---
title: "Conan O’Brien Still Owns His 1992 Ford Taurus SHO With a Manual Transmission"
description: "In the grand tradition of celebrities holding onto hooptie cars from their pre-fame days, Conan still owns his old 1992 Ford Taurus SHO with a manual transmission."
date: "2018-03-29"
modified: "2020-01-03"
authors:
  - name: "Kyle Cheromcha"
    job_title: "Editor-in-Chief"
    link: "https://www.thedrive.com/authors/kyle-cheromcha"
url: "https://www.thedrive.com/news/19751/conan-obrien-still-owns-his-1992-ford-taurus-sho-with-a-manual-transmission"
categories:
  - "Culture"
  - "Ford News"
  - "News"
  - "News by Brand"
  - "People"
tags:
  - "celebrities"
  - "conan o'brien"
  - "Ford"
  - "rich people"
  - "SHO"
  - "Taurus"
---

# Conan O’Brien Still Owns His 1992 Ford Taurus SHO With a Manual Transmission

![](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/images-by-url-td/content/2018/03/conan-1.jpg>)
*\<em\>www.thedrive.com</em>*

Comedian and late-night host [Conan O'Brien](<https://www.thedrive.com/article/1553/drivers-ed-with-conan-obrien-kevin-hart-and-ice-cube>) is known for many things. Being strangely hilarious. The whole NBC debacle.*That hair.* But there's one fact that stands out to us: In the grand tradition of [celebrities holding onto hooptie cars](<https://www.thedrive.com/news/10216/the-chicago-bears-rookie-quarterback-still-drives-a-1997-toyota-camry>) from their pre-fame days, Conan still owns his old 1992 Ford Taurus SHO with a manual transmission.

In a new skit on his eponymous talk show, Conan pulls the Taurus into the studio and extolls its greatness as an unlucky State Farm insurance agent attempts to appraise the 26-year-old car. It's pretty tongue-in-cheek; he sarcastically notes his policy of leaving everything original, including the bald tires, and he explains away a long scratch along the driver's side by saying that he tried to beat a toll booth gate and failed. A ding on the other side is purportedly from hitting Sean Hayes as the *Will & Grace* actor rode his bike around town.

https://youtube.com/embed/BoypGPXYYcE

He adds that it's been driven by Brad Pitt, a fact that the agent suggests might make it more valuable than his ownership. Theatrics aside, this really is Conan's manual-transmission [Ford Taurus](<https://www.thedrive.com/news/12879/ford-considers-killing-off-taurus-in-2018>) SHO that he bought new in 1992 and has kept all this time. It's popped up in several *Late Night* skits, [including one where Brad Pitt grabs the keys,](<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NYPBPZ_qcQs>) dumps the clutch, and peels out in the middle of Manhattan. It was also [the subject of a mournful video Conan made](<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WFN9nG51qrE>) to commemorate the death of the original Taurus when it was discontinued in 2007.

https://youtube.com/embed/NYPBPZ_qcQs

And while you might think its questionable condition is an act, it seems Conan really does revel in keeping the car as dingy as possible. [In a 2010 *60 Minutes* segment,](<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hhOsZKRbDao>) he hauled it out of his garage to show correspondent Steve Kroft. You can't fake the layers of dust on the Taurus, or the fact that he's able to pop out the busted driver's side mirror and use it as a hand-held vanity. When Kroft questions the lack of a valid inspection sticker or car insurance as the two cruise around Los Angeles, Conan gives a deadpan response: "Let's not get into that on air."

https://youtube.com/embed/hhOsZKRbDao

The CBS segment also reveals a little more about why Conan has held onto the Taurus all these years. He bought the car in 1992 when he was just another writer on *The Simpsons—*a year later, he would take over as host of *Late Night*. It makes sense that he would keep a memento from his pre-celebrity life. Plus, he points out that telling his rich and famous guests that he drives a Ford Taurus always gets a big laugh.

Of course, the Ford Taurus SHO is far from a punchline. It was actually one of the most memorable sleepers of the 1990s, with a screaming V6 engine built by Yamaha and a five-speed manual transmission wrapped up in a family-friendly sedan. It's tempting to laugh when Conan says that it was "quite a sexy car" back in the day, but remember: That's no joke.

![message-editor%2F1522352050716-conan2.jpg](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/message-editor/1522352050716-conan2.jpg>)
**YouTube | Team Coco**

## Author
Overseeing an expert staff of writers and editors from his lair in Los Angeles, Kyle shapes The Drive’s singular approach to covering the automotive industry and car culture. He’s been with the site as a writer since 2017, taking over as editor in 2019. On a daily basis, Kyle is responsible for directing The Drive's editorial news and car review content strategies, setting special coverage priorities, managing complex reporting projects, and ensuring what you read on the page meets our high internal standards for quality and trustworthiness. He is also the executive producer of The Drive's YouTube channel, which was relaunched in February 2024 to great acclaim and has accumulated over 14M new views in its first year back on the scene. He hosts a biweekly series on the channel where he breaks down fascinating and complicated stories from the automotive world.

### Author social links  
[Bluesky](<https://bsky.app/profile/kylecheromcha.bsky.social>)  
[Instagram](<https://www.instagram.com/kylecheromcha>)  
[LinkedIn](<https://www.linkedin.com/in/kyle-cheromcha-1550248a/>)