'11 Explorer Revealed!!

[NHarris]

V6 mustang... faster?!?..

This isn't off topic, its just a question
--Lol no wonder why you said that...you got a mustang What year and V6 or V8?

 

[xglyphicx]

Wow. I saw it, and the first pics I saw were "meh" to say the least. But looking at it.. I see a LOT of potential. Maybe not in the capability department like the 1st and 2nd gens, but that interior is frickin nice! Makes me want one REAL bad. Throw some nice rims on it, black one for me!

 

[mounty71]

Didn't you say you were going to get one of these to replace your 97 X? Or am I mistaken on that.

I think Joe Dirt was saying this in a positive way, like "look, Ford crammed all of these things into this vehicle."

 

[Joe Dirt]

Correct Matt- That was my point exactly. Ford is nailing as many of the requests by vehicle owners into one package as possible.

Didn't you say you were going to get one of these to replace your 97 X? Or am I mistaken on that.

Yes, I will be replacing my '97 with a 2011 in the spring, after ordering in the fall. I'm getting white, and no, I will not call it Snowball.

 

[NHarris]

...I'm getting white, and no, I will not call it Snowball.

-Any ideas on what you're going to call it?
-I still need to figure out what to call my tan 05 X.
-I've got to wait and see what goes on with a possibility of a new bronco. Thats the SUV, hopefully full-frame, I'm after next. I may try and get a 96 bronco or early to mid 70's bronco.

 

[Joe Dirt]

Regardless of what you think of it, this is f'n cool...

On it's way to Airventure...

Oshkosh, Wisconsin July 27, 2010; On Monday July 26, Ford Motor Company revealed the all-new 2011 Ford Explorer nationwide at just six select venues. Four were in major city venues in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles and Miami and one was in Dearborn, Michigan for Ford Headquarters employees. The sixth site hosting the new Explorer was the Experimental Aircraft Association’s (EAA) annual AirVenture Oshkosh event, also sponsored by Ford.

In true AirVenture style, where the sky's the limit, the new 2011 Ford Explorer arrived in AeroShell Square at the conclusion of the air show, just prior to the opening day concert, presented by Ford Motor Company, featuring the band Chicago.

This was a true visual spectacle with some help from the aerospace industry. And, Ford brought in the horsepower for this dramatic reveal in Oshkosh. Using an Erickson “Goliath” Air Crane with 9000 Horsepower, the all-new Explorer arrived suspended under the crane in a special palette held by four cables.(See photo above.) "Piloting" the new Explorer was Edsel Ford II, grandson of Henry Ford and a member of Ford Motor Company’s Board of Directors.

Once on the ground the Explorer was driven by Edsel Ford II to the AeroShell Square Stage where Jim Farley, Ford group vice president of Marketing, Sales and Service, and Tom Poberezny, EAA President, spoke as to how Ford is delivering this 21st-Century SUV. The completely reinvented SUV includes safety features such as the industry's only inflatable seatbelts, technology that customers need and want and class-leading fuel economy—more than 30% better than the current vehicle. Also appearing was Elena Ford, a niece of Edsel Ford II and a fifth-generation Ford family member who is director, Global Marketing, Sales and Service Operations at Ford.

The 2011 Explorer with V6 power is expected to deliver more than 20 percent better fuel economy
than the 2010 model, shattering conventional expectations for SUV fuel efficiency. When equipped with the available 2.0-liter EcoBoost™ I-4 engine, Explorer fuel economy is expected to improve by more than 30 percent and exceed the 2010 Honda Pilot and 2010 Toyota Highlander V6.

The Explorer’s main competitor is the Chevrolet Traverse and will also compete with the Honda Pilot, Toyota Highlander and Jeep Grand Cherokee, said Jim Farley. Some industry analysts have expressed concern with the new Explorer having too much competition from the similar Ford Edge and Flex models. However, it is better to have this competition from within one’s owns showroom to be able to satisfy more customers with a vehicle from Ford.

Chief Nameplate Engineer Jim Holland said the team targeted two key objectives when developing the 2011 Ford Explorer.

“It had to look modern and contemporary – inside and out – yet be instantly recognizable as an Explorer,” said Holland. “Next, the new Explorer needed to deliver the fuel economy today’s customers want, combined with the performance, capability and empowerment they expect from an SUV.”

 

[NHarris]

Regardless of what you think of it, this is f'n cool...

Agreed. I'm saving that picture to my computer.
Eventually, there will be one of these explorers in my garage.

 

[Joe Dirt]

...and I just posted my new '11 Ex name in my registry.

To please the faithful here and make me smile at the same time, I shall call her "Marshmallow"

Might be soft, but still quite good...

 

[NHarris]

...and I just posted my new '11 Ex name in my registry.

To please the faithful here and make me smile at the same time, I shall call her "Marshmallow"

Might be soft, but still quite good...

The name fits the car well, as the new explorer is round like a marshmallow.

 

[kstrayhorn]

Haha I love that name, and that pic is pretty awesome.

 

[Cozmik]

...and I just posted my new '11 Ex name in my registry.

To please the faithful here and make me smile at the same time, I shall call her "Marshmallow"

Might be soft, but still quite good...

Go you Joe!!! I've entered the contest to win one with every email address I've got.......................wife's too.
I've had a white 2nd Gen, a white 3rd Gen.....maybe a white 5th Gen will fit nicely.

