Comments on: Not so Smart Now, Eh Mr. Bond? Ford Unveils Explorer America

By: jurisb

jurisb — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 08:25:42 +0000

And another one american platform is going to push up daisies. Why can`t we call the events the real names? Let`s face it! The next generation Explorer is going to be built on a japanese Mazda 6 platform. leaving ford with how many NA engineered platforms? 1? just let me get this straight……wait a minute, so you are trying to say that the third biggest car manufacturer in the world has 1( one, ein, uno) of its own engineered platforms?

By: Johnster

Johnster — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 06:08:11 +0000

This new Explorer, with it’s macho boxy styling, will replace the both the old body-on-frame Explorer and the Taurus X. It will be a direct competitor to the GM’s Enclave/Outlook/Acadia/Traverse.

GM is reportedly going to discontinue the Saab 9-7X/Isuzu Ascender/GMC Envoy/Chevy TrailBlazer and is looking to the Enclave/Outlook/Acadia/Traverse and possible future derivatives to replace them.

People who want something with a higher towing capacity will buy a GMC Yukon or Chevy Tahoe in GM’s case, or a Ford Expedition in Ford’s.

It’s hardly an original move on Ford’s part, just another example of meeting the competition directly, but with the “cachet” of the Explorer name.

By: Samir Syed

Samir Syed — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 04:08:37 +0000

Escape, Taurus X, Explorer, Flex, Edge.

Why such hyper-segmentation, Ford ?

By: guyincognito

guyincognito — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 01:58:01 +0000

The Edge is actually the sibling of the CX-7 and based on the Mazda 6, so I don’t see too much overlap there. This Explorer design is rational when you view the plummeting sales of the current version. It has to change into a more efficient vehicle. However, in the context of their upcoming line-up, most notably the Flex and Taurus X (if not cancelled) which are based on the same platform, it does seem rather redundant. Also, the chances of this vehicle wieghing in at less than the outgoing Explorer are slim to none, so I fail to see where they’ll improve the efficiency by going to the unibody design. And unibody vehicles are more expensive to build than their body on frame counterparts. Perhaps the SUV fans who don’t use their SUV for anything other than people moving (which is most of them) will prefer the chunkier styling of this SUV and move enough of them to lower costs and improve profits for all of its siblings.

By: Lichtronamo

Lichtronamo — Sun, 13 Jan 2008 23:34:53 +0000

Right – the Edge and CX-9 are cousins, although the Mazda gets the more important third row seat.

Looks better than the Pilot “concept” even though its a rip off of Nissan’s Dunehawk from a couple years ago.

By: Sherman Lin

Sherman Lin — Sun, 13 Jan 2008 22:44:48 +0000

Carguy I thought the Ford Edge was a fraternal twin of the CX 9

By: starlightmica (Richard Chen)

starlightmica (Richard Chen) — Sun, 13 Jan 2008 20:53:22 +0000

I’m presuming that the Taurus X gets the axe when this comes out, right? Ford will still have the Edge & Flex in addition to this On-Road Explorer.

By: carguy

carguy — Sun, 13 Jan 2008 20:31:13 +0000

Why doesn’t Ford save themselves a bag of cash and just re-badge the CX-9? It seems to be the darling of the automotive press and they are moving quite fast at my local Mazda dealer – so why develop yet another 7 seat CUV?

By: Jonathon

Jonathon — Sun, 13 Jan 2008 20:00:23 +0000

How many crossovers does one car company really need?

By: 50merc

50merc — Sun, 13 Jan 2008 19:57:36 +0000

Another great photo caption, I agree. But with all due respect to Willie’s cover of “City of New Orleans, it must be noted that the standard for Steve Goodman’s great anthem to America was set in 1972 by Arlo Guthrie and the studio’s technical wizards. For a fascinating behind-the-scenes glimpse of how performers and techies create music, see:

http://mixonline.com/recording/interviews/audio_arlo_guthries_city/

By: 86er

86er — Sun, 13 Jan 2008 19:25:56 +0000

Meanwhile Ford and Detroit keep going back to the old way of thinking and keep trying to milk a dead cow. If this is the best that Detroit/Ford can do, they they will be destined for the dustbin of automotive history. Toyota, Honda and others will gladly build the vehicles that Americans want/need to be able to afford to drive with the new energy price reality.

Au contraire, Ford, with this concept, is following the Toyonda example to the letter. Who can argue with that, right?

Excellent reference to Willie Nelson in the caption, by the way, Robert.

Speaking directly to the article, as a “real” truck fan I can sympathize with the author’s statement that they won’t touch this vehicle. Many will, as the name equity will still attract enough, but this move won’t spur any new sales, especially with the Edge already onstream. More unforgivable than the move to unibody is the FWD configuration. At least there’s still the Expedition.

I take it this must be Ford’s equivalent of the CX-9 and they’re calling it a day, with 3 other crossovers in the muddle in a sea of anonymous CUVs.

By: baabthesaab

baabthesaab — Sun, 13 Jan 2008 19:14:31 +0000

Wow! That is one dumb looking car! I have never been a fan of SUV’s, but the Explorer has always been attractive for the genre. Well, they’ve fixed that! This is all so sad.

By: Rday

Rday — Sun, 13 Jan 2008 19:06:36 +0000

Pretty pathetic when Detroit keeps going back to the SUV/Truck models that were popular in the 20th century. This is now the 21st century and the world has changed and shifted on it axis. People are anticipating $4 or 5 gas and are making purchasing plans to work that into their budget. Meanwhile Ford and Detroit keep going back to the old way of thinking and keep trying to milk a dead cow. If this is the best that Detroit/Ford can do, they they will be destined for the dustbin of automotive history. Toyota, Honda and others will gladly build the vehicles that Americans want/need to be able to afford to drive with the new energy price reality.