GM Inside News Forum banner

FoMoCo's Forgotten SUV Is Surging, and it's a Big Deal

8K views 51 replies 30 participants last post by  doh 
#1 ·
Ford's Explorer is bringing in better top- and bottom-line numbers for the automaker, and it's also doing something more....

To put it bluntly, Ford Motor Company (NYSE:F) is doing a lot of things right these days. Last year Ford was the most-searched automotive brand on Google and the automaker also had the greatest percentage of owners who returned to the market to purchase or lease another Ford vehicle, according to IHS Automotive.

Because Ford has clearly grabbed the attention of consumers and convinced them to stay within the brand, what's the next most important goal? It's simple: Get those consumers earlier. That's exactly what Ford's Explorer is doing, and while it's often overlooked since consumers drive the Ford Escape off in much higher numbers -- the Escape outsold the Explorer by nearly 62% in the U.S. last year -- the Explorer's success is a bigger deal than many investors realize.

full article..

http://www.fool.com/investing/gener...is-surging-and-i.aspx?source=eogyholnk0000001
 
#2 ·
Re: Ford Motor Company's Forgotten SUV Is Surging, and It's a Big Deal

Ugh, the Explorer is nice but it's full of compromises on the inside. A back seat that has way too little in the way of knee room and foot space. The front seat feels like they are in a small ****pit rather than a large vehicle.

It gives the guys who need to feel macho a good AWD system.
 
#6 · (Edited)
Re: Ford Motor Company's Forgotten SUV Is Surging, and It's a Big Deal

Ugh, the Explorer is nice but it's full of compromises on the inside. A back seat that has way too little in the way of knee room and foot space. The front seat feels like they are in a small ****pit rather than a large vehicle.

It gives the guys who need to feel macho a good AWD system.
Lets call it Edsel, and see how it sells.

I can't keep them in Stock, when I used to sell 1-2 a year. Yep "Chalked Full of Compromises"
 
#4 ·
Re: Ford Motor Company's Forgotten SUV Is Surging, and It's a Big Deal

I see tons of current Explorers. Their forgotten suv is the Expedition
 
#5 ·
Re: Ford Motor Company's Forgotten SUV Is Surging, and It's a Big Deal

I like the explorer I just think the jeep grand Cherokee is my personal preference.

Sounds like a ford puff piece in the first post for sure.

The escapes nice too...just not what I would purchase either.
 
#7 ·
Re: Ford Motor Company's Forgotten SUV Is Surging, and It's a Big Deal

I like the explorer I just think the jeep grand Cherokee is my personal preference.
I've driven the Explorer Sport and Grand Cherokee Summit.
The Explorer does nothing better than the Jeep except being $3K cheaper.
 
#11 ·
1st and 2nd gen Explorer were the best selling models. The Escape is exactly where the Explorer was in terms of price and packaging before it has grown too large.
 
  • Like
Reactions: erasmus
#12 · (Edited)
D3 Explorer and Taurus allowed Ford to close down BOF Explorer and Panther production.
The real saving for Ford came before any D3 Explorers or Taurus were sold.

Just take a moment to think about that, the savings from not developing new BOF products
as well as closing those plants down would have saved Ford billions before it was ever spent.

The challenge for Ford is to look beyond efficiencies gained from consolidation and to start
producing better versions of its existing vehicles. It must make the next step and transition
from survival mode to focusing on better products that fill customer needs.
 
#19 ·
Explorer still achieves upwards of 17,000 sales a month without being V8, RWD or even a diesel.
It's all about knowing what your respective buyer groups want.

People who buy a GC wouldn't normally consider an Explorer and probably vice versa.
That doesn't mean that either vehicle is superior to the other, the market is big enough
for lots of manufacturers to pitch different products.
 
