2011 Ford Explorer!

[willied]

The thing that bothers me most is not the FWD, not the body style, not the unibody, but how you feel when you sit in it. It's such a huge departure from the last Explorer and I don't think I could handle it. It feels like you're sitting in a hole and you're trying to look out of the top of it.

 

[FirstExplorer]

Is the transmission sealed? Is there a quick drain for fluid?

 

[thaywood]

Man, if you all feel this badly about it I wonder how the Jeep people are feeling now that the GC has gone from a frame on body / soild axle design to the same unibody setup.

The Grand Cherokee has been a unibody for many, many years...

And we all knew independent suspension was coming. It was just a matter of time. And I have no problem with IFS or IRS. As long as it has enough ground clearance and travel. It actually makes the vehicle more useful, comfortable, and versatile.

 

[willied]

The Grand Cherokee has been a unibody for many, many years...

And we all knew independent suspension was coming. It was just a matter of time. And I have no problem with IFS or IRS. As long as it has enough ground clearance and travel. It actually makes the vehicle more useful, comfortable, and versatile.

But if you're an off roader then the articulation blows on a full indy setup.

 

[Mishtar]

Celly are you out near Canmore? Or are you on the BC side of those beautiful mountains?

 

[mounty71]

Celly, I actually did bite my tongue to try to keep it as civil is possible while still showing my true feelings. I know foul language isn't tolerated on here, and i respect the admins. here, but on the other forum that i regularly visit, my post would have been much more...let's say, descriptive.

At some level though, I'm sure they read some of the posts, and said "screw this- these guys are nuts, we'll never get a fair shake there anyway. Where can our dollars be spent more wisely?" You're never going to convince the vast majority of people here who are already against this vehicle to accept it, for whatever reasons they have.

So instead, they give up on us altogether? That is what makes me so angry.

And referring to your ^quote^, that's not true. When I first saw the '11 explorer i was as turned off as everyone else, but after taking the time to read about it and considering how rare of a breed we (explorer offroaders) are, i realize now that the '11 explorer makes complete sense. I almost feel like a traitor for saying that, but only 1 in a million people would actually take a brand new $30,000+ car far enough offroad to warrant the need for skidplates, a huge amount of ground clearance, or even a solid axle. And those rare people probably won't want anything that looks like the Explorer anyway. I'm not saying i'm happy to see the Explorer name on a crossover, but a vehicle like this is what will sell the best. And that's why i'm predicting the Explorer will sell better than the 4Runner for that reason.

So it can be done. Ford can convince people that the Explorer is a worthy vehicle. But this thread is a failed attempt at doing that.

 

[celly]

Celly are you out near Canmore? Or are you on the BC side of those beautiful mountains?

Those pics were taken on the "Spray Lakes Road" which is just outside of Canmore. I'm in Calgary, so about an hour east of Canmore. We love that little mountain town. We don't get out there enough.
Posted via Mobile Device

 

[Joe Dirt]

So instead, they give up on us altogether?

Aha- don't forget- that same exact thing could have been uttered at Ford after reading a lot of these other threads...

And referring to your ^quote^, that's not true. When I first saw the '11 explorer i was as turned off as everyone else, but after taking the time to read about it and considering how rare of a breed we (explorer offroaders) are, i realize now that the '11 explorer makes complete sense. I almost feel like a traitor for saying that, but only 1 in a million people would actually take a brand new $30,000+ car far enough offroad to warrant the need for skidplates, a huge amount of ground clearance, or even a solid axle. And those rare people probably won't want anything that looks like the Explorer anyway. I'm not saying i'm happy to see the Explorer name on a crossover, but a vehicle like this is what will sell the best. And that's why i'm predicting the Explorer will sell better than the 4Runner for that reason.

That's exactly it- it's the idea of what makes sense to sell the most vehicles. What's better- selling 50,000 Explorers to die hard fans, or selling 250-300,000 of the new style allowing Ford to maybe build a Bronco evolution if demand is there, or bring back a RBV? You can't put the cart before the horse. If Ford did that they'd be, like, GM.

I do stand by the "you're not going to convince..." quote though- in my mind, Ford can say whatever they want to convince someone it's a good thing in evolution. But, in the end you made my point better than I did. Ford can't convince anyone dead set against it- the person will convince themselves if it is to be done...

 

[mounty71]

Aha- don't forget- that same exact thing could have been uttered at Ford after reading a lot of these other threads...

Are you saying you think Ford is mad at us for not sticking by them with the '11 explorer? I honestly don't think Ford cares enough about us to be offended. But also, Ford is the one offering us a product/service, they're the ones who have to fight for our money, but we don't have to fight for their product. You can't analyze this relationship the same way you would analyze a relationship between two individuals. The auto industry will always be a buyer's market.

 

[mounty71]

I was having trouble putting my thoughts into words. I hope what i said conveys my point.

 

[Limited02]

Blah, blah, blah, blah......this thread sucks.

When the new '11 Explorer is selling like hotcakes and Ford starts raking in more dough, hopefully they'll build an '12 Explorer "Sport" to make the off-road whiners happy.

Everyone have a wonderful weekend

 

[Joe Dirt]

Blah, blah, blah, blah......this thread sucks.

When the new '11 Explorer is selling like hotcakes and Ford starts raking in more dough, hopefully they'll build an '12 Explorer "Sport" to make the off-road whiners happy.

Everyone have a wonderful weekend

 

[Joe Dirt]

Are you saying you think Ford is mad at us for not sticking by them with the '11 explorer? I honestly don't think Ford cares enough about us to be offended. But also, Ford is the one offering us a product/service, they're the ones who have to fight for our money, but we don't have to fight for their product. You can't analyze this relationship the same way you would analyze a relationship between two individuals. The auto industry will always be a buyer's market.

