Next Ford Explorer to be a CUV

[Nate1]

http://www.autoblog.com/2007/01/02/next-ford-explorer-to-be-a-cuv/

Shame they insist on castrating the Explorer... but I guess if its what the consumers want its what they get.

 

[xplrsport01]

"the next Explorer will be giving up its ability to tackle the rough and tumble and tow your boat in favor of a lower center of gravity, increased fuel economy and more car-like handling." BOO!!!!
"Expedition as its proper SUV, capable of going off-road within reason and towing boats all the live long day." AND DOUBLE BOO!!!

I like that though off-road within reason ha thats a joke

 

[briwayjones]

What's the freakin' point. They already have the Edge and Freestyle. Ford has made me so mad over about the last five years. I'm pretty much to the point now where I'm going to say Ford needs to be shot.

 

[MountaineerGreen]

Eh the 3rd gens aren't far from it now. There will soon be no real Ford suv's unless you want a full size.:thumbdwn: The sport tracks have IRS like the 3rd gen x's even though they have the V8 now. What are people that want a solid axle rear SUV thats not full size??

 

[briwayjones]

Actually there isn't any real ones even full size with the the Expedition having IRS.

 

[xplrsport01]

IFS is decent off road but now everything but the pickups are IFS and IRS and I'd rather have at least one solid axel

 

[MountaineerGreen]

I forgot the expeditions are IRS too. What are vehicles going to come to?

 

[CodePoet]

They will come to whatever the mass wants. They do not want or need vehicles that can go offroad and tow a few tons. They want something to haul their 2.3 children around in, with room, dvd player to shut the kids up, be quite so they can talk on the cell phone (and hear the movie), get good gas mileage, have a nav system, and be smooth enough so that their 5 dollar cup of coffee doesn't spill on their leather seats.

This totally screws the more "heavy duty" trucks like the f2/350 since they try to cram all this luxury crap into them trying to cater to these same people, making the price skyrocket. I priced out a very base f250 the other day, at 30k. I can in no way justify that on a truck, that I WILL use and abuse when needed. Just look at the bed of my 05 f150, scraped, dented, and has on ocasion even had holes punched in it from a rogue 9" axle .

The car company's will cater to these people, not us. For every 1 person who takes their vehicles offroad there are probably 500 (haha yeah probably more like 5000) who would never dream of getting their rides dirty. We can't compete.

I have simply decided to not buy new vehicles anymore. I'm currently trying to decide what I want to replace my 05 f150 with. Somewhere between a 78-95 f2/350. I prefer their look, ease to work, and no frills to gum everything up.

 

[Rick]

It's what the bean counters at Ford THINK people want. Obviously their thought process has been very flawed. If it weren't Ford wouldn't be doing so poorly.

Too bad they can't think out of the box and come up with the next cool ride... You know, something like the Explorer was back in '91...

 

[Nate1]

In reality Americans are coming to their senses I guess....

It makes sense to use a car on the road (or a "crossover" ... basically the ride quality of a car with more room)

Trucks will of course come with solid axles to cater to the towing crowd, but not to cater to the offroad crowd. We'll be stuck with used vehicles from the mid-late 90s and older... and of course the Jeep brand.


The problem is I think Ford has beaten Americans to that idea. We still want big "cool" SUVs that we cant afford when gas prices keep climbing, that clog up the roads, cause more severe accidents, etc... it will be a while till we realize the sensibility of day to day vehicles.

 

[CodePoet]

In reality Americans are coming to their senses I guess....

It makes sense to use a car on the road (or a "crossover" ... basically the ride quality of a car with more room)

Trucks will of course come with solid axles to cater to the towing crowd, but not to cater to the offroad crowd. We'll be stuck with used vehicles from the mid-late 90s and older... and of course the Jeep brand.

3/4ton and up sure. But, it wouldn't surpise me at all though to see an IFS/IRS F150 in the future. And jeeps are pretty much going the same way. The only exception in the jeep stable is the wranger/rubicon, i think (for the time being) that they will stay more true to their roots.

 

[Nate1]

CP, sorry yeah I meant the superduty lines basically.

The wrangler does seem to be the last stand, doesn't it.

I was pretty surprised that Toyota used solid front and rear axles all the way to 1997 in the Landcruiser, but I guess the stuff that is used in markets like Africa and Australia is built a bit different. Either way I think that the used trucks are going to be all we've got left until somebody creates free energy and the moon becomes the world's biggest offroad park

 

[CodePoet]

Old trucks are where it's at man

 

[Turdle]

The "Explorer" has just become the "Ignorer".

As in, ignore the trail you just saw---

 

[bigapple]

they should change the name to the All New 2008 "Asphault Explorer"

 

[MountaineerGreen]

In the future, people are going to be doing sas swaps front and rear on unibody CUV's

That is why I will keep my pushrod motor, solid axle rear Mountaineer until the end of time.

 

[BrooklynBay]

If Ford is pushing for family oriented vehicles, then why did they discontinue all of their mini vans?

 

[SkanlaxJMO]

In the future, people are going to be doing sas swaps front and rear on unibody CUV's

That is why I will keep my pushrod motor, solid axle rear Mountaineer until the end of time.

haha lmao exactly.....a solid axle vechicle can acutally ride ver nicely, back in 96' my mom actually liked the explorer, because it looked good. Now if it becomes a uni-body frameless no-offroadable pos like it seems to be going to i dont think ford will be able to sell anything with the exeption of pickups. Take a look at the bronco that sold pretty damn well and they tried to stick it on an escape chasis with ifs and irs....what is ford comming too, and people wonder why american cars/trucks dont sell as well anymore.

 

[jah81592]

IRS is fine for me but the loss of a frame to a unibody...Yuck!

 

[cybergasm]

13. This a good move (and a no brainer) by Ford. The Explorer's never exactly been synonymous with offroading anyway, so no loss there.

I guess this person does'nt get by here very often or out of the house for that matter