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Ford Taurus SHO's chunky looks belie powerful capabilities
The 2010 Taurus SHO is so American it should be sold only in red, white and blue.

Ford Taurus Forum - It's slightly overweight, has more high-tech gadgets strapped to its hip than a Japanese tourist and touts its green street cred with a 365-horsepower turbocharged direct-injection V-6.

SHO, which stands for Super High Output, is a fantastic car, though it never felt like the complete package.

Now, I'm not poking fun at Americans or the Taurus SHO, for that matter. I'm merely acknowledging out loud what we all quietly know.

Subtle has never been the American way. We are a people who say "look at me" as often as we can. We dance in the end zone, then tweet about it in case someone didn't see it. We're brash, we break stuff and then snarl about it. Just watch the Super Bowl on Sunday and count how many times players quietly return to their position after a big play.

The Taurus SHO should be taking notes.

It tries too hard to act normal, when it should grab a little more attitude. This is 2010, not 1932 -- though there are similarities.

If you've got direct-injection and two turbos attached to your 3.5-liter V-6, let people know it.

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