2010 Ford Taurus SHO

Remember when the Ford Taurus was cool? Scratch that — it was more than cool. When Robocop rolled down the streets of Old Detroit looking for drug-addicted perps to pummel, he didn’t drive a Yugo, a Toyota, a Saturn, or a Volvo. To facilitate his nightly exercises in ass-kickery, OCP’s favorite officer would slip behind the wheel of  his trusty, flat black Ford Taurus.

So after more than a decade of being lost in the wilderness — including a short, delusional period where Ford insisted on calling the Taurus the Ford Five Hundred — Ford has finally delivered a Taurus that Officer Murphy would again be proud of, thanks to the recent unveiling of the 2010 Ford Taurus SHO.

You can read the official Ford press release for the full scoop, but here are the vitals: a 3.5-liter EcoBoost V-6 churning out 365 horsepower, a six-speed automatic transmission, a torque sensing all-wheel drive system, a retail sticker starting at $37,995, and an on-sale date of mid-2009. You can also find out more at the stalwart BringbacktheSHO Taurus fan community, which finally sees their prayers answered.

Maybe the new 2010 SHO will convince Conan O’Brien to update this homage to his emerald green 1992 Taurus, which you can see in the video clip embedded below. (Sourced from Eclipsenetwork.com.)

Funny – For more amazing video clips, click here

While most of the changes to the vehicle will likely fall into the cosmetic (both interior and exterior) category, it will still be a significant refresh. Motor Trend is reporting that there’s a possibility the revamped Mustang may even get Ford’s new EcoBoost twin turbo V6 as an engine option.

Specific details will have to wait until the 2008 LA Auto Show (Nov 21-30), the venue where Ford plans to unveil the updated pony car. While we all wait, feel free to click through this gallery of available images.

Ford had one of the most expansive booths at the show, including such gems as the Mustang Bullitt (created in honor of Steve McQueen and the 1968 390 GT Mustang he drove in the film Bullitt) and the Ford Mustang Shelby GT500KR.

The GT500KR (pictured) is also a movie star of sorts: a modified version of the vehicle is cast as KITT, the autonomous uber-car in the new NBC Knight Rider TV series. Having seen the TV series, I have a feeling that Ford may regret that casting decision. Maybe they should have used a Focus instead?

• 2008 Denver Auto Show: Mustang photo gallery

- [Jeff James]

In the auto show circuit, conventional wisdom dictates that the largest shows–mainly the behemoths held in Los Angeles, Chicago, Detroit, and New York every year–have a lock on launches and the latest production and concept vehicles.

That axiom largely held true with the 2008 Denver International Auto Show. There weren’t any new vehicle introductions, but most automakers had a surprising number of new vehicles on display, including the 2009 Dodge Challenger and the 2009 Corvette ZR1.

I’m working on a photo gallery of my visit to the show, and I’ll be posting commentary and images over the next few days. – [Jeff James]

With the flurry of new product introductions and concept vehicles being unveiled at the Detroit Auto Show this year, standing out from the crowd can take something special. I came across that something special in my first 30 minutes of walking the show floor: the Holden Efijy concept.

Developed by a team of engineers and designers at Holden (a GM subsidiary in Australia), the Efijy rides on a Corvette chassis and is powered by a supercharged 6.0 liter V8. The design screams old school, but I don’t care — this beauty is a sight to behold.

GM and Holden have already said that the Efijy would never see the light of day as a production vehicle, and that the effort was a “passionate side project” by Holden engineers who worked on the vehicle in their spare time. Despite the long list of concept vehicles unveiled in COBO Hall — from the Toyota FT-HS to the Chrysler Nassau and Ford Interceptor — I have to admit that the Efijy was my favorite concept of the show.

