Joe771476 Posted August 23, 2018 Share Posted August 23, 2018 When you look at it from the rear, it has the appearance of the Land Rover Evoque, the belt line converging with the roof line. By the way, there's no doubt in my mind that the Evoque came from a Ford styling studio before Ford sold JLR. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buddysystem Posted August 23, 2018 Share Posted August 23, 2018 Curious what that low hanging hardware is under the rear passenger seat? Looks like either camo or underbody armor. Not really feeling the love other than the rear drive platform. Too similar to existing design. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grbeck Posted August 23, 2018 Share Posted August 23, 2018 (edited) I can see not wanting to mess with the explorer too much since it sells well, but each generation of edge has been evolutionary. This was an opportunity to shake things up and try to move up the midsize cuv ladder. Both vehicles have been successful, and Ford doesn't want to alienate current customers. It's not like 1985, when Ford didn't have much to lose by bringing out the radical 1986 Taurus and Sable. Edited August 23, 2018 by grbeck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted August 23, 2018 Share Posted August 23, 2018 It would be incredibly stupid to throw away such a successful design just to be different. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harley Lover Posted August 23, 2018 Share Posted August 23, 2018 (edited) there's no doubt in my mind that the Evoque came from a Ford styling studio before Ford sold JLR. Gerry McGovern came from Lincoln to JLR, which is ironic considering Ford never used any of his show cars for production, some of which were quite nice. Edited August 23, 2018 by Harley Lover Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silvrsvt Posted August 23, 2018 Share Posted August 23, 2018 It would be incredibly stupid to throw away such a successful design just to be different. Hasnt that more or less been Detroits mantra for the past 50 years? Bring out something newer and better The explorer more or less looks the same since 2002, for the most part. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Assimilator Posted August 23, 2018 Author Share Posted August 23, 2018 (edited) Ford had no more input in the design of the Evoque than they did the design of the Volvo S40 or Jaguar X-Type. These products might have Ford parts but these companies operated independently with their own design staff and leadership. Ford Explorer has changed its look a number of times, this one mimics the Land Rover less than the last one, but does fall into the Ford design wheelhouse this time *Trapezoids everywhere*. The Aviator is taking over the roll of mimicking Land Rover this time while Explorer looks more authentically Ford. That is perfectly acceptable, they appreciate good design and I'm glad they're pulling inspiration from the right sources and making them more accessible. But under no circumstances should Ford be credited for the way Land Rover looks today, I just think that's unfair and inaccurate. Edited August 23, 2018 by Assimilator Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fordmantpw Posted August 23, 2018 Share Posted August 23, 2018 The explorer more or less looks the same since 2002, for the most part. The Explorer changed looks drastically in 2011. It's looked the same since then. I would have liked to have seen a bit more departure from today's Explorer, but this looks fresh, and still looks great (with the proper grille and wheels of course). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spudz64 Posted August 23, 2018 Share Posted August 23, 2018 If I recall when the current Explorer debuted in 2011, Ford stressed how the Explorer "look" was rooted in the solid thick body colored C pillar and a blacked out D pillar...if you look back at all of the generations of Explorer you'll see that as the common trait. It carried over to the Expedition as well, and its nice that Ford granted the Aviator all unique sheetmetal with an all glass canopy look along the sides! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmc523 Posted August 23, 2018 Share Posted August 23, 2018 The Explorer changed looks drastically in 2011. It's looked the same since then. I would have liked to have seen a bit more departure from today's Explorer, but this looks fresh, and still looks great (with the proper grille and wheels of course). Well.....it hasn't been redesigned since then either... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Assimilator Posted August 23, 2018 Author Share Posted August 23, 2018 (edited) The fascia redesign in 2016 was significant however, it's really what started the Land Rover comparison and it was a huge success. The new Explorer does lose some of that identity up front but the overall effect is very new with clearly different proportions. Gone is that tall Boxy architecture, it certainly has a very different road presence. Edited August 23, 2018 by Assimilator Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harley Lover Posted August 23, 2018 Share Posted August 23, 2018 The explorer more or less looks the same since 2002, for the most part. Sorry, but not even close. These do not "look the same": Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silvrsvt Posted August 