ENDANGERED SPECIES
Posted on 12/14/2004 6:59:41 AM PST by MississippiMasterpiece
DETROIT (Reuters) - Ford Motor Co. will kill off the Ford Excursion, its largest sport utility vehicle and a lightning rod for criticism from environmental groups, next year, a source familiar with the plan said on Monday.
The mammoth vehicle will stop rolling off the assembly line in September, as Ford moves to free up production capacity for the refreshed Super Duty pickup truck, said the source, on condition of anonymity.
The Excursion and Ford Super Duty F-Series pickups are assembled at the automaker's Louisville, Kentucky, truck plant.
A Ford spokesman declined to comment on the product plan.
Ford sources had said in 2002 that the company would discontinue the 19-foot Excursion, but it wound up getting an extended lease on life.
The second-largest U.S. automaker is planning to fill the gap in its full-size product lineup with an extended version of its Expedition SUV, the source said.
U.S. sales of the Excursion, which was launched in 1999, are down 25 percent so far this year. The Sierra Club, which dubbed the Excursion the "Ford Valdez" after the infamous Alaskan oil spill, called it an environmental disaster because of its poor fuel economy rating.
(Excerpt) Read more at money.cnn.com ...
Failure In Automotive Technology
LOL!
It's a shame when the Excursion carries so many fine FReepers and their signs.
Merry Christmas to you and your tax deductions!
Hope to see you at the Inaugural Parade FReeper event and the FReeper Ball.
Weren't we commanded in the bible to all be in one Accord?
You forgot Pontiac:
Pretty Odd Nerd Thinks It's A Cadillac
I think the market just killed this vehicle. The bottom line is that it is just too damned big and gets terrible fuel mileage. The V8 is too small to pull it and the V10 is a minimum. You might get 8 mpg. I suppose the diesel at about 15 mpg is OK but it is just a vehicle without a market.
Now if someone wants to get a really terrific SUV, check out the new Freestyle. I was looking at one of those the other day and I fell in love with it. Just beautiful and it has the fabulous "500" interior. Built on the Volvo S-90 chassis.
Ok, so the Excursion is going to die. So what? I am a hard-core FORD man, and couldn't imagine paying money for anything else. I drive a Ranger that suits my needs just fine. Honestly though, if you need anything as big as an Excursion, (and are actually going to use its full potential) you should probably look into a class B liscence. As a "Medium Duty" Truck, it doesn't have to comply to the EPA fuel economy restrictions.
I know a millionare who got rid of his Excursion because he loathed putting gas in it. You want utility? Get a van! You want sport? Get a car! You want a vehicle? It doesn't matter, as long as it is a FORD!
I belive that Ford's main problem is that 99% of "progressives" in the blue states buy Swedish,German
and Japanese vehicles.These are the same clowns who care so
much about Joe Sixpack but wouldn't be caught dead in
a car made with UAW labor.
Ford's mistake was trying to "out-Suburban" the GM Suburban (which virtually owned the really big SUV market since somewhere in the early part of the last century) but making every single dimension a little bit bigger.
What they ended up with was a SUV that literally weighed 2000 pounds more than an equivalent Suburban, eating up fuel and decreasing it's ability to tow.
The stretch Expedition is what they should have done in the first place, even though they have screwed that up with independent rear suspension. I won't even talk about the atrocious tire eating Twin I-beam Suspension they hung onto for years. Ford has good ideas, but execution is lousy. They can intially come out with a good vehicle, i.e. the old Mustang or Falcon etc., but eventually ruin it in a rush to "improve" it as a result of bean counters and product planners.
Oh, and "F****ed On Raw Deal" is another one......
Not only that, but despite being exempt from EPA fuel economy restrictions as a medium duty truck, but the gas powered Excursion (both 5.4 liter V8 and 6.8 liter V10) have the lowest emissions of any medium-duty truck manufactured for every year the Excursion has been produced. It may not be friendly to the gas pump, but is definitely a good environmental steward. If you want decent fuel mileage, the Powerstroke diesel version of the excursion out does every full and midsize SUV in that category for each year--and although it has somewhat more emissions that a gasoline motor, they have cleaned up the pollutants on the current generation Powerstroke... If I had the money I would get precisely that (don't because I'm pouring $$$ into my 455 powered 83 Cutlass)...
The company is being smart, legally and fiscally.
Cheap, Hardly Efficient, Virtually Runs On Luck Every Time
Cracked Heads, Every Valve Rattles, Oil Leaks Every Time
Constantly Having Every Vehicle Recalled Over Lousy Engineering Techniques
........all the reasons my 86 Caprice wagon has a 307 Olds more power at low rpm, better low end torque, hauls like a truck, and can wrap the speedo to the edge if i want.......
Another issue with the large SUVs is they don't fit in a standard sized garage.
Not really. The excursion has a double bumper setup. One externally visible up at ride height, and one down lower to prevent more serious damage in collisions with smaller vehicles, that is not as visible....
Hummer owners aren't concerned with the issues you mention. Cost is not an issue to them.
The Excursion is the local Freepermobile! Say it isn't so...
We'll have to upgrade next year, that'll buy us 5 more.
Yes, Big Blue, the Excursion, and 14 Freeper/Lurkers are coming up from my town for the Ball and parade!
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