Jalopnik: Ford Explorer

Consumer Reports smacks Ford Explorer, Fiesta and Focus

Ray Wert — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 13:01:00 EDT

Although in recent years Ford has made a serious attempt at being the model of American reliability, competing well against Japanese makes that have dominated for decades. But according to Consumer Reports, three models — the new Explorer, Fiesta and Focus — are blemishing that record. More »

Watch a full-size Ford Explorer built out of 380,000 Legos

Ray Wert — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 13:30:00 EDT

The Ford Explorer, the ex-SUV crossover that started the soccer mom trend, has now been reinvented in 382,858 Lego bricks for a new partnership between Legoland and Ford. Watch this amazing time-lapse video of the epic build, Lego-by-Lego. More »

Ford Police Interceptors get their badges

Justin Hyde — Wed, 21 Sep 2011 12:30:00 EDT

Thanks to the extensive tests done by the Michigan State Police, the forthcoming Taurus-based Ford Police Interceptors have won a "pursuit rating," meaning they're ready for law enforcers across America to trade in their Crown Vics. Tick tick tick... More »

U-Haul won't rent trailers to Ford Explorer owners

Matt Hardigree — Tue, 24 May 2011 12:15:00 EDT

When Consumer Reports tried to rent a trailer for their 2012 Ford Explorer they were turned down by U-Haul. Apparently, the specter of the Firestone/Explorer lawsuits still haunts corporate lawyers despite the fact the 2012 isn't even an SUV. More »

Consumer Reports gives the new Ford Explorer thumbs down

Justin Hyde — Tue, 10 May 2011 13:15:00 EDT

Erstwhile testers at Consumer Reports say the new Ford Explorer "still doesn't compete" with the best of the bigger crossover vehicles like the Volkswagen Touareg and Toyota Highlander Hybrid, calling it "noisy" and complaining MyFord Touch is "overcomplicated and distracting." More »

Ford website advertises “Explorer SHO”

Matt Hardigree — Tue, 22 Feb 2011 14:00:00 EST

The 2011 Ford Explorer's currently only available with a naturally aspirated 3.5-liter V6, with a 2.0-liter EcoBoost four-cylinder engine on the way. But a page on Ford's website is hinting at a Ford Explorer SHO with the 3.5-liter turbocharged EcoBoost engine. More »

Volt, Explorer Win North American Cars Of The Year

Justin Hyde — Mon, 10 Jan 2011 08:45:00 EST

An august panel of car reviewers named the Chevrolet Volt the North American Car Of The Year just now in Detroit, while dubbing Ford's reborn Explorer the North American Truck Of The Year, even though it's really a car. More »

Ford Police Interceptor Utility: Not Just For Robocop's Mom

Ben Wojdyla — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 00:00:01 EDT

The Ford Police Interceptor Utility, the Blue Oval's latest police-grade offering, starts with the 2011 Explorer, stuffs in the heavy-duty high-tech goodies from the Taurus Police Interceptor and adds a few more tricks. It's an Explorer built for a beating. More »

Ford Explorer Police Interceptor: Robocop's Mom Gets A New Ride

Ray Wert — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 15:00:00 EDT

As expected, Ford's second addition to its law enforcement lineup re-skins the new Police Interceptor's Taurus-platformed soccer mom stablemate, the 2011 Explorer. The 2011 Ford Explorer Police Interceptor likely crosses over into police lineups early next year. More »

Ford: Australia, Truck Yeah!

Ray Wert — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 09:20:00 EDT

Ford is planning a new body-on-frame SUV... in Australia. Who's developing it? The guy who signed off on the new Explorer. [GoAuto] More »

No, You're Right, I Shouldn't Be So Hard On Ford

Ray Wert — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 16:30:00 EDT

I've heard a lot of commenters bitchin', moanin' and complainin' about the Ford Explorer today. You're right, I should go easy on Ford. At least FoMoCo did it on their own without U.S. government loans. Well, mostly anyway. [via NickBunkley] More »

2011 Ford Explorer: This Is Not An SUV

Ray Wert — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 00:02:00 EDT

No, it's not a joke. This is the 2011 Ford Explorer. But, built on the same not-at-all-off-road-ready platform that birthed the Ford Taurus and Ford Flex, it's just not an SUV. More »

