Got My Replacement Car

[smackababy]

Your windows look illegal in AL. Not a huge problem though, as it is a secondary offense IIRC so they can't pull you over for that specifically. But, they can add it on to the ticket. I know this because my windows are illegal in Texas, which is less strict about it than AL and I'd been told by a few cops at gas stations and such that they were obviously too dark. =)

Otherwise, nice car! Let us know how it holds up after a couple weeks!


Also, about the headlamp condensation, an easy fix is to simply put a desiccant packet in there.

 

[Midwayman]

Looks nice. Ford is doing some good design work, but the 17/25mpg on the SHO would just be a no-go for me. I'm not sure why their higher HP sedans can't get good highway mileage.

 

[Aikouka]

Missing tofu sticker

Is this a meme that I am not aware of?

Your windows look illegal in AL. Not a huge problem though, as it is a secondary offense IIRC so they can't pull you over for that specifically. But, they can add it on to the ticket. I know this because my windows are illegal in Texas, which is less strict about it than AL and I'd been told by a few cops at gas stations and such that they were obviously too dark. =)

Honestly, I didn't even think about it when I bought the car; however, when my coworkers asked to see it, their second comment (after "That's a Taurus!?") was usually about the tint. They got me all worried about it, and I did a little research. Since I bought the car in Kentucky, I assume it's up to Kentucky code.

If we look at Kentucky's laws and Alabama's laws, Kentucky is 35% for the front windows and Alabama is 32%. Now, unless I'm misunderstanding the law, that means Kentucky is more strict on their tint as your tint must allow at least 35% of the light to pass through. Now, things get a little hairy when you consider the rear windows as Alabama is 32% all the way around for cars (I'm not sure why when vans and stuff don't have to be...) and Kentucky is only 18% for rear windows on cars. I don't think I have a problem there, because the rear windows appear to be about the same level of tint as the front windows. However, the front windshield is not legal as the tint is about 8" where Alabama code is 6".

Although, one area that I am fortunate in is that Alabama has different sticker requirements than Kentucky. Kentucky requires the tint sticker to be placed on the driver's door jamb, but Alabama requires it to be on each window. So, it is kind of odd that the stickers are on each window, and there's nothing on the door jamb. From what I saw in the CarFax, the car has always been in Kentucky, so I'm not sure why.

In my Googling on tinting, I did see some people recommend to ask a tinting place to check it for you with one of those tint meters.

Also, about the headlamp condensation, an easy fix is to simply put a desiccant packet in there.

It seems to be okay now, but I did notice some weird, white "crud" where I saw that lone water droplet. I'm not sure what it is, but it doesn't appear to be hurting anything.

 

[LTC8K6]

Looks nice. Ford is doing some good design work, but the 17/25mpg on the SHO would just be a no-go for me. I'm not sure why their higher HP sedans can't get good highway mileage.

Yeah, but it probably does okay because C & D got 16mpg while flogging it.

It will need 93 octane to keep all the ponies prancing, though.

 

[cbrsurfr]

17/25 is pretty good. My Evo weighs 800 lbs less and is only rated 17/22. My average is 16 and that's without hooning around. lol

 

[ElFenix]

Thank you! ...and in regard to its look, the most common comment is "That is a Taurus!?" This is what I normally think of when I think of the Taurus, because we had one when I was younger.

The car has a twin-turbo V6. To somewhat simplify it, the SHO is pretty much the civilian version of the new Ford Taurus police interceptor. It has a lot of the same mechanical parts, but also gets the nice amenities. Some people did mention that the car is a bit of a porker, and you can definitely tell that it has some weight to it, but it isn't too bad.

"It's got a cop motor, a 440-cubic-inch plant. It's got cop tires, cop suspension, cop shocks. It's a model made before catalytic converters so it'll run good on regular gas."

 

[LTC8K6]

I doubt many police departments are ordering their Tauri with the SHO engine. It's available, but I would bet most are not going with it.

