I've seen quite a few Chrysler 300Cs mingling with Beemers, Benzes, and Ferraris over at Pebble Beach back when I was living in Monterey a few years ago, and I've seen more SRT8 Chargers down in Monterey than I've seen any other single location. SHOs and SC's buyer demographics was far richer than any other Ford.

I recall reading a piece on the SHO's and SC's buyer about 10 years ago (it was in relation to Ford's SVT division. They tended to be business people and older adult males who perhaps had a Mustang or previous Ford they had fond memories of, but had outgrown the possibility of having that type of vehicle again, and wanted more than a typical Ford would offer, but didn't want the stigma (I'm sure they used a different word) that Lincolns and Mercurys had.

The point isn't sales volume or being a BMW or Mercedes. It's having something in the showroom to frame the car that us mere mortals are gonna buy. The person buying a family Taurus is going to get to check out that new SHO in the showroom just like that Dodge Charger buyer got to look over that SRT8 and that Grand Prix buyer (retail, that is) got to check out the GXP while they were waiting for the paperwork to go through.



Here's my observation on this.

Original SHO's never generated discussion over it's price, despite the fact that from the day it came out till the day production ceased a decade ago, the price was just as outrageous relative to other cars on the market as perhaps this new one is. Yet here we are in this discussion over price, and if it belongs in a Ford showroom, which till the last decade, routinely carried something in it's showroom (sometimes multiple cars) that was typically more expensive than anything Mercury had, and well within the price of entry Lincolns.

I feel the issue isn't a matter of price or showroom (save Thunderbird roadsters, SVT Mustangs were the most expenive cars in Ford showrooms... and the current GT500 is over 40 grand...pricey for just a Mustang). I feel the issue really boils down to how far into the pits Ford let the Taurus name fall the last few years it was around. Taurus was sold only to rental companies it's final year of production.

It takes years to build up a great reputation, and a very short time to ruin it. Running the exact same design for 7 years is a long time to ruin a reputation that took 15 years prior to build, perhaps?

 

I don't know what the take rate, but G8 GXP is manual only, and I'm going to guess that each and every one GM builds will sell. BMW builds manual versions of the 5- and 7-series, and those sell too.

It's important that they do their demographics research and figure out how many manuals to build, but I think that every performance-oriented vehicle should have a manual transmission as an option, regardless of size.

While correct, I don't think having enough brain cells to realize that performance versions of mainstream cars sell in limited numbers warrants calling it "pretty brilliant."

What does it take that the SHO doesn't have? Let's get specific.

I was really looking forward to the Zeta Impala (and a subsequent SS version) to fill this role. Perhaps someday it will get un-cancelled...

 

No, no, no. A sleeper does not have upscale content and luxury type items like this SHO does. Atleast not in my opinion. This is more of an upscale luxury touring sedan based on a cheap Taurus. It just isn't a sleeper.

To me the SHO is more of a cheaper American version of the 535i. You wouldn't call a 535i a sleeper would you?

 

 

Did the GN have upscale content? Yes, did the Turbo Regals? Yes would you consider one a sleeper compared to the other? The Turbo Regal is probably THE sleeper of all time. Just because something has some upscale features doesn't make it a sleeper, it does however make it more than engine in a box. The SHO is no more a 535i than it is a base Aveo. They are two different calsses and two different quality trims. Now if you would have said R34 VW compared to a standard VW or an RS trim Audi vs an A type. BTW a 535i would be a mid model of the 5 series line, far and away from what the SHO represents to the Taurus model.

 

A sleeper is a fast car that the unsuspecting onlooker doesn't expect to be fast. That's all -- content is irrelevant.

 

I see what you guys are saying and by your definition the SHO is a sleeper, but to me the SHO is simply a luxury sedan with good performance. That is why I compared it to a a 535i.

Also, in your example, the Regal T-type had a more extravagant brother, the Grand National, that took all the attention. This is what allowed the T-type to be a sleeper. If there was no GN, like there is nothing higher than the SHO, the T-type would have got all the attention and would not have been a sleeper. The T-types and GN's also had a TON of power and performance relative to other cars on the road back then. 360hp in a 4200# car is not that impressive these days.

A 535i is a four door luxury sedan with 300hp+ and costs $50k
A Taurus SHO is a four door luxury sedan with 360hp and costs $40k

Why would you say these are different classes of vehicles? It doesn't matter tha the 535i is the mid model of the 5-series, what matters is how equivalent it is to the Taurus SHO. I think people would cross shop these two. They are certainly more similar than the less luxurious and 415hp V8 powered G8 GXP would be.

What do you think the Taurus SHO competitor is?

 

Hardly anyone knows a GN when they see one. This was slightly less true in 1987, and it will be much less true after F&F4 comes out. My point, though, is that it was and still is a sleeper, regardless of the existence of the T-Type.

Admittedly, T-Types are even more of a sleeper.

It's not about being impressive, it's about being unusual.

I'll bet the SHO will run the quarter mile in the mid 13s, which makes it significantly faster than 99% of the cars on the road.

 

The G8 GXP is available in auto form as well.


-Mike

 

I wonder how many T-types and Turbo Regals will get 'riced out' after the movie comes out.

The theft rate jumping wont be that awesome either.

 

What! I think you misunderstood me. The GN was NOT a sleeper! Are you saying the GN was a sleeper?

Its not about being "unusual" its about being "unknown". The Taurus SHO will be known.

My point was that the T-type WAS a sleeper because of the GN. It was the Plain Jane, boring version of the GN, but with the same power. It was the "unknown", not covered by magazines or hyped by dealers.

IF the GN did not exist and there was only a Regal and a Regal T-type (like Taurus and Taurus SHO) then the Regal T-type would have got all the attention/hype and it would NOT have been a sleeper because people would have known about it and how fast it was, the way they did the GN.

 

So basically you have your own definition of a sleeper and are arguing with us that yours is right and we are using the more common definition of sleeper. So lets just stop this now you just want to use your own definition vs the one others are using.

We can stop this argument.

 

A GN absolutely is a sleeper. Check my sig -- I own one. When I drive it around, most people don't notice it. My non-car-enthusiast friends see me driving it and ask why I'm driving that old car instead of my Camaro.

 

Don't want to get into the definition of a sleeper....but....by 1988, the GN definately was NOT a sleeper! It was well-known as one of the most bad-*** rides of the time.

Nowadays....different story, as there just aren't many of them around, and they are quite a bit more obscure to the "younger" generations.

One of these days, maybe I'll have one....

 

My dad, a mild car enthusiast who turns 60 this year, had never heard of a Grand National until I bought one.

Bob, I think you're just the right age to have been aware of the GN when it was new. Go just a few years younger/older, and far fewer people will remember it.