that all the time. We have several SHO's topping 450hp with blowers, one is putting 500 ft lb of torque to the ground! From a small V6!

So I hope this helps you understand why I would compare my SHO's to something like a BMW. I knew that 530i was better in many ways than my 96 SHO, but then it cost more than $15,000 more sticker price when both were new, and it was 7 model years newer. Iwould HOPE it would be a better car! Still, when I got back in my SHO, I didn't feel like I was taking that big a step down. And certainlay with any comparable car of the time, and many of today, the SHO still stands tall.

You don't like them, fine, there is room for everyone to have their likes, and dislikes, but try not to get personal with it.

Don Mallinson, President
SHO Club
Now celebrating our 12th year as an enthusiast club, and our 11th annual national convention with REAL road racing and drag racing. Want to see people have fun with a four door Taurus? Stop by our convention in Madison WI this summer. BTW, we have also raised over $50,000 for the American Red Cross National Disaster Relief Fund as a group. Our members own Porsche, BMW, Honda, you name it. We also have the word of MANY pro racers that the SHO is a great handling car with superb power.