 

[NHarris]

I also think with the new X, that if they used a RWD with 4wd option, instead of the full-time intellegent 4wd, I think on a full truck frame, with the new engines, it would do just fine on gas mileage. I know a similar comment has been posted about the new engines on the truck frame...I just don't want to search for it to quote it.

 

[Stic-o]

Regardless of what you think of it, this is f'n cool...

On it's way to Airventure...

You know funny story... my wifes cosins neighbor has a old 70's Land Rover that he pretty much goes anywhere. Well anyway, he got to some place that it was impossible to go back ( I can't rember what) enough where it was leave the truck and walk out never to see it again. Well he went down to the airport and paid some guy 10k to air lift it out

 

[FLOffroad]

That's a pretty awesome story. Does he still have it?

 

[86_cookiemonster]

When the new Explorer first came out i looked at it and hated it because of I heard Taurus platform and unibody and wrote it off. I have however sense thought that I have given it an unfair shake so I went back and read up on the stuff that ford has done to the explorer to see if maybe i was just being my typical closed minded self.

I looked at it like it was a brandn new model, and I still came to the same conclusion it might be a decent car, but I am willing to bet it will leave everyone on this forum who buys it disappointed.

The reasons i do not like it are:

1.) Body styling
the body is far to car based. It is round and fluffy looks to japaness. It looks fragile. Looks for an SUV are important as guys want to have SUV's because they look tough, and can haul their familys, that makes them a better choice then a minivan. It is the front end that ruins the explorer for me, it looks well goofy like they couldn't make up their mind on what they were building, its kinda like you stuck an air pump in a taurus and inflated it. I would propose styling it more after the F-150 as in years past. Next to the mustang the F150 is the most recognizable thing that ford makes. It would be aggressive and meet areo dynamic standards. I say this because i seem to remember when the new f150 came out they bragged about how the engineers understood the areo dymanic wake properties and such.

2.) It is front wheel drive
People will point out that it has optional 4 wheel drive, but it is still primarly front wheel drive, the 2wd option is only front wheel drive, this actually effects more then people think. For 1 it is harder to work on, the transmission cost more to repair or replace, and it takes up more of your engine bay and actually eats into your passenger area. Again this front wheel drive plays into the stigma that this is a oversized minivan. Rear wheel drive cars preform better, handle better, for those who know how to drive. I have a 2wd 86 ranger and never have had any trouble in the winter with it, well 20 inches of snow slowed me down a lot. SUV's are supposed to be sport utility vehicles, well sport means fun, front wheel drive is not fun at all, in my opinion.

3.) It is unibody.
the unibody wouldn't bother me so much if it was orginially designed to be a truck. However it was orginially designed to be a mini van, i mean lets face it that is what the flex actually is. That raises concerns to me, concerns that I am sure ford addressed but still they sit in the back of my mind.

4.) It is complicated, I miss the days of a simple transfer case on or off. Did you know they don't even call it a transfer case in the new explorer, it is a power take off, they make the thing sound like it is a tractor. Now i know it is supposed to have these doodads for soccer moms, but it ruins it for off roading, where is the pride in you skills? That might sound dumb but think about it, would 4 wheelin be fun if everyone could do it? Would it be fun if the only reason you where able to cross that bog or climb that hill was because the computer did it for you? I am a minority on that note, but that is a reason i will not be buying one.

the truth comes down to this, this is a cross over, a cross over with three rows of seating, ford already has one of those it is called the flex, the two are now competing against each other. The Explorer no longer specializes in driving off road and on road, it is now an on road car that can occasionally venture into the snow. It is slightly more masculine then the flex. It feels to me as though basing the explorer on the flex is a way for ford to save face and not update the ranger, which would be the best choice to platform share with the explorer. Ford has continually ignored the ranger platform so why upgrade it now, instead lets build a half assed suv on a minivan platform. They will say it is on the unibody platform for fuel economy gains, but most of the fuel economy gains come from the new engine, the 3.7 is vastly more fuel efficent then the 4.0. I will point to the 2010 vs 2011 mustang v6. The old v6 mustang got an average of 19 miles per gallon, the new one gets an average of 25. You will find that is about 30% better fuel economy. Same car mind you. They cut corners it is simple as that. You can call me wrong, or say the market is different, but that is my two cents, and I have been thinking long and hard trying to figure out how i feel about this new CUV of fords.


The reason the explorer has become a legend is because those who drive it made it one, I don't see people jacking this tonka toy up and thrashing it, it doesn't appear like the right type of vehicle to do that.

 

[86_cookiemonster]

Oh yea go to thefordstory.com and tell ford what you think of the explorer.

 

[NHarris]

I'm not having a problem with the latest explorer... I prefer the truck frame, but...see what has happened to all SUVS

Chevrolet Trailblazer had a full frame. Phased out for the unibody traverse, which I think is FWD.

The traverse

The explorer went the same way... I'd prefer the old explorer, but realize the new explorer is unfornately for good or bad the future of SUVs.

 

[86_cookiemonster]

The explorer went the same way... I'd prefer the old explorer, but realize the new explorer is unfornately for good or bad the future of SUVs.

its only the future if we keep buying them

 

[NHarris]

True, but us on the forum is how many thousands out of millions. If you have a bunch of soccer mom's buying em then they'll keep making em.

 

[86_cookiemonster]

we asume that they will, I mean honestly the reason the SUV came to the for front in family transportation was becasue thye where cooler then mini-vans, and weren't ugly station wagons with fake wood siding. If they become basically the same thing as mini-vans, most people won't pay for less mpg for meger increase in perfomance.

We can only pray that soccer moms find something better to drive.