jpd80 Posted April 11, 2017 Share Posted April 11, 2017 (edited) Yes sir, Volvo introduced the platform 20 years ago for the 1998 S80. Apart from framing and suspension, nearly everything else has been evolved or changed out. No one would deny that the the latest Explorer is significantly different to the Ford freestyle from the early 2000s yet there is a historical link between the two and the even earlier Volvo XC90s.. Edited April 11, 2017 by jpd80 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpd80 Posted April 11, 2017 Share Posted April 11, 2017 (edited) Ford's Mark LaNeve is also on record as saying that in the past few years, Explorer's ATP has risen 44,000 thanks to buyers selecting more high trim vehicles. Given that context and the fact that a new Expedition is arriving soon, I think this is a balanced response to refreshing a well aged product, one that will probably continue to deliver good sales until a replacement eventually arrives. Edited April 11, 2017 by jpd80 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harley Lover Posted April 11, 2017 Share Posted April 11, 2017 (edited) Explorer sales through the first three months of the year totaled 54,671, down 2.2 percent from the same months in 2016. Sales in 2016 totaled 216,294, down 3.6 percent from 2015 figures. At some point, raising transaction prices will not cancel out loss of volume. The plants need to run to make money. This sales trend if continued is worrisome, particularly when coupled with Edge sales results. Edited April 11, 2017 by Harley Lover 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silvrsvt Posted April 11, 2017 Share Posted April 11, 2017 At some point, raising transaction prices will not cancel out loss of volume. The plants need to run to make money. This sales trend if continued is worrisome, particularly when coupled with Edge sales results. If your sales aren't down 20% or more for the year, I don't think Ford has much to worry about. Do keep in mind the Edge is currently only built at one plant (though I think that is changing soon) for the world. The market is going to contract from its skyhigh sales rates its been having for the past couple years 17 million vehicles isn't sustainable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PREMiERdrum Posted April 11, 2017 Share Posted April 11, 2017 The lower fascia and foglight openings do look much better side-by-side, and I was told to expect more expressive grille designs. I'm curious as to what other trims look like. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jcartwright99 Posted April 11, 2017 Share Posted April 11, 2017 Kind of a meh update. I get it though to an extent, the segment is too competitive to leave your products unchanged too long. We are saddled with this platform for a while longer, with it's inherent weakness but at least Ford isn't letting it rot with no updates. Then new platform and 9 speed can't get here soon enough. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brucelinc Posted April 11, 2017 Share Posted April 11, 2017 As far as I know, the only GM vehicles to get the 9 speed for the 2018 model year are the smaller 4 cylinder models. I am a little surprised that the 2018 Fusion and MKZ 4 cylinder models apparently aren't getting it but I wouldn't expect it on the Explorer for awhile. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted April 11, 2017 Share Posted April 11, 2017 I wouldn't expect it ever on Explorer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rperez817 Posted April 11, 2017 Share Posted April 11, 2017 (edited) Apart from framing and suspension, nearly everything else has been evolved or changed out. No one would deny that the the latest Explorer is significantly different to the Ford freestyle from the early 2000s yet there is a historical link between the two and the even earlier Volvo XC90s.. The 2016 Explorer Limited rental vehicle I drove last year felt old and flimsy. It had less than 1,000 miles on the odo. Not surprising though with its bones being almost 20 years old. Edited April 11, 2017 by rperez817 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tbone Posted April 11, 2017 Share Posted April 11, 2017 Just to keep it fresh till the replacement explorer comes out in another 3-4 years. its a very popular and competitive market...its going to be competing with new/heavily refreshed utilities from GM later this year. To the untrained eye you can barely tell the difference between it and the last one. And that is the problem when you're competing against heavily revised competitors or new vehicles. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted April 11, 2017 Share Posted April 11, 2017 To the untrained eye you can barely tell the difference between it and the last one. And that is the problem when you're competing against heavily revised competitors or new vehicles. Ford understands this so this has to be a conscious decision to let these products languish for a few more years. Not sure if they're just cutting costs and resources so they can focus on the new stuff and get it out faster or they're purposely trying to scale back on production volumes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anthony Posted April 11, 2017 Share Posted April 11, 2017 If you are already replacing all the parts of the front fascia with a new design, it doesn't cost anything extra to make it at least look different. That being said, I'm sure it will look at least "fresh" in person and will continue to sell well, but it still is a bit of a head scratcher with Ford MCEs lately. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tbone Posted April 11, 2017 Share Posted April 11, 2017 The 2016 Explorer Limited rental vehicle I drove last year felt old and flimsy. It had less than 1,000 miles on the odo. Not surprising though with its bones being almost 20 years old. Compared to what? My wife and I drove an Explorer Sport for 65000 miles and it did not feel old and flimsy. It felt just as tight as the QX80 that we're driving now. My wife would tell you the same, and she's not a car person? I think how old the platform that a vehicle is riding on is somewhat less important than the skin over it. The Camry has been operating on an old platform for a long time but the body has been change number of times and it continues to sell well. Enthusiasts care about zero to 60 times, etc, more than the average person. I would venture to say that the majority of people just care about whether their phone will connect to their car nowadays. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted April 11, 2017 Share Posted April 11, 2017 The 2016 Explorer Limited rental vehicle I drove last year felt old and flimsy. It had less than 1,000 miles on the odo. Not surprising though with its bones being almost 20 years old. When you make statements like this and ignore all evidence to the contrary you come across as a negatard. Ford is not nearly as bad as you think they are and the competition isn't nearly as good as you believe in most cases. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
