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I WILL never again say nasty things to people in traffic. I willnever again lift my hand in Ignoble Salute to people who cut in front ofme, or who engage in other impolite behavior behind the wheel. I havelearned my lesson. I am humbled.

It happened this way:

I was driving along the District of Columbia’s weekday streets atabout 6 p.m. I was tired and rushed. My mood was foul.

Along came a brother in a late-model Corvette. I was driving amidnight blue, 1993 Ford Taurus SHO, a hot rod in humble clothing. Thedude in the Corvette was tailgating me.

I moved to the right lane to give the Corvette driver space. Hepulled alongside of me, honking his horn. I was, ahm, ticked off. Ilowered my window and shouted: “Yo mama!”

There is a moment after you’ve done something stupid when you knowyou’ve done something irretrievably, irrevocably stupid. It is anembarrassing still point that drains the blood from your soul.

I was at that point.

My mind raced.

“Oh, no!” I thought. “What if that dude works for The WashingtonPost? What if he’s a reader? What if he has a gun?” I shouted again:”Yamaha! Yamaha! It has a Yamaha engine!”

He looked at me, puzzled. He smiled.

“That’s the new automatic SHO?” he asked.

“Sho is,” I said, and thanked God that I sometimes mispronounce thesimplest of words.

Background: Ford Motor Co. did a major rework of its Taurus cars in1992, streamlining the bodies of the now-famous mid-size family sedansand ditching the base model, the Taurus L. Those changes helped thefront-wheel-drive Taurus scoot ahead of the Honda Accord in passengercar sales. But if you looked closely at the numbers, you would’ve foundthat the best of the Taurus cars, the powerful SHO (Special HighOutput), was lagging in sales.

It seems that Americans like the idea of high-performance cars, butthey don’t like the work that goes into models traditionally equippedwith manual transmissions. That was the problem with the SHO, whichinitially was sold only with manual gearboxes.

For 1993, and presumably beyond, the SHO can be ordered with anoptional, four-speed automatic transmission (as in the test car).

The new transmission is linked to a larger Yamaha engine, a3.2-liter, 24-valve V-6 rated 220 horsepower at 6,000 rpm, with amaximum torque of 215 foot-pounds at 4,800 rpm. The standardtransmission remains a five-speed manual linked to a 3-liter, 24-valveYamaha V-6 rated 220 horsepower at 6,200 rpm, with a maximum torque of200 foot-pounds at 4,800 rpm.

Complaints: The automatic SHO sometimes feels as if it’s going toleave you standing, even though you’re hanging onto the wheel. But thesensation is more “feel” than real. You eventually get used to this carand learn to control it.

Praise: A dynamite runner. Faster than all get-out. One of thehottest automatic-transmission cars available. And the fun of it is thatthe SHO looks so respectable, so Mom and Pop, with the exceptions of arear deck-lid spoiler and a set of fancy “sparkle spoke” cast aluminumwheels.

A driver’s air bag is standard in all Taurus cars. A front-passengerbag is optional. The test SHO came with that option and with standard(for the SHO) power four-wheel disc brakes and anti-lock backup.

Head-turning quotient: A splendid work of sneaky passion. Folks seeit and don’t see it. But if you’re behind the wheel, you sure as heckfeel it.

Ride, acceleration and handling: Excellent ride and acceleration.Handling is great, once you get used to the automatic SHO’s lightningstarts. Braking is excellent.

Mileage: About 23 to the gallon (18.4-gallon tank, estimated 413-milerange on usable volume of regular unleaded), combined city-highway,mostly driver only.

Sound system: AM/FM stereo radio and cassette with compact disc,optional Ford JBL audio system. Totally boss.

Price: Yo, mama! Base price is $24,829. Dealer invoice is $21,245.Price as tested is $26,761, including $1,4 07 in options and a $525destination charge.

Purse-strings note: If you want a decent family car, buy a regularTaurus, a reasonably well-equipped GL sedan that starts at $15,600. Ifyou want to SHO off without sweating, go for the automatic SHO.