Funny thing about having a passion for something: it tends to produce breathtaking vehicles like this one. Here’s hoping that the obvious talent of these Holden designers and engineers is put to good use with the new 2009 Chevy Camaro, which is being developed on a Holden-engineered RWD platform. – [Jeff James]

Held every January at the COBO Exhibition Center in downtown Detroit, the Detroit Auto Show attracts thousands of journalists, automakers, suppliers and other auto enthusiasts from all over the globe to Motown for a few weeks to see the latest the automotive world has to offer. I’ve been hunkered down on the outskirts of Detroit for the past day or so, making a daily sojourn back to the COBO center to see what new gas-powered goodies the auto industry has in store for us.

I’ve posted a bit already about the new minivans from Dodge and Chrysler over at the About.com minivans site, and some of my photos have been posted by my colleagues over at the About.com cars and SUVs sites. I’ll be blogging here about some of the things I’ve seen at the show, from my experiences with unscrupulous cabbies and gelatinous turkey-stuff sandwiches to the amazing new Mitsubishi Concept-X (aka the Lancer Evolution X) and the General Motors (via Holden) ”Efijy” hot rod concept. – [Jeff James]

Mazda unveiled the zippy MazdaSpeed3 at the New York Auto Show this morning, a new variant of the popular compact that should appeal to those wanting a bit more zing with their zoom-zoom.

Fans of the old Mazda 323 GTX, ubiquitous Civic Si or beloved Dodge SRT4 should be happy to see that this beast comes well-sorted with performance bits, including the high-performance 2.3-liter DISI Turbo engine and six-speed transmission from the just-shipped MazdaSpeed6. It also gets an improved visual aerodynamic treatment, fog lamps, interior changes, four-wheel ABS, 18-inch custom wheels and a new limited slip differential.

Sadly, those hoping for an AWD monster Mazda to take on the WRX and Evo will be a bit dissapointed. While the MazdaSpeed 3 will produce more than 250-hp — Mazda mentioned in their news release today that the “final horsepower numbers will be available closer to launch” — the vehicle will only be available as a FWD model. It’s still great news for Mazda fans, and will likely give the new VW GTI and Dodge Caliber a run for their torque-steering money.

Check out the official MazdaSpeed3 site or AutoBlog’s post (which also includes the full text of the news release) for more info. – [Jeff James]

We’re big fans of the American Le Mans Series (ALMS) here at DLB, with yours truly having fond memories of a rainy day in July 2004 feeling the concussive, ground-trembling blat of C5R Corvettes as they blasted around the confines of Lime Rock Park. Other folks must have had similarly positive experiences, with ALMS claiming today in Acura’s news release that:

“The America Le Mans Series is one of the fastest-growing racing series in the U.S., with a rapidly growing fan base attending the events and watching on television. Five of the 10 races in 2006 will be broadcast by CBS, with the remaining five events and Le Mans telecast on the cable/satellite SPEED network, including a prime-time season finale at Laguna Seca.”

We’re happy to see the series add yet another high-profile auto manufacturer, with Acura announcing today that they’ll be joining the series in the LMP2 class — initially using Honda engines and a Lola/Courage chassis — beginning wih the 55th Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring in March of 2007. Acura has even higher hopes for the series in the years that follow, additionally stating in their release that their plans include “….development of an Acura LMP1 chassis and engine package to compete in the American Le Mans Series, and earn an invitation to the 24 Hours of Le Mans.”

Stuart Waterman over at Autoblog has a nice write-up on the announcement (along with more photos like these), or you can scope out the ALMS or Honda/Acura sites for additional info as well. – [Jeff James]

Although it hasn’t been one of the better-kept secrets in the car industry, Ford announced today the impending arrival of the Ford Shelby GT-H, a modern homage to the legendary gold-on-black “Rent-A-Racer” Mustangs that were available for rent at Hertz Rent-A-Car back in the mid-1960s. Urban legend has it that the original models were a favorite of the weekend racer crowd, with aspiring track hounds laying black patch to their nearest racetrack once they got beyond visual distance of the Hertz rental counter. (Check out Mustang Monthly for a nice write-up on an original ’66 Shelby GT350H-model.)