Even sales are often and early for the new 2011 Ford Explorer Consumer Reports finds more than a few flaws in the new vehicle. Our review found the Explorer to be refined but also a far departure from Explorers of the past. We wrote ” Designing a new Ford Explorer from the ground up can’t be an easy task. Ford took a chance and created a crossover that shifted from Explorer’s past to meet the needs of the SUV driver today. I use the term crossover because the new 2011 Ford Explorer is more Ford Taurus than Ford F-150 – the changes are that significant”

Time well tell on this Ford offering but so far the bigs at The Blue Oval must be feeling pretty good despite the low marks from CR.

From USA Today:

Ford Motor says it can’t keep the redesigned Explorer SUV in stock, but the latest Consumer Reports ratings makes you wonder why.

Despite some good points, C.R. says, Explorer manages to rank only 17th among 19 similar vehicles.

Ford replies: “We’re very proud of the new Explorer, which in January was awarded the trophy for North American Truck of the Year by a jury of 49 automotive journalists from the United States and Canada. We take all feedback – including Consumer Reports’ – seriously and will use it as we continuously improve all of our vehicles.”‘

Read the full article.

Ford’s new 2011 Ford Explorer won’t go on sale until early next year but early signs are “all good” as orders are pouring in!

Ford Motor Co. has about 15,000 orders — about double its projections — for the 2011 Ford Explorer that isn’t slated to hit showrooms until the new year.

The preorders include about 3,000 retail orders, 7,500 dealer orders and more than 4,500 from companies, Ford officials say.

For the 2011 model year, the Explorer goes from its traditional body-on-frame truck roots to a reincarnation atop the underpinnings of the Ford Taurus, making it a more fuel-efficient crossover, compared to an SUV. Ford hopes the remake will spur a sales resurgence for a vehicle that was hugely successful before higher gasoline prices tamped down the demand for SUVs.

Read the full article.

Ford finally unveiled the 2011 Ford Explorer and this one could be a game changer “Again”! From the sleek and well placed all new interior to the ecoboost engine that could produce upwards of 25mpg highway this vehicle has appeal. The 2011 Explorer is such a departure from the current offering that it is the same in name only. Since it’s based off the same platform as the Taurus and Flex, similarities are easy to see.

The 2011 Explorer is a departure from the old days in so many ways including styling, a car based platform and a new 4 cylinder with ecoboost that we predict will win over more and more buyers as time as sales move forward.

From the Wall Street Journal:

Before Ford unveiled its 2011 Explorer, I doubted the new SUV would be anything special. After all, Ford has been tweaking the truck for 20 years, so what new things could be left to try?

Turns out this could be one of those rare redesigns that is more like a rebirth, mainly because of what Ford has done with the interior. The Explorer’s cabin, from the smooth feel of the door handles to the attractive colors and sharp graphics on its central display screen, shows attention to detail found in some luxury cars, but never in a Ford truck.

Read the full article here.

(Photo from the Detroit Free Press)

There are a lot of questions about the upcoming all new car based Explorer mostly because it has been kept a top secret for so long now. Will the Explorer and Flex be able to co-exist? Chief engineer Jim Holland is confident the new product will silence critics when it hits showrooms later this year. The anticipation grows and if the Explorer turns out to be a home run what does that do to Flex sales which are mediocre at best?

From Detroit Free Press:

Jim Holland, chief engineer for the redesigned Ford Explorer, which is expected to come to dealerships late this year, has faced naysayers before.

Holland, 49, was chief engineer of the Range Rover when a redesign of that SUV was launched in 2002.

“We got a lot of the same questions that I am getting today,” Holland said.

Mainly, those questions center on whether the new Explorer can maintain its ruggedness and towing capacity as it shifts from a body-on-frame truck to a car-based crossover. Ford still plans to market the Explorer as an SUV.

Read the full article here.

There is a ton of anticipation over the new 2011 Ford Explorer. AutoBlog may have captured the closest thing to a naked pic of this new auto from Ford Motor Co. It looks a lot like an Edge as it surely shares many of the same lines and facia. I really can’t develop an opinion on the body with these partial shots but it doesn’t look very risky like the original Explorer America. Can’t wait to see the officially released photos.

From Autoblog.com:

It’s never good to be caught by the paparazzi in the buff. Unless, of course, that was your plan all along in order to get your C-list self some much-needed coverage in the various gossip rags. But we digress. Our intrepid spy photographers managed to snap off a giant series of photos of the hotly anticipated 2012 Ford Explorer completely uncovered, and that is a very, very good thing indeed.

For the first time ever, thanks to an unruly gust of wind, we get to see the first-ever unibody Explorer in all its glory. That looks to include a new take on the familiar in-your-face three-bar grille with newly perforated top and bottom rungs bisected by two thin chrome strips up front. Note, too, the mildly sculpted flanks that lead to the currently en vogue fastback-like sharply raked C-pillar. A closer look at the fascia reveals not-yet-completed projector headlamps ensconced in clear covers that angle well back into the fenders. Lookin’ good so far, we’d say.

Read the full article here.