Jalopnik: 2011 explorer

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.

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]

2011 Ford Explorer To Be Built In Chicago, Taurus X-Based?

Wes Siler — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 10:00:00 EDT

The 2011 Ford Explorer will likely be built in Chicago at the same factory currently producing the Taurus X, supporting the conventional wisdom that the new Explorer is going car-based.

The 2011 Explorer has been spied testing in a more crossover-like form and its new car-ness was hinted at by last year's Ford Explorer America concept. Ford has also confirmed Chicago's Torrence Avenue assembly plant will receive a new product, but hasn't identified it. Now it appears Ford has committed to producing the 2011 Explorer there in a deal with the UAW.

The Taurus X will be discontinued this Spring, replaced by the more successfully styled Ford Flex, which is built in Oakville Ontario. This leaves capacity available in Chicago for the Explorer.

The Ford Explorer America concept showcased a range of fuel-efficient EcoBoost (newspeak for turbocharged) engines, including, "a 4-cylinder 2-liter engine with EcoBoost technology delivering 275 hp and 280 lb.-ft. of torque or, as a premium engine, a 3.5-liter V-6 delivering about 340 hp. Depending on engine selection, fuel-efficiency will improve by 20 to 30 percent versus today's V-6 Explorer." It's expected the 2011 Explorer will use those powerplants. [via Chicago Breaking News]

Thanks for the tip, Jon!

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.

That's right, the engine sits crossways in the engine bay and, though this particular mule was all-wheel-drive, it opens up the opportunity for a front-drive Explorer in the future — we know, sacrilege. The mule's Frankensteined body work is sliced and stitched together all over the place too, with a slice on the fender just behind the peak of the wheel well, a line that runs all the way down the center of the roof and a newly formed rear bumper. You can also see how they've made the A-pillar extra wide with a considerable rake. Inside, the family truckster looks the part of any Ford Freestyle, but gets a Ford Mustang steering wheel for some reason. You'd never know it was wider than stock. If this does indeed turn out to be the Explorer we think it is, things will certainly be different than what we're accustomed to on the big, tough and boxy version we have today.

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.

A new style of test mule has begun running around Ford's development centers, perhaps offering the first signs that testing has begun on Ford's car-based Explorer. The rough test mules (we've now seen several running the streets of Dearborn) are a mix of Ford Taurus X and Ford Flex, but there are some telling alterations, raising the prototype's ride-height, along with a higher cowl, and rigged A-pillars to accommodate what appears to be a more steeply-raked windshield. There are also clear signs around the rear hatch and roof rails that the platform has been widened. While the front clip is pure Ford Flex, the lowest slat of the Flex's three-bar grille has been removed, perhaps to better approximate airflow of the next Explorer's grille.

Ford also used the Taurus X body on mules for the Ford Flex and Lincoln MKT, but those mules had additional length added to their wheelbases. This latest mule features no such additions, suggesting that this new model will be shorter than the Flex for a more fuel-friendly footprint.

Ford confirmed earlier this year that the Explorer would be ditching its body-on-frame SUV construction in favor of a new unibody, car-based approach for greater fuel-efficiency. The Explorer's new direction was previewed by Ford's Explorer America concept at the 2008 North American International Auto Show, and the general proportions of these latest mules seem to adequately approximate that concept.

The new unibody Explorer crossover is expected to reach the market in 2010.