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What is up with Motor Trend?




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Just watched it. Terrible review. Not sure why MT has it out for the EX stack rank it against others put some real world users as part of the data and I'm sure they see what all Ex owners see. It almost sounds like a voice over on an original video. Anyway i dont remember thenlast time basing a car purchase on an MT review. Well gotta go drive cake ;-)
 






Yeah I'd say that's a tad on the harsh side. Even with all it's warts, my wife and I still love ours. Haven't had any crashes with sync in a while now and just say no to the gps and use out tomtom and are very happy!
 












We don't care what MT says, we love our ex! :p:
 












Ford needs to nip that Jeep commercial in the butt first.

When I was researching the x, i read and watched as many reviews as I could and as a whole the x gets mostly positive reviews even over at truth about cars http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2011/02/review-2011-ford-explorer/. Hopefully most people are smart enough not to base their buying decision on one bad review.
 






OMG!!!!! LOLOL!!!!! I have NEVER seen a media outlet trash a product with such *****iness! That was hilarious! On a more serious note, I happen to agree with MT.
 






Another horrible review of the 12 X. I have no idea what their issue is with the vehicle. They actually say it's "a bad vehicle"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-jck1NaaTK0

I think they have a point with respect to weight. I'd also give them the point that the Ecoboost generally isn't worth the money for the gas savings. They temporarily win a point with regard to MFT (although I expect that will change shortly).

I'm not sure about their comment that it isn't roomy inside. Only went on one test ride, and it seemed roomy to me at the time? I don't have my Ex yet, so perhaps someone else could comment? I'm not sure what they are comparing "roomy" to? They are flat our wrong on pricing (unless they were referring only to Ecoboost) as pricing we better than most competitors for a fully optioned Ex with a whole lot more features.

All that being said I thought the rest of it was well - idiotic.

Intellectually dishonest vehicle?
There is no cake?
It's just a bad vehicle?
Compromise and lots of it?
Slow, clumsy, pricey, thirstier?
Packaging disaster?

Motor Trend, isn't stating a factual argument for any of this commentary, but simply relying on the points above, that it is a heavy vehicle, MFT currently has issues, and Ecoboost isn't the be all and end all. I see they do a braking test and provide no comment at all.

Motor Trend ... with respect to your magazine and this fluff video, I could say:

Intellectually dishonest magazine
There is no cake
It's just a bad magazine
Compromise and lots of it
Slow, clumsy, pricey, with little value
Packaging disaster

Yeap - Motor Trend summed themselves up pretty well in my eyes. Not trying to be a fan boy, but if you can't write one positive thing about a vehicle that a lot of people do like, then maybe you should rethink your purpose in life.

Just sayin...
 






I would say don't support MT or their advertiser. What happened to fair, unbiased and balanced reporting.

I love my X and can't say enough about it. I would not buy a vehicle from a company that was bailed out by the USA tax payers. Where has it got us and how long will they last until they need another stimulus injection.
 






I love my X and can't say enough about it. I would not buy a vehicle from a company that was bailed out by the USA tax payers. Where has it got us and how long will they last until they need another stimulus injection.
I see your point, but the taxpayers pay for every stupid thing out there regardless. All those auto workers at GM that got bailed out could have been on government assistence (food stamps, unemployement, and other social welfare programs), so what's the difference. Believe me, I hate that they got bailed out, but justification of where to buy goods is hard. It's like the people who won't shop Wal-Mart because they are non-union. A lot of companies are non-union, like Fed-Ex. I personally like the people who won't buy foreign cars because they are imported, yet shop everything else. Where do people think there goods are from? We have light bulbs made in China, fabric softener made in Canada, bananas from Venezuala, underwear from Sir Lanka, etc., etc., etc. However, a line has to be drawn from somewhere.
 






I would say don't support MT or their advertiser. What happened to fair, unbiased and balanced reporting.

I love my X and can't say enough about it. I would not buy a vehicle from a company that was bailed out by the USA tax payers. Where has it got us and how long will they last until they need another stimulus injection.

Honestly - not to say GM and Chrysler were well run, but the guys you should really be pointing the finger at are on Wall Street, and their lax regulation (not to mention multi-millions salary for creating .... nothing - and I'm a financial exec who understands the derivatives market).