#21 ·
Ford certainly was successful with the current Explorer despite the route they took. The styling and platform was a stark departure from prior Explorers, which were -and I don't mean this in a bad way- conventional. And with the Sport (plus I would guess the new Platinum will do well) are helping move the Explorer into ever-higher pricing territory. As with the Acadia (Denali) and Grand Cherokee (Overland and Summit) you're talking about prices that are on par with some luxury brands' SUVs. All of that aside, the reality is that the (ironically forgotten, based on national monthly sales) Durango is better in almost every way. But I'd probably take the Explorer over the Lambdas, so there's that.
 
#22 · (Edited)
While Explorer satisfies a good portion of the market, a new Edge will supplement buyers below it and above Escape.
A great move would be to find a way to bring the more off road Everest 4WD and Companion Ranger to nth America.
I'm sure that the combined sales of those two very capable vehicles would floor even the most skeptical Ford exec.
Ther could be 15,00 to 20,000 sales a month going begging there..
 
#23 ·
We drove the Grand Cherokee, and we drove and own an Explorer Sport. Obviously, different people like different things.

The current Explorer is obviously resonating with buyers, as it is selling very well. Sports in particular have very high conquest rates. In my small community of 14K, there are now 5-6 Sports running around. 3 of the families I know, and all 3 of them came out of a X5 for the Sport.

Complain about anything you want, but the proof is in the sales, and the continuing growth of sales. The vehicle is hitting the mark that people want.

On the 4wd front, I come from a history of heavy off-roading, and still know and see many hard core wheelers. NONE of them buy a Grand Cherokee to take off-road. Yes, it is a nostalgic "ooh, look at what my car can do" type of thing. The "macho" thing, so to speak. However, they are not going off-road any more than Explorers do. Now, when they are clapped out 10-year-old vehicles bought cheap, yes, you may see them off-road. And yes, I am sure that someone knows someone who once saw someone using a new one in Moab or something akin to that. I'm sure the .01% of owners of new GC's that truly off-road their vehicles feel very special indeed.
 
#24 ·
Other from ts practicality, the Explorer's exterior design gives off a premium look. The market has responded well to it.

The Expedition.. now that is Ford's forgotten SUV.
 
#26 ·
Yup, it's not that great looking if you are looking at it as a CUV but as a wagon it looks amazing. Hell, people don't even realize it's a Ford a lot of the time. I thank Ford for that one.

People are so crazy about looks they buy the better looking but worse vehicle for them. Just like buying houses.

We got about 7k off our house because the landscaping was ridiculous. It looked bad on the outside but nothing was wrong.
 
#29 ·
Second row in the Flex compared to Lambda is like comparing an A8L to a Sonic. It's ridiculous. The seats are actually higher up so your knees aren't in your face AND you can truly fold the seats almost perfectly flat. The second row is actually more comfortable to me. Go out and look at your back seat of the Silverado and add 4" of legroom. Lol

I didn't like the Explorer up front because of the footwell tapers in towards your feet. Plus, the side windows are smaller than the Flex helping to lend to a small feel. The center console seems too wide as well. The seats in the Flex are also a lot more comfortable thanks to them being a little flatter.
 
#30 ·
I agree with bballr with respect to the Flex. The Flex is probably the most underrated and under-appreciated wagon/cuv (whatever). We have a Flex and it easily beat out the competition. I considered an Enclave but it just felt to big and wasn't as nice or easy to drive. The Flex offered features that the Enclave did not have.

The Flex has an incredible amount of room in the second row. I actually wish I could ride around in the second row instead of my kids being back there.
 
#34 · (Edited)
Recently went through this exercise.

Getting rid of a '12 Ford Edge 2.0 EB limited. Drove in order. Explorer, Durango, Acadia.

With the driver seat adjusted to my normal position, these second row of the Explorer was extremely compromised. There's very limited cargo behind third row when the third row is in use. There was some space under the tray behind the third row. Nothing your going to put a suit case into. The driver seating position felt low. The door panels interior panels seemed thick. From the outside it's a big vehicle, from in inside, seemed small and tight. . Powertrain was average.

