Ford Explorer - once the Number One selling sport utility - has experienced a decline in sales in recent years because the mood in showrooms has changed. Introducing the game changer - the sure-footed, all-new Ford Explorer for 2011.
Ford Explorer blew the sport utility market out of the water when it was introduced in 1991. In fact, Ford's successful Explorer launched the sport utility marketplace to begin with when it rolled into Ford showrooms 20 years ago. People loved it. As a result, it sold very well. It sold well because it offered all of the elements buyers wanted in a family size sport utility. It wasn't too big and it wasn't too small. It was just the right size, rugged, dependable, and fun to drive. We snapped Explorers up by the thousands.
There are a lot of theories on why Explorer sales began to tank at the dawn of the new millennium. Some believe it became too large and certainly too heavy with the redesign in 2002. It gained four-wheel independent suspension and an available 4.6L SOHC V-8, yet it loss the masses.
Others think sagging Explorer sales had something to do with rollovers and the perceived risks associated with driving a vehicle with a high center of gravity. We're convinced poor tire care had a lot to do with these rollovers - the age old problem of underinflation and excessive heat because how many of us check tire pressure? People also missed another important point. You can't drive an Explorer the same way you drive a Mustang. That nasty hairpin turn becomes an upside down view of the world in short order. In short, Ford Explorer was the right vehicle at the right time, making a lot of buyers happy, with plenty of these rides still on the road.
Whatever your beliefs, new Explorer sales aren't what they used to be. That's something we can all agree on. Ford, under the vision of CEO Alan Mulally, has quickly righted its course and is coming out with exciting new products. Explorer isn't a new name - but the 2011 Explorer is all new.
Listen up to what the all-new Ford Explorer is all about.
The 2011 Explorer isn't like any Explorer you've ever known before. This tried and proven nameplate has been completely reinvented by Ford. It is no longer a composite body vehicle with body on frame construction and rear drive performance. It is a unit body platform style crossover vehicle designed for work and play. Commute to the office. Head off on vacation or a quick weekend getaway.
We're talking terrain management, improved aerodynamics, better fuel economy (up 20-percent), less weight, vastly improved safety features, roll stability control, and MyFordTouch driver connect technology to keep you in touch with all of those electronic gadgets you're obsessed with.
Underhood - variable valve timing for crisp performance and Ecoboost technology in a compact 2.0L four-cylinder engine. Imagine - V-6 power from a four-banger powerplant - 237 horsepower and 250 ft/lbs of torque standard.
If you desire V-6 power, Ford has you covered there with the new 3.5L DOHC V-6 sporting 290 horsepower and 255 ft/lbs of torque thanks to variable valve timing technology.
All versions of the Explorer have a new six-speed automatic transmission. Four-Wheel-Drive comes standard with the V-6.
The new Explorer is being assembled at Ford's Chicago assembly plant.
For more information, visit www.fordvehicles.com.