I'm still trying to figure out why no one is in jail, particularly from the rating agencies that were rating junk syndications as AAA
 






I see your point, but the taxpayers pay for every stupid thing out there regardless. All those auto workers at GM that got bailed out could have been on government assistence (food stamps, unemployement, and other social welfare programs), so what's the difference. Believe me, I hate that they got bailed out, but justification of where to buy goods is hard. It's like the people who won't shop Wal-Mart because they are non-union. A lot of companies are non-union, like Fed-Ex. I personally like the people who won't buy foreign cars because they are imported, yet shop everything else. Where do people think there goods are from? We have light bulbs made in China, fabric softener made in Canada, bananas from Venezuala, underwear from Sir Lanka, etc., etc., etc. However, a line has to be drawn from somewhere.

I promise to buy an American built Ex, if you promise to buy Canadian fabric softener and support our economy so I can pay for it? :) Deal?

I agree with your comments about what would have happened if GM and Chrysler had gone down, given much of this was the result of frozen credit markets - thank you investment bankers and rating agencies!
 






what a pathetic review. BMW's I-drive got hammered for years but they still kiss BMW butt every minute possible.

Braking numbers are pretty good, but they don't compliment it ?

This truck is more roomy than a majority of SUV's out there, how can them get that so wrong ?

It is heavy, but so are many Chrysler automobiles which they love, and plenty of Mercedes vehicles in the same boat.

The Ford Explorer V6 gets better fuel economy than a Honda Pilot , and the exact same numbers as a Honda Accord V6 manual tranny, and the Ecoboost betters those numbers by a small bit. Sounds pretty good to me.

Handling feels pretty fine to me, I'm amazed by little body roll I've experienced thus far driving my Explorer, it feels totally appropriate for a full size SUV.

Interior finish seems decent to me as well, perfectly in line with the purchase price IMO. Motor Trend blew this review, this year when I select magazines for my son's school fundraiser MT will not be on the list for sure.
 












I promise to buy an American built Ex, if you promise to buy Canadian fabric softener and support our economy so I can pay for it? Deal?

I agree with your comments about what would have happened if GM and Chrysler had gone down, given much of this was the result of frozen credit markets - thank you investment bankers and rating agencies!
I get the impression that you are from Canada (not that I have a problem with that). My dad and I get into it all the time because he is a big union guy, and he also retired from Brookpark, Ohio assembly plant where he spent the last 38 1/2 years working in Engine Plant 1, Engine Plant 2, and The Casting Plant. It is now pretty much a ghost town of what it once was. When he hired in full-time in 1972 there were roughly 10,000 + workers, and now they are down to 1,500ish. It is also where the Ecoboost is being produced. Anyway, as he would say, it is all about where the money goes. My wife's old Civic was made in San Diego, California by U.S. workers paying U.S. taxes and supporting their family, yet the money made by Honda Finance went back to Japan. His Taurus (assembled somewhere here) has the money flow back to Detroit. Makes sense to a degree, but here is where it gets messed up. My wife now drives a Ford Edge, built in Mississauga, Ontario by UAW Canadians. No problem since some of the money flows back to Detroit (and ultimately my Dad's pension), but guess what. When it comes to property taxes, my local school district gets a very good portion from Ford Motor Company. There is even a middle school named Ford. Anyway, overall, Ohio receives more money as a state from Honda in Marysville (which has produced either the Accord or Civic) for the last 25+ years than from Ford Motor Company. Locally, I'm better buying FORD, yet the state redistributes taxes back to the local leve. So, am I better off buying FORD or Honda. Food for thought.

The second thought is hard to say who gets the blame. My cousin also works for FORD, and like my Dad, is very pro-Union. They are so alike in their ways. When you compare Honda Vs. G.M. several things come to mind. One, how could execs at GM not realize the importance of keeping up with technology. Our local paper ran an article 6 years ago about G.M. and the age of their plants -- nearly all were 40+ years old. My Dad and cousin would argue that they don't have the money since they have to pay pensions, etc. etc. while Honda is a lot younger, has a younger workforce, and therefore hasn't had to payout the pensions yet. When times were good at Chrysler, G.M., and Ford, why did they start paying the Cost of Living Increases and bonuses instead of keeping up and setting aside money for a rainy day? I am not against anyone making a living or getting raises, but how many people get a COLA? I don't know anyone other than UAW or government workers. I think the strategy is what is wrong, and things became snow-balled from there. I am afraid that G.M. and Chrysler are to far gone to save. At least Ford has realized their mistakes and have made an incredible stride going forward. I commend them, and I also like their products. Unfortunately, I don't see G.M. lasting much longer.
 






