From The Autoextremist:

Ford, Carroll Shelby. Ford has staked its performance future on a retro cooperative arrangement with Carroll Shelby and his newest company, Carroll Shelby International, Inc. Ford announced yesterday that it will unveil the latest answer to the question that nobody is asking - a limited-edition Shelby Ford Expedition concept vehicle - at the 2004 Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) Show in Las Vegas in November. According to the media release, "This new Shelby SUV will provide a number of performance, handling and styling upgrades over the standard Ford Expedition model. The Shelby Ford Expedition model will offer dynamically designed exterior body accents, graphics and ground-effects, enhanced interior styling and electronics package, high-performance tires mounted to the latest state-of-the-art custom wheels, suspension and handling upgrades, and all driven by a Shelby tuned high-performance engine package." The Shelby Expedition is supposedly the first in a series of cars and trucks Ford and Shelby are planning. We can hardly wait.

 

Ghetto, as always. I've never seen a company rely on someone elses name/business like that before.

 

Anyone remember the Shelby Durango??
http://usa.motoseller.com/c/sys.php?a=15&b=13640

Or the Saleen Explorer??
http://www.fast-autos.net/saleen/saleenxp8.html

yea didnt think so... nice attempts but no one cought on to them...


GM just bring back the Typhoon and the Syclone

 

I don't think the Expedition ever sold as well as Ford expected after the Explorer-like redesign....maybe an attempt to pump up interest in the line...but if Chevy can do a Trailblazer SS why not a Shelby Expedition right?

 

In an uncharacteristic move, I'm going to spill a few of my highly guarded beans.

First - my opinion is that the Shelby Expedition is going to sell as well as the Harley F150, if not better. It is catering to the upper-crust sport-ute folks and will carry the goods to do so. I don't think it will clip the sales from the Navigator or compete with the Escalade - those are for Saturday morning at the Country Club and hauling the pasche neighbors to a ballet. The sport ute will lean towards the guys who drag a race car to a drag strip on friday night, drag a race boat or large bass boat to the lake, and want to seat 4 or more with room for gear inside. It should be on performance par with the Tahoe Persuit package, given the tweaking and enhancements (I dunno about top-end though).

Second - we are about to see some major revamping in Ford's SUV lineup. Expect to see new derivatives of the Escape and Explorer, specializing in market niche just like the Shelby Expedition I described above. Eddie Bauer will still be in play, serving as the "family rec" unit in the lineup.

Third - the Expedition is about to receive a stretch job. Ford will introduce a lengthened (yup, as in longer) version of the Expedition in '06 as an '07 model. It will have beefed-up suspension and drivetrain components. Think of it as a kind of an F-150 "Superduty" with an enclosed rear, seating 8 in comfort.
If successful, you will then see the Excursion phased out before the next major restyle (in '08 I'm told).

Fourth - expect to see MANY diesels coming out in the Ford truck lineup soon. Ford is already testing V6 diesels in the F150 and Expeditions. I4's are also in the fray for smaller vehicles like Ranger and Escape. I think you may see small diesels offered in production as soon as next year. A marketing strategy aimed at fuel efficiency and operating costs - not a bad deal given $2/gal gas versus $1.60/gal diesel.

Enough leaking for this morning... I wanna be walking when I get home this afternoon.
More opinion though - While I am all for selling people what they want to buy, I am still against all of this SUV development, bigger, more power, etc. Putting a person that has NO mechanical aptitude into a 4400-lb SUV with a Cg nearly 24" off the ground is scary enough, but when that same package is capable of 120mph and is advertised as a performance vehicle, with a handling package, you know some clown is going to try to sling it in curves and such - well in my book, that's just GOOFY. I have no probs with a "sporty" SUV, make it look mean and give it power to work for you (towing, etc.), but don't try to market a race-truck/suv that seats 9! That's insane.

So in a nut shell, I think it will sell, but we can all sit back and wait for the lawsuits to start rolling in...

(See Chris, I can throw stones at Ford too! J/K! )

 

Since we are on the subject of Fords, this fall, and bean spilling:

*Ford will be introducing the new Lincoln Continental this winter at Detroit.

*Ford will also be displaying the replacement for the Lincoln Town Car, either in concept or production form

*Ford's 500 & Montego will be be in production this fall, shortly after the Mustang.

*Ford will also display the 2006 Crown Victoria this winter. It will have sheetmetal changes, a different interior & a different overall look, but it won't be extensive.

*Ford feels they have interior design down, and are at least 2 years ahead of their competitors, so now they are focusing (no pun intended) on exterior design. As PP said, they are planning EXTENSIVE external revisions on their entire SUV lineup, and the next F series trucks will be the last in line for the upgrade in styling.

They are also currently putting the finishing touches on the next Ford FiveHundred. It will be out in 2007 and will have a completely different look from the current one. Exact words: "Alot of people will be surprised. We're going in a different direction on the next one".

