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Ford straps engineers in 2013 Taurus SHO with Carl Edwards, hilarity ensues

3K views 12 replies 8 participants last post by  XR7-4.6 
#1 · (Edited)
Filed under: Sedan, Performance, Marketing/Advertising, Videos, Ford



Ford put nine of its own engineers inside of a new car they helped create, the 2013 Ford Taurus SHO, so they could experience its capabilities for themselves. Nothing out of the ordinary there, but Ford also thoughtfully put NASCAR driver Carl Edwards in the driver's seat, and it turns out that the boffins didn't realize how capable their car was until the Sprint Cup driver showed them.

In a new series of TV and internet spots called "Rocket Science," Edwards spends most of his time going tire-smoking sideways while engineers discuss the features of the hotted-up all-wheel drive Taurus, like the blind-spot assistance system and its 475-mile range. There's a press release with the particulars, but you'll want to click past to jump to check out the vids showing a string of very nervous engineers in the hands of a very professional driver on a very closed course.Continue reading Ford straps engineers in 2013 Taurus SHO with Carl Edwards, hilarity ensues

Ford straps engineers in 2013 Taurus SHO with Carl Edwards, hilarity ensues originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 02 Apr 2012 19:32:00 EST.


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#7 ·
Too heavy too complicated and I fully expect things like quality issues up the wahzoo in the long term. I fully respect the power and handling of the econobarge SHO its impressive for its size. I wish the vic handled like the new SHO. I like how ford had set some pretty high standards with the vic and had to beat them for the new police car.

Maybe a used ecoboost cop car converted to RWD would be interesting. Why can ford to a 2 door. WTF where are my 2 door options with RWD that dont suck. Glad AZ has many old cars to choose from Ill be driving something much older not newer as time goes on :D Maybe a 2 door grand marquis, just swap in the ecoboost AWD LOL.
 
#8 · (Edited)
I don't really get the new SHO..

Is it a family car?..Or is it just pretending to be a family car??

Honestly who's going to be driving around floggin on the family car..

With the family in the car??

Let me rephrase that..

"What sane individual would be driving around floggin on the family car..With the family in the car?"



It looks like Ford missed the mark on this one..

They should just drop the SHO all together..


Then bring back the Thunderbird with the same Engine & Drivetrain..

As the one they are using in the SHO..

Shorten the wheelbase about 1 foot..

Keep it 2 doors instead of 4..

And..Try and lose some of the bloatiness feel they have nowadays..


All while avoiding stealing any of the spotlight from the Mustang.. :rolleyes:




Rayo..
 
#9 · (Edited)
I don't really get the new SHO..

Is it a family car?..Or is it just pretending to be a family car??

Honestly who's going to be driving around floggin on the family car..

With the family in the car??

Let me rephrase that..

"What sane individual would be driving around floggin on the family car..With the family in the car?"



It looks like Ford missed the mark on this one..

They should just drop the SHO all together..


Then bring back the Thunderbird with the same Engine & Drivetrain..

As the one they are using in the SHO..

Shorten the wheelbase about 2 feet..

Keep it 2 doors instead of 4..

And..Try and lose some of the bloatiness feel they have nowadays..

Of course all while keeping it less powerful than the Mustang..

To avoid accidentally selling more Thunderbirds than Mustangs.. :rolleyes:




Rayo..
So I take it you don't like the original SHO either? Because the exact same questions/criticisms can be applied.

And shorten the wheelbase 2 feet? It's wheelbase is a hair shorter than the MN12s!

Again Ford never in their history ever had an issue selling more Mustangs than Thunderbirds to prompt an effort to keep it that way. The Mustangs had always been a more affordable sporty car in the image of it. If the Thunderbird could outsell the Mustang, Ford would be thrilled since the profit margin eclipsed it.
 
#10 ·
XR7-4.6 said:
So I take it you don't like the original SHO either? Because the exact same questions/criticisms can be applied..
I have actually driven the 1st and 2nd gen SHO's..

They were fun to drive..However..

IMHO..The new SHO Engine/Drivetrain would be better suited for a new Thunderbird.. :)

Instead of a family car based Taurus..


XR7-4.6 said:
And shorten the wheelbase 2 feet?
2 feet would be a wee bit short..Lets shoot for a total wheelbase of 100" instead..


XR7-4.6 said:
Ford never had an issue selling more Mustangs than Thunderbirds
You're right about that...


What it should have said was:

"All while avoiding stealing any of the spotlight from the Mustang"




Rayo..
 
#11 ·
What spotlight? The Mustang was marketed as a mini Tbird at its inception. Customers flocked to them in droves because it was an affordable alternative to that Flagship.

Today? Yeah the Mustang is the flagship of performance. But believe it or not, the Thunderbird even in its hay day, even before the spawn of the pony car, was hardly a performance leader by any significant margin.

Given the much larger inner and outer proportions of the 05+ Mustangs, they're pulling double duty as a personal car/image leader and performance car. It's model consolidation. The Mustang has been on that path since it lost all platform siblings by 1989(exc. Mark VII), essentially making it a speciality car and not a stylized version of the current compact it had been since '64. So with 2 speciality coupes it just became logical to combine them

A 100" wheelbase is shorter than the current Mustangs and even Fox/SN95s. That would be a very odd move unless the goal would be turn the Thunderbird into a belated Corvette rival.
 
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