2011 Ford Explorer V6 EcoBoost Fuel Economy: Under 19 MPG City, 24 MPG Hwy

Ray Wert — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 06:00:00 EDT

The Ecoboosted 2011 Ford Explorer will get 30% higher fuel economy than the current V6. That's like what — under 19 MPG city? Oooh! More »

2011 Ford Explorer Gets Unveiled In NYC On July 26th

Ray Wert — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 10:30:00 EDT

The 2011 Ford Explorer will be unveiled July 26th at a Mike Rowe-emceed event in midtown Manhattan (outside of Macy's!). That says pretty much everything you need to know about the off-road "capabilities" of the new Explorer. More »

Gulliver Travels To Beach, Smashes Ford Explorer

Ben Wojdyla — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 16:00:00 EDT

Fictional adventurer Gulliver has reportedly left downtown Lilliput for a day to bathe at its well-known sunny tropical beach. Unfortunately, while walking in the sand, he accidentally stepped on a Ford Explorer beach patrol. That won't buff out. More »

This Is The 2012 Ford Explorer

Ben Wojdyla — Thu, 03 Jun 2010 12:30:00 EDT

This appears to be the first image of the all-new unibody 2012 Ford Explorer. Let's look at what this shot can tell us most about — the electric razor-like styling. More »

The Upside Of A Sissified Explorer Is A Badass Taurus SHO

Ben Wojdyla — Fri, 16 Apr 2010 10:30:00 EDT

We've been in a huff about the 2011 Ford Explorer going from body-on-frame SUV to questionably-necessary, Taurus-based crossover. But we've had our thinking backwards. An emasculated Explorer means the possibility of an easily made high-clearance light off-road Taurus SHO! Discuss. More »

2011 Ford Explorer Continues The Off-Road Charade

Ben Wojdyla — Thu, 15 Apr 2010 10:00:00 EDT

The 2011 Ford Explorer will be built on the same platform as the Ford Taurus. No transfer case acting as the four-wheel-drive system's linchpin. That's not stopping Ford from releasing this teaser shot touting the potential for off-road prowess. More »

Popular Mechanics Lists Five Most Notorious Auto Recalls, Then Retracts Article

Sam Smith — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 13:20:00 EST

Get it? That makes the story recalled! Ha! You know, because, uh... ah, hell, OK, we made it up. But the story is still cool. [Popular Mechanics] More »

Four-Cylinder Ecoboost Confirmed In Explorer, Hinted For Focus

Ben Wojdyla — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 12:30:00 EST

Ford confirmed rumors a new Ecoboost four-cylinder will be the fuel economy offering for the new, more car-like 2011 Ford Explorer. More exciting, though, is they're not exactly being coy about dropping it into the 2011 Focus. Hurray! More »

2011 Ford Explorer: What To Expect

Ben Wojdyla — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 15:30:00 EST

UPDATE: The new 2011 Ford Explorer's been revealed. Take a look at the new crossover here. Times, they are a-changin' and the era of the body-on-frame Explorer is coming to an end. The 2011 Ford Explorer is going car-like, with a unibody frame and front-wheel bias. How do we know? A chatty Chicago assembly worker. More »

Ford's Inflatable Seat Belt Explained, Exploded

Ben Wojdyla — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 15:30:00 EST

Yesterday we told you about the Ford inflatable seat belt that's definitely not an airbag. Today we get to see just how the thing works with crash event test footage and additional explanation on why Ford says they're important. More »

2011 Ford Explorer Showing Off Next-Gen Body

Ben Wojdyla — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 08:30:00 EDT

After months of Freestyle-bodied 2011 Ford Explorer mules, we're finally getting a closer look at the shape of the next Explorer. Looks about 90% the size of the current model. It should, considering it shares underpinnings with the Flex. [Autoweek] More »

Ford Wants Your Cash For Clunker Explorer Trade-In Stories

Ray Wert — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 19:15:00 EDT

Ford wants to hear your "Cash For Clunkers" stories — you know — how you traded in your old, crappy Ford Explorer for one of those nice, fuel-efficient imports. So go ahead, give your stories in the comments below. More »

You Missed The Chance To Own A 1993 Ford Pirate Ship

Ben Wojdyla — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 16:30:00 EST

If you live in Lyndhurst, New Jersey and have a 1993 Ford Explorer with 249,911 miles on it, the only reasonable thing to do is convert it into a pirate ship. That solid logic coupled with the lure of cash-money from a Halloween costume contest led its creators to build this masterpiece. We were heartbroken to see this swashbuckling creation went for only $499, it would have made a wonderful Jalopnik staff car for our New York division. The only problem would have been the inevitable Ninja attacks. The very capitalized eBay advert we copied below is a study in surrealist writing.

