1998 Ford Taurus SHO: rising price, an incomplete count

This record's own dek states the V8 SHO's price rose to $29,000 MSRP for 1998, and that the only production count found, 2,317, is marked incomplete by its source. This record's own overview states that The Auto Channel's buyer's-guide data lists the 1998 Taurus SHO at that $29,000 MSRP against a $26,265 invoice, with the 3.4-liter DOHC V8 rated at 235 hp at 6,100 rpm and 230 lb-ft at 4,800 rpm, an overdrive automatic, and front-wheel drive.¹

The same buyer's-guide record documents a power moonroof, a trunk-mounted six-disc CD changer, and P225/55ZR16 tires on 16 x 6.5-inch chrome cast-aluminum wheels among the features, per this record's own overview. This record's own production section states that V8SHO.COM gives 2,317 SHOs for the model year, all left-hand drive, and marks that figure as incomplete data, with no complete 1998 production figure found from any source in this record. This record's own production row lists no right-hand-drive count at all for the year, carrying only the single left-hand-drive figure and the incomplete-data marking already noted.²

This record's own production notes state plainly that no color, trim, or option counts were found for 1998, and its own production row carries a note describing the 2,317 figure as a partial count, not a total, with the true 1998 figure unknown. This record's own engines and transmissions sections likewise carry no production figure for the year, both fields left null rather than filled with an estimate, and its own options section is empty as well, carrying no sales-code entries for the year at all.²

Five exterior colors are documented for the year without production counts: Toreador Red, Pacific Green (also called Tropical Green), Silver Frost, Black, and Vibrant White, all clearcoat finishes. This record's own key facts state that Medium Prairie Tan joined Medium Graphite and Saddle as an interior color for 1998 through 1999, bringing the interior count documented in this record to three, none of the three carrying a production figure. The five paint entries and three interior entries in this record are drawn from the same enthusiast-site options page, spanning the 1998–1999 span that source itself groups together.³

This record's own specifications section documents a 108.5-inch wheelbase, an overall length of 198.4 inches, and the P225/55ZR16 tire and 16 x 6.5-inch chrome cast-aluminum wheel fitment already noted in this record's own overview, three specification entries in all for the year. Its own prices section carries only the $29,000 MSRP and $26,265 invoice figures, a spread of $2,735, with no destination charge or as-tested total documented for the year.¹

This record's own performance section is empty for 1998, a documented gap rather than an assumption that no measured data exists, and its conflicts and unpublished leads sections are likewise empty. This record's own identification section documents that the V8 SHO carries engine code N in the eighth VIN position and series 54, illustrated with the example VIN 1FALP54N3VA100001, the same pattern used in this record's own source dossier without a 1998-specific example being given.⁴