23, 2018 Share Posted August 23, 2018 Sorry, but not even close. These do not "look the same": Same Ford SUV DNA-look at the greenhouses-they aren't exactly the same, but you can see the resemblance Its like the Mustang or 911...they look similar to one another, but aren't exact copies of the previous generation Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Assimilator Posted August 24, 2018 Author Share Posted August 24, 2018 (edited) The new Explorer has a very distinctive greenhouse unique to its generation, specifically the Land Rover-esque blacked out A-Pillar and hooded roof. It's really the only design feature that makes it distinctive in a midsize SUV market that largely looks the same. Otherwise you could probably put a Ford fascia on the Traverse and round out the wheel arches and sell it as an Explorer. But this new Explorer is packaged in an obviously new and exotic way thanks to it's RWD platform and sporting stance. What until you see this in the ST trim...pretty bad ass. Oddly the new Explorer has a fascia that doesn't evoke any generation of Explorer before it, it's both a corporate grille and something completely unique to 2020 Explorer. Although, as Ford tends to do, they seem to keep a library of design motifs that they will often brush off and reuse in new ways. The corners of the grille come from the 2011 Edge for example, while the trapezoidal design is obviously in their design DNA and what gives it that Ford look. I don't particularly like the Edge/Taurus-style headlight design with the inward slant, this is something that has always bugged me personally. I think the Fusion and 2019 Edge largely fixed it while preserving the Ford DNA, but here we are seeing it again. Edited August 24, 2018 by Assimilator Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpd80 Posted August 24, 2018 Share Posted August 24, 2018 (edited) I find it interesting that on this product cycle, the Aviator was shown well in advance and now we see the PI model is being slowly revealed before the civilian Explorer... I know that there's good reasons why Ford is doing that but still, it's rather non-traditional.. So I'm not getting too hung up on the look of the PI grille here as I think it's deliberately different to the regular Explorer which Ford s still keeping from us...why is that I wonder? Edited August 24, 2018 by jpd80 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sullynd Posted August 24, 2018 Share Posted August 24, 2018 It would be incredibly stupid to throw away such a successful design just to be different. Says the man who complains about the Fusion MCE. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted August 24, 2018 Share Posted August 24, 2018 I know that there's good reasons why Ford is doing that Lately there are no good reasons why Ford does what they do in the PR/marketing department. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted August 24, 2018 Share Posted August 24, 2018 Says the man who complains about the Fusion MCE. Huge difference between this new Explorer and the Fusion MCE. You can look at the Explorer and see that it’s new although it’s obviously an Explorer. You can’t tell they changed anything on Fusion unless you put them side by side and look with a magnifying glass. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoonerLS Posted August 24, 2018 Share Posted August 24, 2018 Lately there are no good reasons why Ford does what they do in the PR/marketing department. I’m pretty sure it involves three martini lunches and “who knew they’d go forward with that joke? They never listen to us when we’re serious!” Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jasonj80 Posted August 24, 2018 Share Posted August 24, 2018 Is the 2020 Explorer being shown at the Texas State fair or at a separate event like they did in 2010? Ford is going to want to own the Media the day it is done so I would assume for a non autoshow launch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deanh Posted August 24, 2018 Share Posted August 24, 2018 interesting....pricing is available as well...did not expect that....and another surprise I wasn't aware of...the hybrid comes with a 10 speed trans... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fuzzymoomoo Posted August 24, 2018 Share Posted August 24, 2018 Is the 2020 Explorer being shown at the Texas State fair or at a separate event like they did in 2010? Ford is going to want to own the Media the day it is done so I would assume for a non autoshow launch. Somewhere in the Chicago area makes more sense. TSF is usually pickup trucks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Assimilator Posted August 24, 2018 Author Share Posted August 24, 2018 (edited) The Hybrid IS the 10-Speed transmission, it's built into it. Edited August 24, 2018 by Assimilator Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deanh Posted August 24, 2018 Share Posted August 24, 2018 Assimilator....intriguing....have not received any info from Ford yet with such breakdowns. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harley Lover Posted August 24, 2018 Share Posted August 24, 2018 The Hybrid IS the 10-Speed transmission, it's built into it. Do you have more info about how the system works? Presumably this is what will show up in the F150 and Mustang too? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.