r comes as a tip from ME who writes: I doubt it has a manual transmission, still a cool wagon for a few bucks. Yes, this car certainly does not have a manual, or an LS V8, but what it does have is room for lots of kids, cheap Ford Taurus replacement parts and zero mass market appeal, so you can get a nice one for about the cost of a pack of chewing gum. Find this 2001 Mercury Sable Wagon LS offered for $2995 in New Haven, CT via craigslist.
DT’s rule number 772: The original is always the best. Yup, sounds right, but let’s check; Terminator 1984 — yup. Star Wars — no contest. True Grit — John Wayne rules. Aladdin 1992 > 2019. Death Race 2000 1975>2008. The Italian Job 1969>2003. Ladykillers 1955 > 2004. Gone in 60 Seconds 1974 > 2000. Do I need to continue explaining this? Let’s move to cars. The original Mustang is still the best Mustang. The original Camaro — same. Finally we get to today’s feature subject which is a first generation Ford Taurus SHO (1986-1991) which was the original and the best of the SHO Taurii. Find this 1991 Ford Taurus SHO offered for $7250 in Los Molinos, CA via craigslist. Tip from Rock On!
I was checking out this car when I came to the startling conclusion that while I have ridden and driven in a few Ford Taurii SHOs over the years, I’ve never owned one, which seems like an oversight. This next thing seems like the perfect car to correct that error, a SHO (or is it an SHO?) that might be worth more than the sum of its basic Taurus platform and Super High Output parts. Find this 1989 Ford Taurus SHO offered for $4,000 in Kingsbury, TX via craigslist. Tip from FuelTruck.
I saw the photos for this next car and was enchanted by the deep red paint. And I was truly hoping from the deepest pit in my heart that the interior pics would reveal a stick shift…but alas…this second generation Taurus SHO was one of the few that left the factory without a pedal for your left foot…and I don’t see why you’d want to drive this thing. It is slower and less reliable than something like a late model Acura TSX sedan or any number of other front-drive sedans with slushboxes and basic accommodations…but the manual transmission version brings with it all the charisma, joie de vivre and analog goodness that comes with life with a manual. Why do all the clean ones have to be slushbox? Find this 1993 Ford Taurus SHO offered for $5500 in Phoenix, AZ via craigslist. Tip from Rock On!
I had the opportunity to meet and shake Bob Bondurant’s hand at a Shelby Tribute car show a few years back, but I didn’t get a chance to get any tips on driving from him. But, Bondurant did teach Clint Eastwood, James Garner, Paul Newman, Tim Allen, Nick Cage, and Tom Cruise (among others) how to drive fast around a track in his world famous Bob Bondurant Racing School. Today the school uses Dodge Hell-things to teach people how to control uncontrollable Stellantis (hahahah, Stellantis!!) built muscle machines, but back in the 1990s, Bob used a Ford Taurus SHO to teach Hollywood elite how to properly heel-toe and control understeer, and this is supposedly his personal instructor’s car. Find this 1993 Ford Taurus SHO offered for $7500 in Fairfield, OH via craigslist. Tip from FuelTruck.
The second generation Ford Taurus (1992-1995) wasn’t much of an enthusiasts car, at least until you consider the bundle-of-snakes manifold equipped Super High Output version that carried over from the previous generation. Ford pushed a surprising level of performance into their family sedan with a Yamaha built V6 and a 5-speed manual gearbox. Sixty miles per hour was hit in about 6.6 seconds and top speed as in excess of 140 mph, these were numbers that were reserved for real sports cars back in the early 1990s. Find this 1995 Ford Taurus SHO offered for $3,500 CAD ($2750 USD) in Edmonton, AB, Canada via kijiji.net. Tip from Erik202.
1995 was a great years for cars. Auto manufacturers had finally figured out how to dig their way out of the funk from the 70s/80s and things were looking good for performance, speed, and reliability. So, I love it when folks find a well preserved car from the mid 90s, because these modern classics are now 25 years old, but reliable, safe, and new enough to drive every day. But…BUT, out of all the cars on the planet built in 1995 to preserve and keep minty clean, why does it have to be a Taurus. But here it is, 38,000 miles and a car that the late, great Hunsbloger would approve 1000%…so here it goes; find this 1995 Ford Taurus offered for $3,500 in Lansdale, PA via craigslist. Tip from Jeff.
This next car comes from DT tipper BP; Only because I got my low-mileage ex-wife on craigslist am I a little leary about the site, hence my admiration for these folks. They even have a lazy-tab to select vehicles under $5000 thereby saving you the arduous task, let alone extreme caloric consumption, of keying in $5000 in the MAX field. Today, take the pleasure of finding this gem all on your own via scrolling: And here I thought people got ex-wives from an unhappy marriage — you can just get them on craigslist! Find this 1994 Ford Taurus Wagon offered for $2,500 in Paris, KY.
I’m not featuring this next car for any of the right reasons. You really shouldn’t buy it–there are about a million cars that offer a better value for $6k that aren’t slow and boring Fords from the early 90s with an automatic transmission made from dry straw and pelican guano. Many of you are old enough to remember that this was the car that drove buyers to Japanese OEMs — while you suffered through headgasket failures, oil leaks, rough idle, and tie-rod-end issues your neighbor had a Honda Accord that lasted for 200k miles with mostly oil changes. Now this is a special example of the 2nd generation Taurus, because it has only 10k miles on the odo, which means its only on its third transmission. Find this 1993 Ford Taurus offered for $6000 in Naugatuck, CT via craigslist. Tip from Rock On!
This next car comes as seller submission from Nic who writes; I recently listed my second gen Taurus SHO manual for sale, and my friend suggested I forward to you guys (he even sent one of the same color recently posted) Anyways, here’s my link below. My dad bought the car new in 1992. The car has never seen salt and spent its entire life in Oklahoma until I moved it to Michigan in the spring. The car was my primary transit in college, and is in really good (but definitely not perfect!) shape. Definitely sad to see it go but I have a few “toy cars” already and a daily driver. Find this 1992 Ford Taurus SHO offered for $5000 in Ann Arbor, MI via craigslist.