Saw the 2011 Explorer today - "naked"

[Rick]

Ford had a 2011 Explorer running around Surprise, AZ today without any of the vinyl sheeting over it. No badges at all. Unfortunately I couldn't get a photo.

I only saw 3/4s of the Explorer the sides and rear. It's not fugly, but it sure doesn't say exciting, new, or different either. Looks more like a tall station wagon than a minivan, which I guess is a good thing.

I guess Ford's bean counters won out once again and decided that the new Explorer had to be plain vanilla, with no real flavor. Sad Sure wish I could have seen the front to see how that turned out. Hopefully I'll see it again soon. They do some of their testing at the Volvo proving grounds which is only a few miles from my house.

 

[Tbars4]

..I found these...
http://www.leftlanenews.com/ford-explorer-2011.html

 

[Stic-o]

It's they had a bunch of Freestyle bodys left over and need something to do with them

 

[Mutineer]

I guess Ford as gone the way of Dodge.. when the new Durangos came out in '03 ...it looked like a minvan with a lift kit...

but that looks like a Saab station wagon... blech.:thumbdwn:

 

[Raminator157]

yup, looks gross.

 

[techieman33]

I think I threw up a little in my mouth

 

[gmanpaint]

Wow. almost looks like a Hearse to me.

 

[Mutineer]

This has to be a mistake... this is the new freestyle wagon or the taurus crossover or something... I refuse to believe its the Explorer...

Cant sleep, clown will eat me... cant sleep clown will eat me.....

EEK

 

[Joe Dirt]

And here we go again...

Guys, again, for like the 8th thread- the new Ex isn't going to be a Flex nose grafted onto a Taurus X ass.

 

[Tbars4]

Wow. almost looks like a Hearse to me.

...That's what I thought too...A station wagon/hearse...

...I think it's raised in the rear for more emphasis on third row seating..

 

[Rick]

And here we go again...

Guys, again, for like the 8th thread- the new Ex isn't going to be a Flex nose grafted onto a Taurus X ass.

I was bummed that I couldn't see the front of the Explorer I saw this morning

 

[Stic-o]

I was bummed that I couldn't see the front of the Explorer I saw this morning

Is the picture Ted posted what you saw though Rick? And I belive the nose will be with the same headlight all the Fords have these days.

Update spy shots..
http://www.caradvice.com.au/50410/2011-ford-explorer-spy-photos/

 

[4X50 Exploder]

Beware!

Is the picture Ted posted what you saw though Rick? And I belive the nose will be with the same headlight all the Fords have these days.

Update spy shots..
http://www.caradvice.com.au/50410/2011-ford-explorer-spy-photos/

While cruizing that link, my malware detector went nuts! Wouldn't advise that site unless you are up to date...

 

[devo]

Is the picture Ted posted what you saw though Rick?

Except for the front clip which I didn't see, the photos Ted posted are very close to what I saw. No big changes there.

 

[MrQ]

I am not crazy about unibody designs. Or the new look coming out of today's automakers. However, I will keep an open mind. There is one thing though, will you be able to work on these cars as easily as the 1st-3rd gens?

 

[Hitchhikingmike]

Lets keep an open mind. We have not seen RECENT pictures of an Explorer with Explorer badging on. All this is speculation. Ford is a truck company and they know they have a large loyal truck following to their frame based SUV's and pickups.

I for one won't get my pants all in a twitch if I see the new explorer as a anybody. Look how far Ford has come the past decade with frame strength. The 4th gen explorers' frames are about 400% stiffer than the 1st gen's frames. Unibody design has even come much farther in terms of strength and stiffness in the same time.

Just look at the explorer's rival the grand cherokee. It has always been a unibody design and has a bigger off-road-crowd following than the explorers, and the GC has also always been much more capable off road in stock form the any stock explorer has been.

Unibody designs also allow for more ground clearance.

Lets just hold off on the bashing for now....... at least until after it comes out.

 

[Rangerman87]

Ford had a 2011 Explorer running around Surprise, AZ today without any of the vinyl sheeting over it. No badges at all. Unfortunately I couldn't get a photo.

I only saw 3/4s of the Explorer the sides and rear. It's not fugly, but it sure doesn't say exciting, new, or different either. Looks more like a tall station wagon than a minivan, which I guess is a good thing.

I guess Ford's bean counters won out once again and decided that the new Explorer had to be plain vanilla, with no real flavor. Sad Sure wish I could have seen the front to see how that turned out. Hopefully I'll see it again soon. They do some of their testing at the Volvo proving grounds which is only a few miles from my house.

In my opinion it looks like crap,but that's just me.

 

[alexk]

I know those are just test mules but if they have the raised roof on the back like those do on the real ones I hope they mask it like GM did with the trailblazer ext/envoy xl or the nissan xterra with a roof rack.

 

[SideOut]

wtf? Fords gotta reconsider this design.

 

[Gus Gorilla]

It looks like a Taurus X in the rear and a Flex in the front. I have to say I think I've seen a couple of these running around in peanut paint and in full camo canvas. I'm not really a fan of this look. But what do you expect with the trend going to unibody SUVs.