Flip This Car: Taurus SHO

[kevm14]

http://www.windingroad.com/articles/blo ... aurus-sho/

I have never driven one and I would like to. I know the engine is a gem.

My guess, however, is that a 4th gen Maxima would trade a little engine pizazz for a MUCH better package overall, if you want something in that size/weight/speed category. If the Yamaha V6 is the best 90s V6, then the VQ30DE is the 2nd best.

And yes, the significance of the SHO should not be underestimated. It took from 89 to 95 to come up with a car that you may want to drive instead. And even then, the SHO would be far more affordable as a used car for a good long time, making this comparison moot. In 2016, however, I don't think it is moot. A 1st gen SHO is definitely the more interesting car, I'll give it that.

Finally, as a Flip This Car candidate, the SHO may do better than a 4th gen Maxima, given the goal of the series. Though it would be fun to see him try one of those, too.

[kevm14]

briankraemer • 6 years ago
I have a 91 BMW 318i and a 2004 BWM M3...the 318i with 300k miles I think is just as much, if not more fun to drive around town. The restoration of it has been a lot of fun and the little things make big differences in the high mileage cars. A fellow car nut friend of mine and I always discuss the differences between the older cars and the new ones, and it feels like even though the newer cars are without a doubt better, they are engineering the character out of them but making them heavier and less lively.

The older more archaic design is much more fun at the slower speeds that we realistically get to drive everyday. I will definitely be reading this series going forward! Great choice for an article that we can all relate to.

Christopher_Smith > briankraemer • 6 years ago
I agree with you; there is most decidedly a difference in character with the older cars, but I see it more as a time issue and not just a difference in engineering. Visit a new car dealership and you'll find rows of the exact same model, equipped with the same options, and to nobody's surprise, they drive exactly the same. Add 20 years and a couple hundred thousand miles to that lineup, however, and each car will have a unique character that only comes from the passage of time and mileage. I personally find that aspect of older cars to be fascinating, and I'm glad to bring a bit of that to these digital pages. Thanks for commenting!

I share that same fascination with Chris.

[Bob]

The intake manifold on the SHO gives it the edge over the Maxima.

[kevm14]

It does, but neither are fast by modern standards, so given the choice, and since I don't have any nostalgic attachment to the SHO, I'd rather drive the Maxima (which I do have a nostalgic attachment to, but is also objectively by all standards a much better car, and not much slower).

I would still like to sample the engine.

[Fast_Ed]

[ Add 20 years and a couple hundred thousand miles to that lineup, however, and each car will have a unique character that only comes from the passage of time and mileage.

For sure! This is a bit reason why Roadkill is much more interesting to me than road tests of new supercars..

That SHO article is starting to make me wonder about nostalgia. What happens with Muscle cars when the Baby Boomers start to die off? We grew up in the 90's, and have nostalgia for things like SHO's and Maxima's. Many car guys would call them POS's because they are FWD.

But I can say that I remember that little digital temperature gauge in the SHO from dozens (hundreds?) of bass-thumping, chrome wheeled, orange-neon lighted trips to Billiards for $2 pints.. Nothing in a '67 Camaro has that for me, even though it's super cool and I would love to own one.

My nostalgia for a '67 Camaro is faked.. And a person my age driving one would know that deep down, he has no real connection to the car when it was new. Unless he restored it with his dad or something.

[Fast_Ed]

It does, but neither are fast by modern standards, so given the choice, and since I don't have any nostalgic attachment to the SHO, I'd rather drive the Maxima (which I do have a nostalgic attachment to, but is also objectively by all standards a much better car, and not much slower).

I would still like to sample the engine.

That engine was pretty damn cool. The one I drove had a sweet aftermarket clutch, lightened flywheel, and ridiculous exhaust. I joke that I could hear my buddy start it across town and get louder as it came to my house..

And that lift throttle oversteer is no joke in the snow!

[Bob]

[ Add 20 years and a couple hundred thousand miles to that lineup, however, and each car will have a unique character that only comes from the passage of time and mileage.

For sure! This is a bit reason why Roadkill is much more interesting to me than road tests of new supercars..

That SHO article is starting to make me wonder about nostalgia. What happens with Muscle cars when the Baby Boomers start to die off? We grew up in the 90's, and have nostalgia for things like SHO's and Maxima's. Many car guys would call them POS's because they are FWD.

But I can say that I remember that little digital temperature gauge in the SHO from dozens (hundreds?) of bass-thumping, chrome wheeled, orange-neon lighted trips to Billiards for $2 pints.. Nothing in a '67 Camaro has that for me, even though it's super cool and I would love to own one.

My nostalgia for a '67 Camaro is faked.. And a person my age driving one would know that deep down, he has no real connection to the car when it was new. Unless he restored it with his dad or something.

I know someday in the not too distant future I will see a mint 98 Integra Type R selling for 6 figures at an auction and regret selling mine. These are the cars the majority of car enthusiasts from my generation lusted after and will be willing to overpay for once they have the money.

[kevm14]

And that I don't understand. I would never, ever, spend $15k, $25k, $50k on a 90s Impala SS. Who are these people?

[Bob]

https://myclassicgarage.com/marketplace ... pe-R/57097 It has already started.

[kevm14]

That won't go for $45k though.