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.
Apparently, some people have been worried Porsche has lost its way, citing the Cayenne and Panamera as evidence of a softer, family-oriented Porsche that cares more about producing profit than producing the kinds of cars that made them an icon. If you were one of these people I would hope the brilliant Cayman S, Turbo or Boxster Spyder would have helped you sleep at night, but if not then this should; it’s the 2011 Porsche 911 GT2 RS.