In 2007 I owned a brand new Honda Civic sedan and a brand new Ford Fusion, I recall in car circles around the Detroit auto show the Ford Fusion was reported to be the best domestic car and the Honda Civic was the best import. I got a good laugh when the radio and TV guys in Detroit were so excited about the Fusion being the best domestic car. I'm not exactly sure of the content numbers but my Honda Civicdefinitely had a much higher percentage of parts made in the US and Canada as compared to my Ford Fusion (Mexico built). You can argue the benefits and negatives all day long but globalization has messed up the automotive industry, that is one thing I know. Ford just closed down the Talbotville plant just outside my hometown where they chose to build a dinosaur of a vehicle for so many years without investing a penny into the design for a long time.
 






Unfortunately, I don't see G.M. lasting much longer.

I think Chrysler and Ford's product lines are much improved, but GMs (at least what I looked at) seemed dismal. That being said, their profits are up, and they are selling an awful lot to the Chinese.

While I'm not going to disagree that GM and Chrysler were already in a slide, my comment about the Investment Bankers and Ratings Agencies has to do with the fact that they froze the credit markets up making it impossible for companies even the size of GE to finance, and as far as I'm concerned what the ratings agencies did in particular (how does anyone rate subprime at AAA?) was criminal.
 









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Ok……not sure why this has become a discussion about the country’s financial crisis and who took stimulus money. This should be about why this vehicle is getting such poor ratings from MT and other media outlets for that matter.

I can only tell you my story and thoughts on our two week old Ex limited with 302a. Let me preface my comments by stating that I wish I had listened to my gut on the way to the dealership when we leased this vehicle……and thank god we only leased it. I would not have allowed my wife to purchase this vehicle based on my research. I even told her on the way to the dealership that it was not too late to change her mind. But like so many persons that only act on heart and what their eyes see……she insisted on getting it.

So my two week observations support the disappointment reflected in the MT piece.

-The V6 is a dog, zero get up and go……shockingly underpowered for such a vehicle. And the ***** of it all is that I can’t hit 17 mpg in mixed use easy driving. Neither my wife and I are lead foots.

-The plastic pillar pieces are a disaster. How could they make such design mistake? I don’t care how careful one is with their vehicle….they will scratch….PERIOD!!!!

-Fit and finish…..the rear tailgate does not align properly. And as it has been well documented I’m far from the only one. The black plastic around the lower portion of the entire vehicle is a cheap out. Fortunately our Ex is black and hides it for the most part.

-Rain noise……are you kidding me Ford. Did you not test for this. Nor did you obviously correct the known problem from 2011 to 2012. it sounds like we’re getting pelted by thousands of tin cans during a rain storm.

-The interior is nice enough, however I would like to understand how the vehicle is so roomy that I can’t rest my arm on the window (I’m 6’3”) but my right knee gets pushed against the hard edge of the center consol causing a constant annoying discomfort. Should be a blast on our 3+ hour road trips to Disney World.

-It must also be worst in class leg room for the 2nd row passenger behind the driver with driver seat all the way back. To my surprise and dismay there is less room here then in the Mazda CX9 we sold to get the Ex.

-Safety……The one cool thing that works great. I truly dig the blind spot monitoring, adaptive cruise control, cross path warning and all the other safety features…..BRAVO on this aspect Ford. Its one thing you got right and seems to work.

-“IVT”…….how on gods earth can there not be a TPMS status in the vehicle monitoring system? How can other less expensive and tech inferior vehicles from other car companies have this and not the Ex? This includes other info like oil pressure and temp, tranny temp, etc. etc. etc.

-“MFT”……so cool and yet so upsetting. I’m not going to rant further and get my blood pressure up but it went nuts on us less then 2 days after taking delivery and has been unstable ever since.

So listen, here’s the deal. My wife loves the car, this is what she wanted and she got it. She has convinced herself that the tin can, I mean rain noise is just fine and that the Bluetooth phone wind tunnel noise is completely normal. She also has me to pull the battery every couple days to reset MFT. I will do my best to put on a smile for her sake for the next three years until we can get rid of it. And just for the die hard “I bleed Ford Blue” guys out there……this is not my first Ford and may very well not be my last. My 2003 F-150 may be the best vehicle I’ve ever owned. But I can’t convince myself to love this thing I’m stuck with.

Sorry…….but MT pretty much got it right. In fact, I wish I listened and convinced my wife to get the Durango.
 






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