- Home
- TV Shows
-
TV Schedule
-
SPEED Showcase
-
- NASCAR
-
- Formula 1
- Auto Racing
- Moto Racing
- Cars
- Bikes
- Store
- Social
- Mobile
- Deals
- Videos
- Photos
New Models
AUTOS: All-New Explorer Unveiled By Ford
2011 version has unibody construction, new fuel-efficient engines and high-tech innovations; first revealed on Facebook.
Ford finally gave us a look at the 2011 Explorer after teasing us with picture fragments posted on the Internet. (Photo: Ford)
After months of Facebook teases and veiled spy photos, Ford unveiled the all-new 2011 Explorer to reveal an aerodynamic shape, a three-bar grille and a premium interior.
Explorer launched today, first to all its friends on Facebook, then with more-traditional unveilings around the U.S. In Manhattan, the new SUV was introduced by Ford CEO Alan Mulally and “Dirty Jobs” TV personality Mike Rowe, who put a rugged spin on the event.
The upcoming Explorer moves from a truck-based body-on-frame architecture to a crossover-type unibody derived from the Ford Taurus and essentially similar to the Ford Flex, which lightens the load and stiffens the chassis, Ford says.
With a litany of updates and improvements, Ford hopes to regain some of Explorer’s past cache. The midsize SUV once sold more than 400,000 units annually, dropping off to 52,000 last year as the concept aged and competition increased.
The 2011 Explorer is due in showrooms this winter, with a starting price around $29,000.
“Ford has changed everything about the all-new Explorer, yet it’s still instantly and instinctively recognizable as a Ford Explorer,” said Moray Callum, executive director of North America Design.
Part of Explorer’s marketing is its emphasis on fuel economy. The SUV is about 100 pounds lighter despite having more content, Ford says, with lightened body panels such as its aluminum hood. The wind-tunnel designed body boosts highway mileage, Ford says, with a drag coefficient of 0.35, the best in its class.
Two new engines are also on board. A new 3.5-liter V6 with individually variable camshaft timing and direct fuel injection that churns 290 horsepower is available with either front- or four-wheel-drive models.
A2-liter turbocharged inline-4 that generates 237 horsepower is available with front-drive only, which Fords says will deliver V6 performance and four-cylinder economy. That engine also uses twin variable camshaft timing.
The turbo four, the smallest-displacement engine ever for an Explorer, gains 30 percent better fuel mileage compared with last year’s V6 two-wheel-drive model, according to Ford, which should put it in the range of 21 miles per gallon average and 26 mpg on the highway. The EPA has yet to weigh in on its official ratings.
The high-tech V6 delivers an average mileage improvement of 20 percent compared with last year’s Explorer, Ford says. The V6 Explorer is rated to two 5,000 pounds, when equipped with the tow package. Both engines come standard with a six-speed automatic transmission that’s unique to each engine.
Shoppers will find that the V6, two-wheel-drive Explorer is the base model, is priced around $29,000, while the turbo four will cost extra. While that seems to fly in the face of most vehicles pricing, where the smaller engine is cheaper, Ford believes that drivers will pay more for the fuel-economy gain.
Several pieces of innovative safety technology are included in the Explorer. Among them, Curve Control, which helps driver maintain control if they enter a curve with too much speed, and rear-passenger seat belts with built-in airbags to lessen pressure on the chest and control head movement.
The interior has been significantly upgraded across the board, according to Ford, with soft-touch surfaces throughout, refined dashboard design, improved three-row seating and high levels of technology, including Ford’s SYNC communications system.
The interior quality, design and content aim high, said Mike Arbaugh, Ford interior studio manager.
“This is a vehicle that challenges higher-end SUVs like BMW X5 and Audi Q7, so the interior design, craftsmanship and fit-and-finish should play in that league,” Arbaugh said.
Ford’s unique Facebook introduction of the Explorer continues the automaker’s reliance on social-media marketing. The recent launch of the compact Fiesta was preceded by a year’s worth of Internet exposure from young drivers who were loaned the cars for a year so that they could blog and create videos about their experiences.
Bob Golfen, Automotive Editor for SPEED.com, is a veteran auto writer based in Phoenix, Arizona, who has driven and evaluated essentially every new vehicle sold in the United States. A lifelong car enthusiast with a passion for collector cars, car culture and the automotive lifestyle, he annually attends and writes about Arizona's famous January collector-car auctions, focusing on Scottsdale’s monumental Barrett-Jackson Collector Car Event and other Barrett-Jackson auctions. SPEED.com fans email Automotive Editor Bob Golfen at
Explorer launched today, first to all its friends on Facebook, then with more-traditional unveilings around the U.S. In Manhattan, the new SUV was introduced by Ford CEO Alan Mulally and “Dirty Jobs” TV personality Mike Rowe, who put a rugged spin on the event.