The Durango had the best powertrain. 3.6 RWD with 8 speed transmission. Drove the best, very responsive chassis. Seriously cheap in some areas in the second and third row areas. This was disheartening, if they would have completed the rest of the vehicle with attention to detail like they did with the dash and IP, this would a great vehicle.

The Acadia did most everything right. No glaring compromises. Best third row seating three, best room behind the third row. Materials were best out of the bunch. Perceived quality, fit, finishes were all present. Chassis dynamics better than the Explorer, can't eclipse the Dodge. The hit goes to the powertrain. The converter in the Acadia is extremely loose comparatively. The infotainment screen was small and agreeably less organized than uConnect in the Dodge, not as intuitive as MFT. Minor but noticeable. All the details exuded greater attention to detail and quality.

We ended up with....

 

Attachments

#35 · (Edited)
We just got a new ride end of January.

Shopping list was Explorer, Flex, lambdas, slightly Durango, Journey, any other comparable models, and.....what we ended up with.

Traded a Taurus X which is the Explorer and flex cousin. A truly awesome crossover that drove like a sedan and had all the room we needed. It started to have issues and after 6 1/2 years it was time but I would have kept it forever if it mAde sense. The ford had a perfect cargo system setup which the two newer fords share. A nice deep well behind the third row for 12 packs and grocery bags and super quick fold flat seats. Best setup out there.

We passed on the lambdas, even with my GM card. Bad option packages and bad pricing. We leased and even with my extra GM card money I couldn't get enough kit for the $$$. Plus the second row seat slide and fold is cheap and not good. The lambdas felt old to me and the power train needs some refinement.

Durango was a bit enticing but hated the styling. Inside is nice but never drove it.

Journey is a good budget buy and gets good real world mpg per the company car, but in the end it's a Journey, a bit small and you don't want to be stuck with it.

The fords still are the best. Explorer most refined but yes dark and claustrophobic inside with less second row leg room. That was a deal killer for me. That, and not enough kit for the money. Loved the cRgo setup tho!

Flex would have been the best option. Good second row room. Good handling. Decided I couldn't live with the stale interior and stale exterior. Hate the strakes. Price was too high. Was a little po'ed at ford for the issues that developed after 100k on the taurus x.

Wife and kids fell in love with a rental dodge van. Chrysler hAd cant say no lease incentives and so we got a loaded town and country. Lost AWD but I have 3 comfortable rows of seats. Nice motor. Stow n go. Blueray and 2 screens and heated second row seats and steering wheel for far less than a lambda or ford. Sure no AWD but sliding doors and other amenities were what the family wanted and we will save a bunch. Doesn't drive like a sedan but it will be ok for the lease period.

If ford would add 4 inches of second row legroom and open up the cabin a bit I think they would be even more successful. Flex really needs a 10k price drop and a whole new redesign.
 
#43 · (Edited)
Flex with same levels of equipment are about the same price as explorers. You have to compare stuff vs. stuff. Most Flex's with AWD on dealer lots are selling for about 40g+, i.e. same as Explorers and the like. A shockingly high percentage of them are close to 50 or over.

Base FWD flex's are even high. those are about 26 grand. Caravans are a better deal in that comparison.

Best deals we found, base Explorer AWD's with cloth and no sync or sirius were about 30k. Flex's with AWD and same equipment about the same price. In that comparo, Flex is a tough sell because the bulk of the market will prefer the Explorer's look and package, making resale a better probability down the road.

Traverse and particularly Acadias were lacking in value. Base Acadia lacks power seat, they'll rot on lots without that piece.
 
#37 ·
I'm confused , not uncommon for me , but tell me....when do crossovers become SUVs , as the title of this thread reports on this Explorer SUV ? I was under the impression that an SUV had a separate frame , that Crossovers were unibodies . The Explorer used to have a separate frame but now is a unibody design , so without a lot of technicalities , that will keep me awake nites....what gives ??
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top