630land Posted April 11, 2017 Share Posted April 11, 2017 It's not 1959, with new sheet metal every year. Many ignored added content like 4G WiFi hot spot and safety equipment. When buying a car, do people really just look at the front and rear and decide to buy only if it "looks new"? Again, what decade do you think we are living? An "all new" Explorer is coming, so don't get all "OMG they are going out of business if they don't change the looks more" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted April 11, 2017 Share Posted April 11, 2017 It's not 1959, with new sheet metal every year. Many ignored added content like 4G WiFi hot spot and safety equipment. When buying a car, do people really just look at the front and rear and decide to buy only if it "looks new"? Again, what decade do you think we are living? An "all new" Explorer is coming, so don't get all "OMG they are going out of business if they don't change the looks more" Not saying it's a catastrophe but not changing the styling does impact repeat sales especially lease returns. Some folks don't want the exact same vehicle again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silvrsvt Posted April 11, 2017 Share Posted April 11, 2017 Not saying it's a catastrophe but not changing the styling does impact repeat sales especially lease returns. Some folks don't want the exact same vehicle again. Once again it doesn't seem to hurt people who have been buying the Camry and Accord for the past twenty years or so. Its hard to judge the drop off in sedan sales (Focus/Fusion) is because of the lack of radical styling updates or because the market is changing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tbone Posted April 11, 2017 Share Posted April 11, 2017 Not saying it's a catastrophe but not changing the styling does impact repeat sales especially lease returns. Some folks don't want the exact same vehicle again. Which is why I never bought another Expedition after our 2007. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anthony Posted April 11, 2017 Share Posted April 11, 2017 Which is why I never bought another Expedition after our 2007. Mic drop. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted April 11, 2017 Share Posted April 11, 2017 Once again it doesn't seem to hurt people who have been buying the Camry and Accord for the past twenty years or so. Its hard to judge the drop off in sedan sales (Focus/Fusion) is because of the lack of radical styling updates or because the market is changing. Once again, Camry and Accord have never gone more than 5 years with virtually the same styling inside and out. Honda used to do a mce after 3 years and full replacement after 5. Toyota is similar. The 2018 Fusion will be virtually unchanged visually from the 2013 model. That's 6 years. You never see Honda or Toyota go that long. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fuzzymoomoo Posted April 11, 2017 Share Posted April 11, 2017 Once again, Camry and Accord have never gone more than 5 years with virtually the same styling inside and out. Honda used to do a mce after 3 years and full replacement after 5. Toyota is similar. The 2018 Fusion will be virtually unchanged visually from the 2013 model. That's 6 years. You never see Honda or Toyota go that long. Hasn't Camry been on the same platform (albeit with tweaks along the way) since like 1993 or something? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rperez817 Posted April 11, 2017 Share Posted April 11, 2017 Compared to what? Jeep Grand Cherokee. I got one of those as a rental vehicle too. The Jeep felt more composed and better put together than the Explorer I drove the week after. This was noticeable on bumpy streets in Baltimore, where I was visiting at the time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silvrsvt Posted April 11, 2017 Share Posted April 11, 2017 (edited) Once again, Camry and Accord have never gone more than 5 years with virtually the same styling inside and out. Honda used to do a mce after 3 years and full replacement after 5. Toyota is similar. The 2018 Fusion will be virtually unchanged visually from the 2013 model. That's 6 years. You never see Honda or Toyota go that long. But the Fusion has been changed...it has a new grill/headlights/front bumper and different tail lights/chrome strip on the back 2015 masbukti.com/manufacturers/ford/ford-fusion/2016-ford-fusion-titanium/2016-ford-fusion-titanium-8.jpg 2017 imageonthefly.autodatadirect.com/images/?IMG=USC70FOC201B021001.jpg They look visually similar, but there is a change. Edited April 11, 2017 by silvrsvt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rperez817 Posted April 11, 2017 Share Posted April 11, 2017 Hasn't Camry been on the same platform (albeit with tweaks along the way) since like 1993 or something? 2002 Camry, Toyota K platform. The platform was tweaked for the 2007, 2012, and 2015 Camry redesigns. The 2018 Camry uses a new platform called TNGA. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted April 11, 2017 Share Posted April 11, 2017 Hasn't Camry been on the same platform (albeit with tweaks along the way) since like 1993 or something? Yes (more or less) but this isn't about the platform - only about appearances and styling and that they have updated every 4-5 years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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