Ford Plays It Safe By Taking Chances with New Explorer

Ford Plays It Safe By Taking Chances with New Explorer

By Bill Visnic July 24, 2010

Even before the gas-price shock of summer 2008 and the recession that started a few months later, the world already was passing by Ford Motor Co.'s Explorer, the SUV that in the mid-'90s defined what SUVs were all about.

But the Explorer name has an incredible 96-percent recognition rate with North American consumers, said Ford president of the Americas Mark Fields and Ford aims to leverage that with a "redefined" '11 Explorer that's tuned in to a more-sensible national esthetic.

At a media event last week to unveil the all-new Explorer -- it makes its public debut Monday -- Ford confirmed what has been an open secret about the two fundamental and somewhat risky changes that will redefine the Explorer formula: the vehicle now is based on a unibody structure and will offer - advocate, actually - 4-cylinder power.

SUV Out, Crossover In

At the heart of it all, of course, is that Explorer now is more accurately described as a crossover. Switching to car-based underpinnings (the Volvo-developed D platform that now sits underneath most of Ford's larger vehicles) would have been unthinkable when Ford averaged 420,000 Explorer sales annually for the seven years between 1996 and 2002 and every American thought a truck-based SUV was the only thing that would adequately support their ultra-active lifestyles.

But times have changed in countless ways and the nation's buyers have admitted the "utility" they need is the ability to traverse the soggy grass parking lot at the soccer fields, not pull them through to base camp at Mt. McKinley. In effect, they'll trade the imagined requirements of the perceived lifestyles for the realities of reduced household incomes and increasing concern about the fuel consumption.

Buyers still want SUVs, Fields said, but fuel-efficiency has become the "primary reason customers (now) say 'no' to SUVs."

The second reason buyers have turned from SUVs, he adds, is a desire for improved driving dynamics.

"The customer has evolved, but the SUV hasn't," said group marketing manager (and aerospace engineer) Amy Marentic.

The '11 Explorer's unibody architecture should assure better dynamics, although the final word will have to wait until the first media drives later this year prior to the Explorer's December sales launch. But the switch to unibody construction also was meant to be a key contributor to the new model's improved efficiency - and on that point, the change makes a less-convincing argument.

Unibody structure long has been billed as a weight-saving windfall for vehicles switching from heavy truck frames. But chief engineer Jim Holland told AutoObserver that, comparing a new V6, all-wheel-drive '11 Explorer with the current V8 AWD Explorer, the new, unibody-based model can boast a weight savings of only about 100 pounds.

Holland says considering the amount of enhanced content and the Explorer's five extra inches of width (90.2 inches altogether) and three more inches of length (total length: 197.1 inches) - and the fact that most of today's new vehicles end up heavier than the vehicle they replace - the '11 Explorer's 100-pound weight saving is a triumph. But given the industry hubris about truck-frame-to-unibody transformations in general and the Explorer's evolution in particular, 100 pounds seems less like a triumph and more like a disappointment.

Today's V8/AWD Explorer weighs 4,782 pounds, meaning the new V6/AWD Explorer will be nearly 4,700 pounds. A V6/AWD Toyota Highlander weighs about 400 pounds less, a V6/AWD Chevrolet Traverse weighs 4,925 pounds and a V6/AWD Honda Pilot is around 4,500 pounds. A truck-framed V6/4-wheel-drive Toyota 4Runner averages about 4,700 pounds (about the same as a comparable new Explorer). All offer three rows of passenger seats and are named as Explorer competitors, reflecting the wide range of models Ford believes would be on customer consideration lists.

So if the weight savings of Explorer's move to a unibody layout are not as monumental as hoped, engineers also described the increased levels of crash protection expected of the Explorer's new structure, which includes twice as much energy-containing high-strength steel as the current Explorer.

Does Cylinder Count Really Count?

The subtleties of frame versus unitary construction would be lost on most Explorer customers, but it's not likely the same will be true of the powertrain strategy for the new '11 Explorer.

It's not coincidental that the Explorer nameplate really hit its stride in 1996 when Ford first offered an optional V8 for the nation's best-selling SUV. Ford did classic land-office business selling V8s in Explorers, so the notion, even, of dropping a 4-cylinder engine into a nameplate with such a burly-engine focus would have been sacrilege at the start of century.

Now, however, not only is Ford floating 4-cylinder power for the nameplate that defined the SUV template - it has the audacity to float it as the premium engine.

There is much to support that positioning, though. The 2-liter 4-cylinder features Ford's ascending EcoBoost technology, the combination of turbocharging and direct fuel injection to plump power and torque output from downsized engines.

At 237 horsepower and 250 pound-feet of torque, the EcoBoost 2-liter outclasses the 210 horsepower of the current Explorer's V6, an engine twice the displacement of the EcoBoost and old enough to officially qualify for the description embarrassing. The EcoBoost even falls just 4 pound-feet short in torque to the outgoing V6.

Meanwhile, chief engineer Holland says the fuel-economy improvement of moving to the EcoBoost 4-cylinder is "transformational." Distressingly, Ford isn't dealing out final numbers just yet, but promises "at least" a 30-percent upgrade at the gas pump; today's AWD Explorer V6 gets 13 miles per gallon in the city and 19 mpg on the highway; the V8's numbers are 14/19. Some sources have suggested the 2-liter EcoBoost 4-cylinder could produce a 20-mpg city figure, although Ford's early estimates seem to make that unlikely.

