Posted on 07/27/2010 9:06:53 AM PDT by taildragger
As Ford takes the wraps off the new 2011 Explorer today – with a stellar, multi-city “throwback” reveal combined with a social media offensive – it’s easy to see why they’re excited about it. The new Explorer is lighter, much better looking, safer, quieter, exhaustively equipped, technically sophisticated, dramatically more efficient and with light-years better driving dynamics thrown-in for good measure. In short, there is nothing about the 2011 version of the Explorer that bears any resemblance to the vehicle that came before it. The only thing the new vehicle shares with the old one is the name, which has an incredible 96 percent recognition factor among American consumers, according to Ford.
(Excerpt) Read more at autoextremist.com ...
I specifically bought the 2010 Explorer because I didn’t want a cross-dresser. ;-)
As the owner of a 2004 Explorer, I hope they have fixed the differential that tends to go out at 60K, and the rear hatch that frequently splits in the middle. At least, the Ford dealer in Tucson told us both problems were common, and neither covered by warranty.
I’m NOT in a hurry to buy another ‘Explorer’!
It’s a car and they’re calling it an SUV? How clever.
Never got the SUV craze when it was at its height, still don’t get it.
Just a station wagon that sat higher, no more real space inside, cramped rear seats... never got it.
They are hellishly less convient for lugging kids and cargo than the mini-van.
Ummmm?
UAW!
Well, neither was (or am) I. I had a 1998 Explorer, and it ate ball joints and blew valve gaskets every 40 to 50 k miles. At just over 100k, it died of death by trasmission--and the idler pulley assembly flew off, to cap its last day on the road. I had somewhat better luck with a Jeep GC, and now have a 4Runner which seems by far the best of the pack.
Thank god the gov’t is taking the U out of SUV. And by the looks of this there is very little S left. I drive a 1976 SUV in the summer, Olds Custom Cruiser and a 88 Grand Wagoneer in the winter. As long as I can buy part I will stick with them till they start making exciting cars again. This new Exploder will fail like the new Taurus.
Ford re-invents the Pontiac Aztek.
Great a unibody, I’ll keep my ‘08 (and it’s full frame).
It actually looks pretty nice to this import-owning poster...
*sigh*
Another SUV that looks like a mini-van. More wussifying of the country. Not allowed to own anything that remotly looks beefy, tough and works hard.
I hate to see what pick-up trucks look like in a few years...
“Ford re-invents the Pontiac Aztek.”
No the Ford looks better than that Mini Garbage truck ,But if it was a Honda or Toyota no one would say a word other than how cool it is!!
I agree - Ford has a hit on its hands. The truck will sell well.
“Great a unibody, I’ll keep my ‘08 (and it’s full frame).”
With the new CAFE standards, body-on-frame SUVs are going to have to become a much smaller part of the mix of vehicles that manufacturers sell - there’s just no cost-efficient way of pushing the mileage of those tall, heavy trucksters up to the mandated level. I don’t know how the manufacturers are going to kill the demand for large, powerful vehicles among consumers - I suspect they’re going to have to limit their numbers and the demand for them by jacking up the prices.
We bought ours a couple of month back, replacing the second Explorer AWD. All of our Explorers worked very well, with no repairs at all. (I’m old fashioned, though, and do 3K oil changes...)
I require a frame, plus good ground clearance and four wheel drive, which means we’ll have to search for the replacement in a couple of years.
It’s to bad that they killed off the product.
It looks like the Flex.
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