” …able to blow off many imports and domestics without even breaking sweat. ” I’m from the less-is-more school of writing. Rather than “imports and domestics,” try “competitors.”

I also like the manual mode.

I don’t know where this list of competitors came from. G8, Yes. “TL,” yes. But not the 300C or the CTS.

ricky_b: In my opinion, the best sedan ever produced by an American car company is the new CTS.

Bankruptcy2009: “Reed fast I think you’ll find this thing will run Run Circles around your Audi R8.” You should proof that.

reedfast: calling something FWD an Impala … somebody needs to go to jail for that.

Johnnyc: “And Ford, please do not put this engine into the Mustang.” Hear, hear!

tripleonefive: “This is what Ford should have had out 4-5 years ago.” You’re right.

l.sanchez: “It doesn’t drive like such a big car.” you’re right.

PearlJamFan: I play “Corduroy” on a Les Paul, and “rearviewmirror” on an Epiphone. “For “Leash,” I use a different Epiphone.

Ford Racing History: 100-plus Years & Still Running Strong

1901 – Henry Ford defeats Alexander Winton in a 10-lap race on a one-mile oval at the Detroit Driving Club, Grosse Pointe, MI.

1903 – Ford 999, driven by Barney Oldfield, laps the Indiana Fairgrounds dirt track at a then-record 60 mph.

1909 – Ford Model T wins New York to Seattle cross-country race.

1932 – Ford V-8 “flathead” engine introduced, bringing V-8 power into mass production.

1949 – Jim Roper, driving a Lincoln, wins first-ever NASCAR Grand National race.

1950 – Jimmy Florian drives a Ford-branded car to a NASCAR victory for the first time ever.

1956 – Ford tops NASCAR manufacturer point standings for the first time.

1957 – Automobile Manufacturers Association ban on factory-sponsored racing makes manufacturer racing involvement a “back door” operation until 1962.

1962 – Ford begins its “Total Performance” racing program of the 1960s.

1963 – Colin Chapman teams with Ford to build rear-engine Indy cars. Jim Clark drives Lotus-Ford to engine’s first victory in Milwaukee 200. Tiny Lund scores Ford Racing’s first Daytona 500 win.

1964 – Ford introduces DOHC V-8 Indy car engine.

1965 – Jim Clark scores Ford Racing’s first Indy 500 victory. Mario Andretti becomes first Ford-powered driver to win the United States Auto Club championship. Ned Jarrett is first Ford driver to win the NASCAR Grand National title.

1966 – Ford Mk IIs finish 1-2-3 in 24 Hours of Le Mans.

1967 – Ford-Cosworth DFV V-8 engine makes Formula One debut, driven to victory by Jim Clark at the Dutch Grand Prix.

1971 – Ford (North America) ends all racing support and involvement.

1976 – Al Unser wins Pocono 500, first victory for the Cosworth DFX V-8 engine.

1977 – Tom Sneva, driving a McLaren-Cosworth, wins USAC national championship.

1981 – Ford establishes Special Vehicle Operations as its center for all racing activities. The Miller Mustang scores the first two victories in Ford’s resurgent program.

1985 – Ford Thunderbird driver Bill Elliott wins a record 11 NASCAR superspeedway events, including the Talladega 500 at 186.288 mph.

1988 – Bill Elliott wins NASCAR Winston Cup championship in a Thunderbird – first Winston Cup title for a Ford driver since 1969.

1992 – Ford re-enters Indy car racing with the new Ford-Cosworth XB engine. Ford wins its 10th NASCAR manufacturers’ championship, the first since 1969. Alan Kulwicki wins Winston Cup title in a Thunderbird.

1993 – Nigel Mansell wins Indy Car PPG Cup and Rookie of the Year, Ford’s first drivers’ title since 1971.

1994 – Ford introduces the Zetec R V-8 Formula One engine. Michael Schumacher wins the F-1 World Championship, Ford Racing’s first since 1982

1995 – Jacques Villeneuve scores the first Ford Indy 500 victory since 1971.

1997 – Ford launches the Taurus NASCAR Winston Cup car for competition in 1998 and beyond.

1998 – Ford buys Cosworth Racing, a partner in racing engines for more than 30 years.

1999 – Ford purchases the Stewart-Ford Formula One team.

1999 – Dale Jarrett’s Ford Quality Care team wins Winston Cup Championship

2000 – Stewart-Ford becomes Jaguar Racing, signaling the entry into F1.

2001 – John Force wins fifth consecutive NHRA Funny Car Championship for Ford

2001 – Ford celebrates its 100th year of racing.

2003 – Matt Kenseth wins the last Winston Cup Championship in a Ford Taurus

2004 – Kurt Busch wins the inaugural Nextel Cup Championship, delivering to Ford and owner Jack Roush back-to-back championships. John Force captured his 13th championship in the Funny Car class of NHRA.

