New Ford Explorer

I happened to be watching the tube last night when the Ford CEO was being interviewed by Neil Cavuto. Cavuto asked him why the 4 cylinder turbo equipped Explorer was pricier than the more powerful 6 cylinder model. The Ford president said something to the affect that the consumer will get a big payback from the better gas mileage of the 4 cylinder engine so we are going to charge more money for it. Typical large corporation logic I thought. In other words sock it to the consumer because we think we can instead of pricing the product fairly and in line with costs and expenses. No lessons learned! Just my 02. Peace, Mike D.

 

I know, what incentive is there to buy it? In the old days the Japanese stole the market from us by selling cheaper cars AND providing better gas mileage. It didn't hurt them any to not price gouge; But U.S. companies penalize you for wanting better gas mileage. It's all BS.

 

I think since they figured out how to keep them from rolling over, they decided to raise the price.ou:
The prices for these have been a joke since the early 90s IMO.

 

My father has/had 4 Explorers. And I have 2 right now, a 96 and an 04. Both have treated me very well. So Ive been following the release of the 2011 for over a year now.

I think its a great looking vehicle




but there are some aspects that disappoint me.

First, and the lesser of the 3, is that its a Unibody, no frame, less towing capacity, down to 5000lbs from around 7000 I think. But then again, its not a huge percentage of Explorer owners that are towing over 5000 lbs anyway. No big deal, Cherokee's have been unibody for years.

Second is the 4cyl motor. Hopefully the ecoboost does indeed make it feel like a v6.

Finally, its primarily front wheel drive based. 4x4 will engage the rear when needed instead of the traditional explorer RWD and engage the front.


With that said, I do think it looks very good.
But I think it should be the new "Edge", not Explorer. I don't think a "frameless" front wheel drive vehicle is worthy of the Explorer name.


I guess it makes a good business decision though....if you look at who actually buys explorers, its usually for a family. Who never tow large trailers or anything at all, and who never take it off pavement.

 

Theories of conspiracy and incompetence aside, could it be that the turbo-4 is priced more than the 6 simply because it costs more to build and warranty a turbo-4 than a 6? I bet so.

 

Sounds logical :gp:

 

Sounds OK to me.
I love Ford the stock has treated me well!

 

I'm not too fond of the big obnoxious smiley face grille and wrap around eyebrow parking lights. What's up with that? Just seeing it in my rearview mirror would be annoying.

In my opinion, the 91-94 Explorer was the most handsome ever. My 94 got me 216 thousand miles and someone else over 60K that I sold it to after that. It owed me NOTHING.

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:'91-'94_Ford_Explorer.jpg

 

Ken

I have to agree with you!

I had a 92 Ford Explorer which my brother trade it in with 150k and I never had any major repairs just maintenance. I currently have a 94 Ford Explorer with 148k and just had my first major repair which was a fuel pump. My 94 is now being driven by my 17 year old son. Now I am driving a 08 Toyota Fj Cruiser because I wanted a solid axle rear, which I love to drive.

George

 

yeah 1st gens were always fav..
But I must say my 3rd gen with the 4.6 I love just as much.

Between Dad and I we've had 5 explorers. They treat us well. Dad sold his 91 at 256k, and his next lasted well into the 200k range too. His current one (pictured below) is about to hit 200k.

Here's dad plowing with his 96 (he also has a 2002 3rd gen)


Here's a parade of Explorers in front of my house, first 2 are mine, last one is a friends

 

I liked the size of the earlier ones, switched to an Escape 4WD after a tire came off the rim on our 2001 Explorer...Not funny...