2011 Explorer named Truck of the Year

[Joe Dirt]

CLICK

From the NAIAS in Detroit...

The winners for the North American Car and Truck of the Year have been announced, at the 2011 Detroit auto show--and they are the 2011 Chevrolet Volt and the 2011 Ford Explorer.

The prestigious awards are chosen by a panel of 49 automotive journalists from all forms of media--online, print, broadcast and radio--representing the U.S. and Canada.

From linked article:

Ford's new Explorer was named 2011 North American Truck of the Year by a panel of journalists, the same choice as Drive On readers.

Explorer, the pioneer truck-based SUV redesigned as a crossover, beat the two Chrysler products among the three finalists -- the new Jeep Grand Cherokee and the larger, but mechanically similar Dodge Durango.

Under the award voting point system, Explorer scored 253 to 138 for the Cherokee and 99 for the Durango -- similar by percentage to the breakdown in Drive On's voting.

The award is intended to recognize innovation, but also driveability, practicality and bang for the buck. The Explorer has gotten favorable reviews (including from Drive On's James R. Healey here ), though it also has been frequently that it can get expensive fast -- to about 50K -- if you load it up with options.

It was a third consecutive Truck of the Year win for Ford -- last year it won for the Transit Connect and in 2009 with the redesigned F-150 pickup.

 

[Albino 94LTD]

Congratulations Ford!










Wonder how long it will take Thaywood to bash in this thread?

 

[Joe Dirt]

He won't be able to even make it past the title... They said 'truck'

 

[2TimingTom]

Nice.

 

[unclemeat]

Didn't we have som discussions avout an explorer being a truck on another thread?

 

[2TimingTom]

I interchange the term "car" and "truck" when referring to my Explorer- or any Explorer to be honest. IMO, it doesn't realy fit as either. Kinda lost in the grey area in between.

 

[Baddecision93]

Way to go Ford!!!!

Can't wait to see what kind of progress they keep making in the next 10 - 15 years too....

 

[College Student]

Good job ford, and who doesn't use both, car and truck,...oh vehicle, but i always thought of the explorer as an SUV but that says crossover

 

[Keeper0311]

Good job ford, and who doesn't use both, car and truck,...oh vehicle, but i always thought of the explorer as an SUV but that says crossover

The older generation Explorers shared a similar base as the Ranger. Which made is closer to a truck than a car. From my understanding, the 2011 Explorer body and frame is much closer to that of a car.