Ladies night is a buyers market... It is a buyers market, and sales speak volumes. That's why the Explorer was languishing on lots. ...and I'm not saying mad, but I do have family at Ford, and I can analyze a bit. The consensus after reading some of the threads was "why aren't any of these guys even interested in driving one?" and "how do they know it sucks, when they haven't even been in one?" All I'm saying is that if someone can say that Ford is abandoning it's buyers and selling out by building it, why can't Ford feel weird about it when a lot of comments on here are so vehemently against them before anyone has even driven the Explorer? Why would they cater a mass marketed product that needs big sales, to a small group of people that mod vehicles because they're not happy with what they do stock in the first place? Would the hard core group ever be satisfied in today's market, with the gadgets and systems that need to be on vehicles anymore to be mass marketed?

They can't build a vehicle to please everyone- some want a Gen I, some want a Gen II, some want a Gen III, some want a Wrangler, some a Cherokee... Honestly- what would someone build, knowing the Gen IV was selling less than HALF of what the Wrangler was already, to suddenly sell 250k+ units?

I mean they're not building a Jeep Wrangler. They're building an Explorer, that has to sell 200k+ to be worthwhile long term. It's really quite simple- if it doesn't fit your needs, don't buy one. But it doesn't mean that the vehicle is a complete and utter piece of **** because you can't put a James Duff kit on it. That's always been my point. Building a vehicle that 20,000 people would buy because you could put on a kit- and lose 200,000 potential sales to people that would buy one- if it was what the new Explorer was, would be stupid, and as a shareholder, I sure don't want that decision. I think they're actually about 3 years late. The Gen IV should have been this vehicle, then build a Bronco in a few years, but the Explorer can't be that vehicle anymore and make numbers.

 

[mounty71]

All I'm saying is that if someone can say that Ford is abandoning it's buyers and selling out by building it, why can't Ford feel weird about it when a lot of comments on here are so vehemently against them before anyone has even driven the Explorer?

Yes, i guess they can feel that way. And when you put it that way, it kinda makes us look bad, and I have no rebuttal for you this time, Joe.

But i see that Marielle is viewing this thread right now, so maybe we'll get something out of her. Wishful thinking, i know.

 

[Dexplorer]

I have had all of my questions answered here so far, also having worked for a very large high profile computer company , I can tell you that as a representative of the company you are sometimes limited to what you can say or divulge on forums. Every response has to be pretty well thought out since you are essentially speaking for an entire company, sometimes you just can't address or answer a specific question.
(probably because the answer has not been officially blessed yet )

Well performing off road vehicles are a niche market, as much as well performing sports cars are, if not more so. They examined the way their customers have been using the Explorer since it came out and found that the vast majority did not go off road and did not tow very often. Volkswagen have done the exact same thing with the Touareg TDI, which was an incredibly capable (some would argue the best spec wise) factory built off road vehicle. For 2011 VW did a complete ground up redesign and took out the high end 4x4 systems and focused mainly on street driving and light weight, essentially abandoning the off road enthusiast market all together.

Ford makes the Raptor and as some pointed out might bring back the Bronco. The Explorer is going to be the money maker that will let them do niche market specialty vehicles in the future. Maybe they will do a special Sport Off Road edition Explorer or Sport Trac who knows ?

 

[thaywood]

The Raptor's nice and all, but it's a $hitpile of money for a pickup truck. I'd love to have one, but I can't afford it. And with a family of 5, it's impractical as heck. I like my '94 Exploder because it hauls the family just fine and it does everything else I need it to do. Plus it's RWD and has a real 4x4 system with a low range when/if I need it. I can't afford anything new, so I won't even be giving the Flexplorer a second look. But even if I could afford it, I would not even consider buying one. Unfortunately, If Ford does consider bringing the Bronco back, it will undoubtedly be a puny FWD imitation built on the Flexplorer platform. Like the Flexplorer, a pale shadow of its former self. I don't relish that thought. And a "Sport" Flexplorer will just be a 2-door version of the '11 version. That's not appealing to me at all. I'm not an "off-roader" per se. But I like to know that my Explorer will go off road if I choose to tell it to. Farewell Explorer. You have served us well. Too bad your successor won't be able to fill your shoes.

 

[willied]

Unfortunately, If Ford does consider bringing the Bronco back, it will undoubtedly be a puny FWD imitation built on the Flexplorer platform. Like the Flexplorer, a pale shadow of its former self. I don't relish that thought. (

That would make absolutely no sense at all. Ford already has the Edge and Escape, why in the world would they bring the Bronco back in car form? You couldn't be more wrong. I can bet you a million dollars that if they were to bring back the Bronco, it would be a real off roader.

 

[Limited02]

Joe Dirt-

You said pretty much what I was thinking after I made my last post

Whether it be for off-road, street or just leaving it stock, those that modify their vehicles do so because they are making it the way "Ford should have built it."

Here's the Ex that's at my dealer and here's the oval exhaust(PP GT500 in back). Took a pic of my POS Explorer that's fake because it has IRS... Thought I'd post a pic for people to whine about.

 

[FarmTruk]

I wonder if it'd be cost-effective for Ford to put 4 doors and enclosed rear cargo cab on the Ranger?

 

[mounty71]

I wonder if it'd be cost-effective for Ford to put 4 doors and enclosed rear cargo cab on the Ranger?

The current ranger is offered with 4 doors, and the next global ranger is 4 door as well, but neither one is/will be offered in the US.