The upcoming Explorer moves from a truck-based body-on-frame architecture to a crossover-type unibody derived from the Ford Taurus and essentially similar to the Ford Flex, which lightens the load and stiffens the chassis, Ford says.
With a litany of updates and improvements, Ford hopes to regain some of Explorer’s past cache. The midsize SUV once sold more than 400,000 units annually, dropping off to 52,000 last year as the concept aged and competition increased.
The 2011 Explorer is due in showrooms this winter, with a starting price around $29,000.
“Ford has changed everything about the all-new Explorer, yet it’s still instantly and instinctively recognizable as a Ford Explorer,” said Moray Callum, executive director of North America Design.
Part of Explorer’s marketing is its emphasis on fuel economy. The SUV is about 100 pounds lighter despite having more content, Ford says, with lightened body panels such as its aluminum hood. The wind-tunnel designed body boosts highway mileage, Ford says, with a drag coefficient of 0.35, the best in its class.
Two new engines are also on board. A new 3.5-liter V6 with individually variable camshaft timing and direct fuel injection that churns 290 horsepower is available with either front- or four-wheel-drive models.
A2-liter turbocharged inline-4 that generates 237 horsepower is available with front-drive only, which Fords says will deliver V6 performance and four-cylinder economy. That engine also uses twin variable camshaft timing.
The turbo four, the smallest-displacement engine ever for an Explorer, gains 30 percent better fuel mileage compared with last year’s V6 two-wheel-drive model, according to Ford, which should put it in the range of 21 miles per gallon average and 26 mpg on the highway. The EPA has yet to weigh in on its official ratings.
The high-tech V6 delivers an average mileage improvement of 20 percent compared with last year’s Explorer, Ford says. The V6 Explorer is rated to two 5,000 pounds, when equipped with the tow package. Both engines come standard with a six-speed automatic transmission that’s unique to each engine.
Shoppers will find that the V6, two-wheel-drive Explorer is the base model, is priced around $29,000, while the turbo four will cost extra. While that seems to fly in the face of most vehicles pricing, where the smaller engine is cheaper, Ford believes that drivers will pay more for the fuel-economy gain.
Several pieces of innovative safety technology are included in the Explorer. Among them, Curve Control, which helps driver maintain control if they enter a curve with too much speed, and rear-passenger seat belts with built-in airbags to lessen pressure on the chest and control head movement.
The interior has been significantly upgraded across the board, according to Ford, with soft-touch surfaces throughout, refined dashboard design, improved three-row seating and high levels of technology, including Ford’s SYNC communications system.
The interior quality, design and content aim high, said Mike Arbaugh, Ford interior studio manager.
“This is a vehicle that challenges higher-end SUVs like BMW X5 and Audi Q7, so the interior design, craftsmanship and fit-and-finish should play in that league,” Arbaugh said.
Ford’s unique Facebook introduction of the Explorer continues the automaker’s reliance on social-media marketing. The recent launch of the compact Fiesta was preceded by a year’s worth of Internet exposure from young drivers who were loaned the cars for a year so that they could blog and create videos about their experiences.
Bob Golfen, Automotive Editor for SPEED.com, is a veteran auto writer based in Phoenix, Arizona, who has driven and evaluated essentially every new vehicle sold in the United States. A lifelong car enthusiast with a passion for collector cars, car culture and the automotive lifestyle, he annually attends and writes about Arizona's famous January collector-car auctions, focusing on Scottsdale’s monumental Barrett-Jackson Collector Car Event and other Barrett-Jackson auctions. SPEED.com fans email Automotive Editor Bob Golfen at
LATEST HEADLINES: AUTOMOTIVE
-
AUTOS: Ferrari 166 MM Touring Barchetta
The Ferrari 166 MM Touring Barchetta, which scored the first Le Mans… -
AUTOS: Score One For Cadillac
Cadillac has truly knocked it out of the ballpark with the stunning… -
AUTOS: Mustang Movie Site Logs Ponycars In Film
More than 3,000 films, TV shows catalogued... -
SPEED Joins GarageMonkey, The New Social Destination For Gearheads…
SPEED is now on GarageMonkey, a social network for auto, moto and… -
F1: Villeneuve's Ferrari 312 T3 Remembered
The Ferrari 312 T3 was used by Gilles Villeneuve to win the Canadian… -
AUTOS: 2014 Chevy SS Priced At $44,470
GM's full-size not just for police... -
AUTOS: Porsche Reveals 911 50th Anniversary Edition
Museum exhibit joins limited-edition model... - More News
