By way of BlueOvalNews:
http://www.blueovalnews.com/2005/pro...lery/index.htm
http://www.blueovalnews.com/2005/pro....benchmark.htm


Other Ford News:
*Fusion will replace Taurus in NASCAR (as if NASCAR actually runs "stock" bodies, let alone "stock" cars".
*Mustang seems to be doing excessively well on the Grand Am circuit. Won 4 of 6 so far.
*Mustang seems to be up for a horsepower boost next year in 2007.

 

I am not a big fan of this freshening. I am not a fan of that interior nor am I a fan of the F-150 interior which it is based so that is not a surprise. It's not terrible, it just does not seem very special but to me, neither does any other truck interior. The outside is alright, the front looks less generic which is a good thing.

 

yep, looks like an exploder

 

Looks very F150 ish. I think some of the styling looks akward but overall a nice improvement over the current gen.

 

The grill looks awful to me, and the overall look to it just feels wrong in pictures. Not liking it at all.

 

I think it looks considerably better than the existing gen

 

Retains its status as one of the most generic-looking SUVs on the market.

 

Did you mean to say:
Retains its status as one of the most ugly-looking SUVs on the market.

That is horrible.

 

I don't think it is ugly, it's just very conservative, but not as conservative as a Highlander or 4 Runner.

I think the main problem I have with that front end is that they have that large chrome area and I don't like that aesthetic and the more it is used, the more it is legitamized (ie. new Jetta).

 

:blah:

Grille refresh by VW or Audi... and odd looking headlamps with little "pimples" in the corners....


Short of Mustang and the GT supercar, and the F-150 (I like it for a truck)... I really think Ford, Licoln, and Mercury have a total lack of anything that is exciting to look at.... I guess Fusion is not bad, but that is probably because I feel they tried to do something that looked like CTS....

 

This new Explorer is faaaar less generic looking than the current-gen trailblazer/envoy. Between the two, FWIW, I'd still rather buy the trailblazer, FWIW, based on its motor and underpinnings. But in terms of styling I am just blown away that you guys could call this or a 4Runner and call them generic and look at a Trailblazer and think it was any less generic??

 

I 100% disagree with this.

TB and Envoy are going on 4 years old, and it would certainly be a lot easier to spot a TB or Envoy in a parkinglot full of SUV's than the "generexplorer" we have here.

And FWIW, 4Runner is not a lot better... I think it has a slighly more distinctive grille than Explorer, but it ends there really....

I think TB and Envoy are spot-on for exterior styling, though it's time for a freshening.... my beef with TB is the rubbermaid interior look.... Envoy is bot nearly as bad though.

 

Threxx did you see the slight grill revision that the TB just got?

edit: pic1 , pic2

 

Trailblazer
4 runner
Envoy

 

Looks just like the expedition now. The explorer is just a smaller version. I like how it currently looks in 05. No CHROME GRILL, it was a nice improvement. Now its going to look like crap. No wonder ford is losing sales they are turning into GM and making everything look the same.