2005 – Roush Racing’s entire fleet of Ford Tauruses makes the NASCAR Chase to the Nextel Cup playoff format. The Ford Five drivers Greg Biffle, Carl Edwards, Mark Martin, Matt Kenseth and Kurt Busch make up half of the 10-drivers championship competition. Frank Kimmel won his seventh ARCA championship. Sébastien Bourdais won his second back-to-back CCWS championship.

2006 – Ford debuts the Fusion NASCAR Nextel Cup car and Busch Series car at Daytona and ends the season with Greg Biffle’s victory in the Ford 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. John Force won his 14th NHRA Funny Car championship. Frank Kimmel took home his eighth ARCA ReMax championship in a Ford Fusion. Sébastien Bourdais won The Champ Car World Series Powered by Ford championship for the third year in a row. The all-new Ford Focus World Rally Car made its racing debut and went on to capture the Manufacturer’s Championship with Marcus Grönholm behind the wheel. Jörg Bergmeister and Krohn Racing delivered Ford its first Grand American Rolex Series Daytona Prototype driver championship.

This happens when you have been in business for 106 Years and have turned out more Cars and Trucks in one year than Audi has in its past 100!

I can understand that Ford would add more options to make more money EVERY automaker does the same thing. How else are they to make extra money. Audi does it!

And have you even sat in the vehicle yet? How can you tell if the leather better or not? What about the quality of the plastics. So until you drive one, keep your opinions to thing you can actually confirm about the Taurus.

But admit it, it looks good and is going to fly. Once the PCM tweaks come out, LOOK OUT!

@PearlJamFan:
I was talking about the quality of the leather, and the bolstering on the seats.
Half that stuff did not exist in the 90’s.
It did have:
Heated seats
Climate control
The rest of the stuff are things that ford invented so that they could make more $$$
and most of it is incredibly annoying, i dont want my car beeping at me and listening to what
i say.
But i do wish it had direct injection.

I have owned 5 previous Taurus SHO’s and Ford contacted me to give my input on what a “new” Taurus SHO should be like and what I would like to see in it. They talked to many other enthusiats along with myself, and Ford seemed to listen. I was amazing at how great they were, and how they wanted to know how we all felt. I really hope this sells!

There is also the need to really teach the abilities of this MUSTANG’s SLA. It really is impressive just how capable it is. Makes for a great drift car, but does need a bit more finesse for street racing. Frankly, though I want IRS in the next MUSTANG. It’s long overdue.

The engines? Who said the Coyote had to cost more. Just ask more for it. If you offer a hot TT V6 and make a hotter V8 with more and better equipment, then you can ask notably more for it. Besides I’m willing to bet that, by economy of scale, those TT V6s actually cost the same or less than the Coyote 5.0.

As for the feel. You may only notice when you press pedal. The old 305 pulled like a freight train even with “only” 215hp stock. Frankly a properly tuned V6 will feel like a V8 from idle to red line. FORD doesn’t really do anything they do halfway (though I wish they would option to do more). You really will not notice much of a difference between the V6 and the V8… The Turbos may skew that as would a Supercharger on a V8.

” I’d also say that a top of the line ford is about equivalent to a 90s audi in terms of luxury components.”

Can you name (1) thing that a 90’s Audi had that this Taurus doesn’t?

Wait, did the Audi have SYNC? No
Did it have it a Direct Injection engine? No
Did it have Adaptive cruise control? No
Did it have BLIS? No
Did it have CrossTraffic Alert? No
Did it have ActiveMotion seats? No
Did it have Climate controlled seats? No
Did it have the best Navigation system on the market? No
Did it have Dual Zone temp control? No

Those are what some would consider “luxury” components. There are other things I can’t even think of right now that the Audi never had.

Also, the SHO has always been a “Q” car…undercover, wolf in sheeps clothing type thing. It shouldn’t have stuff to make it stand out too much from the rest of the lineup.

I have also driven and 2010 SHO and agree that I think many of you are selling the ride and handling of the car very short. It doesn’t drive like such a big car. Thats a good thing. Sure I wish they’d throw this motor in the Fusion, but oh well…But for someone looking for a good, comfortable, solid, safe, quick and powerful full size sedan, it really doesn’t get better than this until you step into an M5 or something of that kin. So, 40k seems a steal compared too.

And for those that think that there are other cars in that price range? What? A loaded Avalon (luxo barge)? G8 is dead. Dont’ say BMW 3 series, too small, and once you option them out, they are way over $40k. So I see this as a performance/luxury value especially with all the tech you get in the car. Acura TL?? Not really, not enough power and looks like a transformer.

Everyone likes to point out the faults…I’m seeing all the good.