*The next Ford Lightning will be out after the 1st of the year, but before the spring. It will out accelerate & will be less expensive than the SRT-10 Ram. But it's not likely to be anywhere near the $32,000 steal the last one was.

*We'll finally see the actual Ford Futura now FourHundred (not a drawing) this winter at Detroit & LA along with the production Lincoln Zephyr.

*Whatever special edition Mustang is 1st up, we'll see it this winter as well.

*Finally, Ford will have at least 2 concept vehicles next auto show season so far. I have no idea what they are yet.

 

Anyone see Rides on TLC last night? The had a build up of Chris Titus's Whipple Supercharged Expedition. It even had a functional shaker hood.

 

Yeah, I saw that...I thought it was pretty cool. I don't know if I would have chosen a Plymouth hood scoop for a Ford truck....but hey, it's his project.

 

Outside of a tubbed ol' half-ton pickup, ANYTHING with a roof height of 6' or more is NOT what needs to be turned into a land missile IMO.

This whole "fast SUV" thing is just wrong to me.

"Yeah, it's bigger, taller, heavier, and handles like a beach ball... so I got the 9.9L MHO (mega-high-output) with a manual 8-speed! Top speed is 195mph and 0-60 in 5.4 seconds! This things killer!" -- Says the DUDE just before he loses control of his 7000lb SUV in a curve, does a head-on with an Aveo, and then rolls about 12 times, killing him, his 7 passengers, 2 in the Aveo, and a couple of pedestrians...

Cripes...
SUV = tow a boat, pop-up camper, or lawn mower and 4 or so inside with comfort - throw in 4x4 for true pleasure and utility.

CAR = sit low, make it fast, handles better, less likely to roll over, and seats up to 4 in a pinch.

These two should NEVER cross-breed IMO. - just .02 more.

 

Darned glad to see it!

As a side note, we all wax nostalgic about the Syclone and Typhoon, but truth be told they didn't either sell very well at all and had extremely short production runs. power was good but their utility was near Zero. That's bad for a truck/SUV.

 

On the subject of SUV performance:

My daily driver is a '99 Chevy Blazer 4x4.

Its a fine vehicle, bought it used as a GM Certified Used car and got a great deal. Its been extremely reliable and useful for us, even though chassis flex is an issue, as are interior/door rattles.

Nearly bought a Trailblazer last year but I avoided the temptation of a "new" car since the Blazer still does just fine and it is now paid for.

But, its rather lethargic. The steering is a bit sloppy and with 215/75-15 tires and a truck suspension its a bit bouncy. Plus the 4.3L V6 just doesn't have much grunt.

Granted most new model SUVs have more ooommmphh than this blazer, but I have often thought of creating my own package for it, 16" wheels with lower profile tires, lower 2.5" all the way around, and an exhaust & CAI kit.

With just a bit more nimble handling and 15-20more hp it would be a blast to drive in relative terms compared to a more "pedestrian" SUV.

I think there is a market for "sporty" SUVs that are more competent handlers and have enough power to make freeway maneuvering/passing a pleasure again. The whole key is to not compromise the utility at all, because that's the only reason they sell so well in the first place.

 

Im in huge agreement here! Enough with all these huge beasts! and inept drivers!

 

HERE-HERE. I am in the same boat.

Our (make that the wife's) daily ride is an Eddy Bauer Explorer, loaded to the gills, 4.0 V6, A4LD. It rides great, but sluggishly plows through curves if pushed. It'll cruise great at 80mph and @2750rpm, and it'll sprint ot 100 or so if you've got 3 minutes going downhill.

Point is... is SUCKS for any performance qualities at all.
BUT - it is GREAT for the family. The ride is nice and quiet. Mom, Dad, kid, wife, and I go out to eat together at least once a week - it's great with 4 or more, having rear climate and stereo controls, rear seats have head rests and recline, all power goodies. Mileage averages 20mpg on 87. Maintenance is cheap. And, we get to ride in the snow, rain, and occasionally down the trail to the horse barn with a few 50#bags of protein feed in the rear.

I too have thought about "improving" the Explorer to some degree, but when it comes time for maintenance or basic repair, I always talk myself out of it for economic or practical reasons. I guess I have resigned myself to living with a "non-performance" vehicle that is indeed well suited for daily UTILITY instead of occasional FRIVOLITY!

Besides, the fox-body is better for powerslides!

 

Ditto here. Daily ride is a 2002 Tahoe LS with the 4.8L V8. My son and I want to put some nice rims on it, drop it (its 2WD), and bolt on a loud exhaust and maybe a better flowing air filter. The only problem is since its my wife's car she won't let us do anything to it.

 

SVT evaluated an Expedition concept but never produced it. I wonder if this Shelby version will merely be a re-hashed version of it?

http://www.svt.ford.com/flash/

Click on "Concept Lab" and follow along.