One reason, too, that the 2-liter Explorer will superficially compare well with the outgoing model: the 4-cylinder engine will not be connected to all four wheels; the AWD system is available only with the base V6. That's disingenuous sleight-of-hand considering what the Explorer nameplate is supposed to invoke.

The riskiest strategy for marketing the '11 Explorer, then, is making the engine with the most available cylinders - not to mention the most outright power - the "standard" engine and the only engine available with AWD. It's the now-familiar 3.5-liter V6 the makes a healthy 43 horsepower more than the extra-cost EcoBoost 4-cylinder.

Ford notes the base 3.5-liter V6's 290 horsepower is just 2 horses shy of that generated by the current Explorer's 4.6-liter V8.

Both new Explorer engines are backed by a 6-speed automatic transmission that also will aid in the fuel-economy equation, although today's V8 already is coupled to a 6-speed auto.

The downsized engines will translate to downsized towing capability, though Ford planners and marketers insist most buyers won't care. Buyers seeking the most towing capability will get up to 5,000 pounds from the 3.5-liter V6, about equivalent to the current Explorer, though it can't match the 7,000 pounds-plus that can be yanked by today's Explorer powered by the 4.6-liter V8. The 2-liter EcoBoost engine is good for a 2,000-pound tow.

Borrowed, perhaps, from chief engineer Holland's time at former Ford division Land Rover, one of the Explorer's signature features is a "terrain response" control for the AWD system. A rotary knob on the center console is user-selectable for four different types of driving conditions: on-road, sand, mud, or snow.

Interior Superior

Those expecting an interior equal to the transformation of the '11 Explorer's structure and engine strategy won't find it in the design, which is utterly conventional (perhaps with the exception of the huge 8-inch LCD screen and supporting instrument-cluster screens that come with the new MyFord Touch infotainment system).

But the Explorer's interior is chock full of soft-touch surfaces and great-looking detailing that indicate Ford plans to make good on its promise to hike its interiors to a near-premium level of materials and execution.

The new five inches of width is palpable. There is what Ford claimed is class-leading legroom for the first two seating rows. The second row can be configured with captain's chairs for a total occupancy rating of six, or with a bench that provides a maximum capacity of seven.

Data derived by Edmunds.com analysts, however, indicate that two of the top three vehicles cross-shopped with the current Explorer are other Fords: the Edge and the Escape. The vehicle most cross-shopped with the Explorer is the Chevrolet Traverse, followed by the Edge and Escape and the Jeep Grand Cherokee and Honda Pilot.

Ford planners say the '11 Explorer's 3-row configuration - no more 5-passenger Explorers - is what will help separate it from an expanding utility-vehicle footprint that could create difficult-to-manage showroom competition between the Explorer, Edge and Flex - not to mention the smaller Escape and the still-remaining, truck-based Expedition. But the marketing side said the Edge continues with the differentiation of two-row seating while the Flex, which is standard with three rows, does not have the SUV orientation of the new Explorer.

The second- and third-row seats fold totally flat in a most accommodating fashion, while the third row offers the availability of folding power assist.

Ford engineers boast of a new initiative to tighten fits and panel tolerances on both the interior and exterior and the vehicles displayed at the media event are visibly well-assembled with extremely tight panel fits.

The exterior design is self-assured and suitably weighty enough to make an SUV-appropriate statement. The front grille and fenders evoke the assertiveness of the Taurus, although the profile is not the least bit unique or chancy - there are shades of Toyota in the C-pillar, the greenhouse reminds of Land Rover's latest (that should be fine with most) and there is a familial connection to the Escape, too. The tailgate could be anybody's.

Ford did say that tons of wind-tunnel time has cut aerodynamic drag by 12 percent to a coefficient of 0.35 from the current Explorer's 0.4.

Forget The Auto Show

One final risk Ford is taking with the '11 Explorer: there's no scheduled auto-show introduction. That's being left to the buzz of social media, said Jim Farley, group vice president, global marketing, sales and service, at the media preview.

The heavy reliance on social media in the pre-launch and launch phases is a move that Ford believes did well by the all-new Fiesta - but will not be welcome news to auto-show promoters. Farley said the social-media launch strategy allowed Ford to spend 10 cents on the dollar to promote the Fiesta. Sales of the car, which started in June, are in too early a phase to judge whether Ford skimped too much or got big bang for small bucks.

Name Should Resonate

One might call the switch to unibody construction and less muscular towing capability a risk for the all-new Explorer, but nobody much needs or wants all that truck-based baggage - the numbers show buyers want crossovers.

Meanwhile, Farley said 140,000 Explorers get traded in at Ford dealers every year and the company intends to have a strong entry to tempt these customers to ante up again for the familiar nameplate.

Farley also admits that rival Toyota Motor Corp., with its ongoing quality and safety headlines, has left an opening to grab market share, but he discounts the potential for the '11 Explorer to run into trouble by competing with other Ford utility vehicles.

"Our showroom is expanding - that's the whole idea," Farley said.

Photos by Ford

1 - The 2011 Ford Explorer goes on sale in December.

2 - The interior of the 2011 Ford Explorer can be outfitted with three rows of seats.

 

Bill Visnic:  is an AutoObserver Senior Editor. Follow @AutoObserver on Twitter