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The Car-Based Ford Explorer Test Mule, Up Close And Personal

Ben Wojdyla — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 12:00:00 EST

A funny thing happens when you ride a motorcycle around Detroit with no particular purpose: You see a lot of things people would rather you not see, like the curious-looking car-based 2011 Ford Explorer we first saw a couple days ago. Having no final destination also gives you the freedom to chase down your quarry and tail it until the driver parks it in a public parking lot to go have dinner with his buddies. So we played the stalker — oh well. It afforded us the opportunity to poke around the "Ford Freestyle with the Flex nose" and learn some interesting things about the supposed new Explorer — primarily that it's powered by a transversely mounted engine. More confounding details and a positively enormous gallery of spy shots below. More »

First Photos Of New Car-Based Ford Explorer

Matt Hardigree — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 11:55:00 EDT

The quick shutterbugs at KGP just snapped these first pictures of what appears to be a test mule for the new Ford Explorer running around on a car platform on the streets of Dearborn, MI. We've already reported the next-generation Explorer will be more car-like, something hinted at with the Ford Explorer America concept shown at Detroit earlier this year. The mule captured by KGP appears to be a mixture of the Ford Flex and Taurus X but with a taller ride-height, higher cowl and a revised A-pillar. All of this points to a taller, shorter vehicle than the current Explorer. Full spy report below the jump. More »

How GM Killed The Crossover: The Brief Life Of The Chevy XT-2 Concept Truck

Matt Hardigree — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 12:05:00 EDT

In 1989, it was increasingly clear a new revolution was coming to the truck market, but what shape it would take was still a mystery. With the staggering success of large body-on-frame SUVs and light trucks just a gleam in the eyes of automakers, GMs design team continued down the path of car-based pickups with the Chevy XT-2 Concept Truck. Although we now know car-based pickups and SUVs lost the battle to large SUVs shortly thereafter, it appears the XT-2, an essentially ignored concept here in the United States, may end up winning the design war. More »

The SUV Is Dead. Long Live The SUV.

Mark Arnold — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 13:40:00 EDT

If the interviewees in a recent Detroit News article are any indication, old SUV buyers are switching to — SUVs. Wait, what? Yep, rather than adapting to rises in fuel prices by changing their thinking, consumers are just doing what consumers naturally do — demanding more. Except in this case, "more" means less fuel consumption. More »

Which Car Is The Biggest Death Trap?

Matt Hardigree — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 11:40:00 EDT

Most of us feel the most alive when we're driving, which is why we occasionally pause before getting into cars that look somewhat less-than-safe. Of course, we're no strangers to waving off life-flight helicopters, so our perception of safety may be different from that of than others. Any car can be unsafe if not properly maintained or intelligently driven, but some cars just seem deadlier than others. Among cars remembered as death traps are the Ford Pinto, Chevy Corvair and the Bridgestone tire-equipped Ford Exploder. More »

Toyota Drops In Consumer Reports Annual Car Reliability Survey, Ford Improves

Ray Wert — Wed, 17 Oct 2007 08:00:00 EDT

Apparently, the V6 version of the Toyota Camry, a long-time resident to Consumer Reports' "Annual Car Reliability Survey," is no longer welcome around those parts. And it's not just the Camry, but also the new bigger-than-big four-wheel-drive V8-powered Toyota Tundra and the Lexus Gs. All three of these vehicles "declining reliability" has canceled the "automatic recommended" rating given to the Toyota, Scion and Lexus brands from CR. Hmm, that's no good thing — except it appears to be a boon for Ford, who's showing some serious increases in quality ratings this past year in the Explorer, the F-150 and the Mustang. Full list below the jump. More »