Saw the 2011 Explorer today - "naked"

[Stic-o]

I'll say it's worthless, Sony just said the other day that they are not going to make the 3.5" floppys anymore

 

[BWilliams]

Ward said the new terrain management system was designed because "there is confusion about which button to press" for the four-wheel-drive settings in the current Explorer.

"The vast majority of customers don't know what 4 high or 4 low buttons do," he said, adding that the new system is "more consumer-friendly."

That's disappointing ... the manual even freaking explains what they're used for, and how to use them safely as not to cause damage to the T-case.

 

[2010man]

The owners manual is just Ford's opinion of how things should work. Just Kiddin!

 

[Gus Gorilla]

The explorer is not a truck any more...

Unfortunately this guy got it right. It's not a truck. It now shares a platform with the Taurus, MKS, Edge, MKX. Thus the plant being shared in the Chicago area. It's a tall car, or a short van. a.k.a. Crossover. I don't care if it's 4x4. So is the Escape and in essence it's a part time AWD so lets throw in other crowd favorites such as the 500, Freestyle, Montego, EdgeAWD, and the dreaded Taurus X. All of which available with AWD the only thing missing was the fun dial knob for the offroad illiterate and soccer moms to figure out how to work the damn thing.
With the end of the Taurus X we can now start calling this the Taurus EX.

 

[phoenixgrey07]

2011 explorer

would rather have it on a truck frame than a unibody. not impressed. they made it on the cheap

 

[2010man]

Just look at the parking lot at a grocery store. It's a wonder anyone can figure out which crossover is their's. It's full of them and they all look the same. If they keep going we'll all have to carry serial number scanners to know which car is ours.

 

[Stic-o]

New pic released The Wife likey, maybe we wait and get this instead of a edge

 

[Hitchhikingmike]

Doesn't look so bad!

Check out this video!



The new explorer doesn't look any less capable off road than any other stock explorer before it.

Really it just reminds me of a nicer, roomer Jeep Patriot, -and I really liked those when they came out.

 

[trailblazer295]

It's still just a cross over now, that system might have been good in a different explorer but they still took out other truck parts and replaced them with car parts.

 

[Hitchhikingmike]

I would say it would probably go farther than any stock 1st or 2nd gen explorer off road with the advanced computer breaking of the 4x4 system. The 3rd gen got a rough implementation of then system in about 2004 I think.

 

[Joe Dirt]

I agree- if you took a stock gen I or II out and this new Ex out, it would do at least the same, and I think it would go farther...

Modded is a different story, but the offroad market for Explorers is too small for Ford to build a vehicle around that anymore.

 

[mycaptainchris]

When we got our 07 Explorer the other option we were considering was the Land Rover LR3. This looks like the new Explorer has taken some of the LR3 gadgets and thus could be very capable off road. We'll have to see.

Why did I bye the Explorer over the LR3? 30,000 or 57,000 made the decision easy.

 

[2010man]

Am I dreaming or did I read somewhere that the new explorer may not come out for another year and come out as a 2012. I'd swear that I saw that somewhere. But at the same time I talked to a car hauler delivery guy who delivers the explorers to dealerships and he said that sometime in November, the last explorer as we know it will come off of the assembly line. Maybe that's late enough on the year to label the new one as a 2012?? Can they skip a year and not even have a 2011?

 

[Hitchhikingmike]

I agree- if you took a stock gen I or II out and this new Ex out, it would do at least the same, and I think it would go farther...

Modded is a different story, but the offroad market for Explorers is too small for Ford to build a vehicle around that anymore.

That's very true. Really, neither generation explorer really ever had the off road aftermarket companies make decent stuff for them, other than the front end lift kits for the !st gen's TTB, but that didn't last very long.

If anyone really wanted to build a rock crawler or serious off roader with decent aftermarket support, the Explorer never was that good of a choice. The jeep wranglers, cherokee, grand cherokees and Yota TJ or whatever its called are the best, Explorer just sadly can't come close. The heep following of crowds, online forum are much greater than here at EF.

I would be very surprised to find one person on this forum that bough a brand new Explorer with the intent of off roading it every weekend over being a DD. That's what the Heeps and Yotas are good for.

The explorer was just built mainly for the active family utility, with capability to pull the boat, trailer through the sand or the weekend ranch on dirt trails. And really, the F150 and Expedition are more of a better choice for families with active lifestyles than Explorers are for. The expedition really has replaced the explorer for family needs (Ford's main target of buyers for the explorer). (Expedition wasn't available during the 1st 2 generations of explorers)

For 98% of Explorer owners, which use their explorers to drive them to work and back every day, I'm sure this new explorer will be great, since I'm guessing it will average at 25mpg or more on the highway with just as much off road capability for the 4% of time most owners will use it. And no one who is serious about off roading would never have purchased a new explorer anyway. I bet 90% of new Ex owners don't even know what the differences between the body on frame or unibody are. They just want to do mild off roading on the beach or mud and slightly hilly terrain.

It might even be the roomiest explorer yet with the frame under the body gone.

Obviously, I don't think Ford is making that bad decision to go with the new direction of the explorer.

 

[BBQ Bandit]

Am I dreaming or did I read somewhere that the new explorer may not come out for another year and come out as a 2012. I'd swear that I saw that somewhere. But at the same time I talked to a car hauler delivery guy who delivers the explorers to dealerships and he said that sometime in November, the last explorer as we know it will come off of the assembly line. Maybe that's late enough on the year to label the new one as a 2012?? Can they skip a year and not even have a 2011?

Chevy skipped a year in the early 1980's for one of the the Corvette redesign. (skipped 1983 completely).

 

[Joe Dirt]

Mike, you could make a Ford Granada review sound good. Well said!

 

[Hitchhikingmike]

Mike, you could make a Ford Granada review sound good. Well said!

lol, I am starting to down talk the current generation explorers a bit aren't I?

I will confess, I will miss the ladder frame construction... just because I like sitting higher up than all the crossovers.

EDIT: uh oh, did that last comment just make me sound like a typical soccer mom explorer owner?

 

[GRNMACHINE]

That is by far the biggest hood bra I have ever seen on a vehicle.....

 

[Joe Dirt]

EDIT: uh oh, did that last comment just make me sound like a typical soccer mom explorer owner?

Should I order one for you, or do you want to order it yourself?

:

 

[GRNMACHINE]

Joe, dont forget those stick figure decals for the rear window.... Mom, Dad, kids, dog, cat, small pic of a man purse to hold the pelotas that Dad once had....