 

[Aikouka]

I doubt many police departments are ordering their Tauri with the SHO engine. It's available, but I would bet most are not going with it.

Hm... I've seen a few of the Taurus police interceptors around town. Maybe if I get the chance to talk to one of the officers, I can ask them, or if I'm at the local Ford dealer, I'll see what they know.

Looking at Ford's website, it looks like the Sedan's default is AWD, which means it should have the 3.7L Ti-VCT V6 FFV by default. Although, it looks like they can drop to the 2.0 L EcoBoost I4 if they also switch to FWD.

"It's got a cop motor, a 440-cubic-inch plant. It's got cop tires, cop suspension, cop shocks. It's a model made before catalytic converters so it'll run good on regular gas."

I had to look this quote up. Now I feel like a bad person. :$

Yeah, but it probably does okay because C & D got 16mpg while flogging it.

I get about 21 MPG with my fairly normal driving.

It will need 93 octane to keep all the ponies prancing, though.

I've been wondering about that. I'm pretty sure I read that the car was okay with regular gas, but premium was "recommended". I've been using premium with the car though. I looked it up again, and it appears that they say it's okay to use regular gas, but you won't get as good of performance.

 

[MixMasterTang]

The actual size of the SHO seems more in line with a 7 series.
SHO / 7 Series Sedan
Wheel base 112.9 in. / 120.9 in.

Cargo capacity, all seats in place 20.1 cu.ft. / 14.0 cu.ft.

EPA interior volume 122.3 cu.ft. / 124.0 cu.ft.
Curb weight 4343 lbs. / 4310 lbs.

 

[LTC8K6]

Hm... I've seen a few of the Taurus police interceptors around town. Maybe if I get the chance to talk to one of the officers, I can ask them, or if I'm at the local Ford dealer, I'll see what they know.

Looking at Ford's website, it looks like the Sedan's default is AWD, which means it should have the 3.7L Ti-VCT V6 FFV by default. Although, it looks like they can drop to the 2.0 L EcoBoost I4 if they also switch to FWD.



I had to look this quote up. Now I feel like a bad person. :$



I get about 21 MPG with my fairly normal driving.



I've been wondering about that. I'm pretty sure I read that the car was okay with regular gas, but premium was "recommended". I've been using premium with the car though. I looked it up again, and it appears that they say it's okay to use regular gas, but you won't get as good of performance.

Yeah, Ford and some other mfgs quit recommending premium when gas prices skyrocketed. They did not want to try to sell cars that required premium fuel. Now they just say 87 is okay and premium will give you "increased performance".

Who drives a twin-turbo V6 and doesn't want all the horses?

 

[Aikouka]

After talking about the tint yesterday, I took my car to a tinting place today to see if they could find out whether it's legal or not. They didn't have their tint meter on them (they let another place use it or something), but they estimated the front windows at around 30% and the rear windows around 20%, which is in line with Kentucky regulations. While I was there, I got a couple quotes for various types of replacement tints.

The thing is... most people that I know say just to ignore it, and only worry about it if I actually get pulled over. Personally, I'm not a huge fan of such a lackadaisical approach... especially when I read that some of the surrounding towns are apparently very anal about tint levels, and apparently, the cops will go out of their way to pull you over. To that, one of my friends said, "Who would pull over a Taurus for tint!?"

Any thoughts? It's certainly not the cheapest thing as it would cost somewhere between $200-500 depending on the quality of the tint (that includes removing the old one too).

 

[ThatsABigOne]

Don't worry about it. Save your money for a tune instead.

 

[thecoolnessrune]

Hmm... I had never heard of Subaru's Eyesight until you mentioned it. Although, I'm not too sure if I would consider it necessary for a car purchase. I think a lot of those features are more helpful if you have a lot of distractions in the car, or your reaction speed isn't so good.

Why is lack of Eye Sight a deal breaker? I kind of want it for the Outback/Forester I always get, but it is usually part of a several thousand dollar package of other items that I don't want.

Adaptive Cruise Control isn't there because you're distracted or because your reaction speed isn't good. ACC is there so you don't have to fiddle with adjusting your cruise control to work with traffic during your daily drive. It's obviously dependent on your regular schedule, but most people owning this car are stuck with the rest of us driving their regular commute. My commute is about 20 minutes to half an hour, on highways that are at steady speed, but very depending on the car I'm around. Setting a target speed and having the car automatically adjust is fantastic vs fiddling with the +1 / -1 speed adjustments constantly hoping to get a match.

As to why I want it, I can't help but feel that it's a little silly that this is being asked in a thread about a guy who bought a 4500 pound land barge with a high strung engine I think I'll let you sort out the why's as I think their as relevant as any "why" in car buying.

As for the WRX and Impreza, it's mostly just market adjustments that prevents it. The Japanese WRX S4 and Japanese Impreza both feature EyeSight as an option. It's only the US model that has this removed as an available feature.

Like anything, when other cars are available that do mark all of your checkboxes, why settle for a car that doesn't? :\ And if you don't need a car now, why be in a hurry to settle? :awe:

 

[monkeydelmagico]

That is one big bad Tauri

Nice

 

[Aikouka]

Adaptive Cruise Control isn't there because you're distracted or because your reaction speed isn't good. ACC is there so you don't have to fiddle with adjusting your cruise control to work with traffic during your daily drive. It's obviously dependent on your regular schedule, but most people owning this car are stuck with the rest of us driving their regular commute. My commute is about 20 minutes to half an hour, on highways that are at steady speed, but very depending on the car I'm around. Setting a target speed and having the car automatically adjust is fantastic vs fiddling with the +1 / -1 speed adjustments constantly hoping to get a match.

Hmm honestly, I love using cruise control. I probably use it more often than most, but if there's enough traffic, I don't even use it. Albeit, that might be a case where ACC would help. However, in most cases, my preferred method is to pass the people that are slowing me down, and my first thought when I am approaching a pokey is to determine whether I can pass them.

As to why I want it, I can't help but feel that it's a little silly that this is being asked in a thread about a guy who bought a 4500 pound land barge with a high strung engine

Hey! Not so loud... she's sensitive about 'er weight!

Like anything, when other cars are available that do mark all of your checkboxes, why settle for a car that doesn't? :\ And if you don't need a car now, why be in a hurry to settle? :awe:

I certainly can't blame you given that I was so specific about getting a car with MyFord Touch. Ultimately, you like what you like, and cars can be flippin' expensive. Just like with a house, why would you spend a lot of money on something that you're going to be somewhat dissatisfied with every time you interact with it.

 

[Midwayman]

17/25 is pretty good. My Evo weighs 800 lbs less and is only rated 17/22. My average is 16 and that's without hooning around. lol

Well the EVO and and STI both have pretty crappy economy ratings. Plenty of cars making 30+mpg with their level of HP. At least they have a AWD drivetrain to blame. Heck I make 20/29 about 25 mixed with 301hp and RWD, which is not exactly MPG friendly. Its certainly not a huge deal, but even my c5 was rated around 30mpg would get get over that on long highway trips. I'm just not sure why ford can't figure it out. Figure both the SHO and the Mustang GT would have a super tall gear to bring that rating up. low city mpg is to be expected.

 

[LTC8K6]

The sad thing is that some regular V6 family sedans are right there with the SHO, with 0-60 times under 6 seconds, and they get better fuel economy.

 

[Ketchup]

Congratulations Aikouka! That is a great car. My Dad bought a 2012 Lincoln MKS and I have driven it a couple times. That twin-turbo v-6 is an amazing engine, and the ride is as smooth as butter. Having some weight to a car does have it's advantages.

 

[LTC8K6]

Poor man's SHO:

Chrysler 200S AWD with the 295hp 3.6L

:biggrin:

 

[MongGrel]

Don't worry about it. Save your money for a tune instead.

+1

Looks nice.

:thumbsup: