i am starting to see bits and pieces on the 2006 pricing. looks like a fully loaded limited may be north of $46k. is it just me or does this seem high? i know there will be many incentives, but i cant imagine paying that close to 50 for an explorer.
the ever-changing improvements on many vehicles over the years is the "stiffening of the frame" to handle better and be structurally stronger...with hundreds of millions going into the design of these things, you would think that they could make the first edition come out with a sufficiently stiff frame that does not need improvement...after all, it seems like that they probably have a lottery department that says, "Hey, which model frames should we stiffen in the next model years?"
Question: with gas approaching $3/gallon, any idea how the new model launch will go for SUVs in the fall?
Not to start an argument, but couldn't we also ask why the first cars didn't have electric starters, why we didn't have fuel injection (as standard equipment) in the 60's, why did disc brakes take so long to arrive, etc. ?
I've been there. We know how to produce design "A" efficiently & safely now, and we know that design "B" is superior, but have some tooling, safety, or durability issues to address before we release it to production.
No argument here, but disc brakes and fuel injection were different systems from the ones being used, and an upgrade at that...while I do not know how to measure frame stiffness or torsion, I am still amazed that a vehicle is released with a certain stiffness, 2 years later they stiffen the frame again, and then 2 years later, somehow they figure out that the frame could be stiffer still...since the frame was there from the beginning (unlike carb vs fuel inj or drum vs disc), what was so difficult to take the original design and stiffen it by 50% from the beginning, rather than small upgrades over the years???...after 100 years of cars, don't GM, Ford, etc know how to make stiff frames for trucks and cars???...am I missing something???...is it rocket science, since every car since Henry Ford has a frame???
I totally understand where you're coming from. Every time I pick up the Car & Driver, every car in there is 50% stiffer than last year..... How stiff can they get? I guess they keep learning how to make them stiffer with new stiff tech every year, huh? Anyway, eventually, you'd think they'd be as stiff as they can be, wouldn't you?
Consider Moore's Law: Computers double in power every 18 months. That means that 18 months ago, the engineers had a computer half as powerful as today's. (If the bean counters allowed them to purchase them).
The significance of this? The engineers have to consider: FMVSS, EPA, Insurance Institute, NVH, ride, handling, weight, manufacturing feasibility, assembly ease, field service, (of the frame, and ALL OTHER AFFECTED COMPONENTS), internal politics ... and the bean counters. Change just one of these, and any/all the others can be affected. It takes VERY powerful computing to balance these factors.
It also takes a highly disciplined organization to pull off such changes.
I think it's unjustified to criticize an improvement because it wasn't implemented earlier.
Right, and it will be based on the new Mazda crossover, the CX-7.
They want it to less resemble an Explorer in profile, in fact they probably want to do away with the whole boxy SUV look seeing as all it's competitors (B9 Tribeca, RX300, MDX, FX45, SRX) are really tall wagons.
the message i read said Louisville and the other one was going to start a few days later. Both plants build V8s is what i heard, but dont know for sure.
Aviator name will be assigned to an entirely new vehicle, definitely not just a rebadged Explorer...
One of the things that set Aviator apart as a Lincoln was the floor shift and a 300HP engine (in addition to some nicer luxury)...since the Exp/Mteer will now have a floor shifter option (hooray!!!) and a 292 HP V8, the Aviator may have seemed like redundant redundancy...or, Ford did not want to build as many platforms off the Explorer that GM has tried with the Trailblazer and its 400 progeny... :shades: :shades: :shades:
Thanks for the pictures, but more can be found from the Inside Line First Drive story from 2 weeks ago.
I think Ford really is spending more time on it's interiors, and it really shows. The Expedition, F-150, Freestyle, Five Hundred and Mustang are all good examples of this. The new Fusion's interior also looks just as good, if not better than it's competitors.
The gap sure is closing between Japanese manufacturers and American ones in terms of quality. I don't think Toyota can claim to be class leading much longer.
Does anyone know when they will be at dealers? I am in the Bay Area, Ca and can't seem to find any. Of course dealers are saying they have no idea when they will be out (they want you to buy stock they have on hand.) I am looking at Envoy and Trailblazer, but I love my Explorer now and would like the newer one. If I am going to buy a new Explorer, I want it to look a little different than what I have now!
should be arriving soon. its been reported they started shipping last week.
no, they won't have the employee discount on them, that only applies to the leftover 05 explorer. the only 06s are the escape, expedition and f-250/350, which were realeased early.
The 06 Explorers are available in the Detroit/Dearborn, Michigan area. I've had the opportunity to drive them twice. Once at the Ford Innovation Drive (check the website to see if it is coming to your area) and yesterday at my local dealer. I had the 02 and am still as in love with it today as I was then. Everything they say about it is true. P.S. Satellite radio will not be available until early next year.
Saw my first '06 Explorer in the Philly area. It was what I consider to be a moderately optioned XLT model. It had leather, third row seat, and the rear entertainment package, plus a few other minor options. It was a V6, with no moonroof. :surprise: $38,000! That's crazy! I could see a loaded Honda Pilot (or even the Acura MDX) for less than that, not to mention a nice Expedition, 4runner or tahoe for less cash. Its no wonder that Ford is slapping a $2,000 rebate on these already. With $3.30 gas, it going to take closer to $7,000 off for people to want and even look hard at these.
I wonder what's up with that. On the Ford website, I priced an XLT 4WD V6 with every option except for the power moonroof and it was only $37,185. Maybe Ford changed the pricing.
Here's the truck...I was off by $1,000..it was $37,000. The EB was $38k, and that was without a moonroof, but with quad setting, RES, and the third row.
Price Information MSRP STANDARD VEHICLE PRICE $30,450
Key Standard Equipment ORDER CODE 220A-XLT V6 LH/RH MIRRORS W/APPROACH AIR CONDITIONING - CFC FREE FLOOR MATS, C/K CARPET
Optional Equipment 2006 MODEL YEAR SILVER BIRCH CLEARCOAT MED LIGHT STONE LTHR SPORT BKT .4.0L SOHC V6 ENGINE .5-SPEED AUTOMATIC O/D TRANS .P235/70R16 A/S OWL TIRES 3.73 RATIO REGULAR AXLE 50 FRONT LICENSE PLATE BRACKET RUNNING BOARDS 450 SAFETY CANOPY 560 TRAILER TOW PKG CLASS III/IV 150 6-CD MP3 CAPABLE AUDIOPHILE 510 ADJ PEDALS L/MEMORY 120 AUXILIARY CLIMATE CONTROL 650 ROOF RAIL CROSS BARS 60 REVERSE SENSING SYSTEM 255 50/50 FOLD FLAT THIRD ROW SEAT 845 LUX BUCKET W/PWR DRIVER SEAT 695 REAR SEAT ENTERTAINMENT W/DVD 1,295 CONVENIENCE GROUP 250 .ELECTROCHROMATIC MIRROR .AUTO LAMP HEADLIGHTS .KEYPAD
They must have had a dealer markup sticker if it was $38000 for a "moderately optioned XLT"
A 4x4 XLT with moderate options runs about
Base Price: $30,450.00
o Audiophile AM/FM 6-CD In-Dash Changer w/Subwoofer, MP3 Player (290 Watts) $510.00 o Leather-Trimmed Low Back Sport Buckets (10-Way Power Driver, Including Power Lumbar and Manual Passenger Lumbar Support and Recline) $695.00 o Auxiliary Climate Control $650.00 o Power Adjustable Pedals $120.00 o Reverse Sensing System $255.00 o Safety Canopy™ Air Curtain System $560.00 o 3rd Row Seat – Manual Fold-Flat (Cloth - Vinyl when Ordered w/Leather-Trimmed Seats) $845.00
- Destination and Delivery $645.00
$34,730.00
minus the dealer discount and rebates, you can easily get it for a lot less than that.
Improved visibility front and rear. Front seats have been raised to improve forward vision and second row articulating head restraints enhance rearview vision when the seat isn't occupied.
i dont know about others, but it seems that when sitting in my 02 the roof seems to be in my eyes (i am <6' so i am not excepionally tall). my hair brushes up against the moonroof - could they have possible RAISED the seats? or did they make the glass taller?
i have mixed emotions. it has its pluses and minuses. but i have to wonder - what is the difference between this and the freestyle? many of the items in each seem the same. 3rd row seat setup seems identical. interior is still cheap looking. the 3rd row is still usable, but a bit tighter. door handles - 02 to 05 they were too low, now they are a funky design - you have to see it to understand. the load floor is flate it just takes two steps to get it that way. it seems the space behind row 3 is even less than before.
Ok, you're scaring me now. What are those pluses again? I missed that in your post.
The Freestyle is built on the 500's platform, I believe. The Explorer is still a truck, with body on frame design and it'll still tow. I'm surprised at your comments - it seems a lot smaller than before.
the inetrior is upgraded - more modern. exterior - cleaner lines seats are more comfortable. leather is softer and seems richer. load floor can be flay. 3rd row seats are split. unfortunately, the 2nd row is now 60/40 and not 40/20/40. i understand that the explorer can tow more, but the interiors are very similar. seems like the frestyle and explorer basically can serve the same market except for the towing.
Does anyone else find it odd that there is literally no mention of the change in the Mountaineer on the Mercury website? I realize the change on the Ford website, but it is almost like Mercury doesn't even recognize the change. Any comments?
I think they are phasing the release of the Mountaineer and Explorer, with the Explorer being released first. The dealer near me finally got their first 06 Mountaineer yesterday where the Explorers have been out for 2 weeks. The Mercury dealer didn't get any brouchures on the Mountaineer yet either.
I did get to drive the 06 Mountaineer though. The foldaway running boards are a lot better than I thought they would be. I wish the Explorer had the option. They fold down and out tot he perfect position and then tuck away nicely when you shut the door. You can also control how they are deployed, by using selecting Automatis or Off or Down.
The Mountaineer was a top of the line Premier model and seemed like a very good price, with a V8, power fold 3rd row, Nav system, DVD player, moon roof, and some other stuff it was 38K.
The interior of the Merc is very upscale, with very nice aluminum trim on the steering wheel and where the wood is on the Limited Explorer.
Well I think I've managed to test drive just about every configuration of the 06 Explorer. I've driven a stripped XLS 4x2 (the cloth is surpisingly nice), a leather XLT V6, an Eddie Bauer V6 and a fully loaded Limited V8.
The V6 is a lot better than the previous generation, very quiet and smooth at idle and plenty of torque. The tranny is very smooth shifting too. The V6 accelerates surprisingly well.
The V8 is also very smooth and quiet and the 6 speed is very smooth shifting. The MPG difference between the V6 and V8 is hardly anything, like 1 mpg.
One thing very noticible about al of the models is how quiet they are, no wind noise, no road noise, and you can barely hear the engine (V6 or V8) unless you are accelerating hard. They are more like a luxury car than a SUV when it come to noise levels.
The headroom in the front seats seemed fine to me, I'm 6-1 and I had plenty of room. The power seats seem to go down lower than the 05 Explorer I sat in. They might raise up higher too, I didn't check that out.
Comments
Question: with gas approaching $3/gallon, any idea how the new model launch will go for SUVs in the fall?
Not to start an argument, but couldn't we also ask why the first cars didn't have electric starters, why we didn't have fuel injection (as standard equipment) in the 60's, why did disc brakes take so long to arrive, etc. ?
I've been there. We know how to produce design "A" efficiently & safely now, and we know that design "B" is superior, but have some tooling, safety, or durability issues to address before we release it to production.
I'm looking forward to your answer on the issue of the complexity & weight penalty of the 6-speed transmission.
The significance of this? The engineers have to consider: FMVSS, EPA, Insurance Institute, NVH, ride, handling, weight, manufacturing feasibility, assembly ease, field service, (of the frame, and ALL OTHER AFFECTED COMPONENTS), internal politics ... and the bean counters. Change just one of these, and any/all the others can be affected. It takes VERY powerful computing to balance these factors.
It also takes a highly disciplined organization to pull off such changes.
I think it's unjustified to criticize an improvement because it wasn't implemented earlier.
They want it to less resemble an Explorer in profile, in fact they probably want to do away with the whole boxy SUV look seeing as all it's competitors (B9 Tribeca, RX300, MDX, FX45, SRX) are really tall wagons.
One of the things that set Aviator apart as a Lincoln was the floor shift and a 300HP engine (in addition to some nicer luxury)...since the Exp/Mteer will now have a floor shifter option (hooray!!!) and a 292 HP V8, the Aviator may have seemed like redundant redundancy...or, Ford did not want to build as many platforms off the Explorer that GM has tried with the Trailblazer and its 400 progeny... :shades: :shades: :shades:
you can search dealers inventory and some dealers have them in stock already.
its pretty cool you can read the window sticker on the web site. mileage is 14/20 for the 4x4 V8
6 speed auto
2007 Lincoln Aviator concept
I think Ford really is spending more time on it's interiors, and it really shows. The Expedition, F-150, Freestyle, Five Hundred and Mustang are all good examples of this. The new Fusion's interior also looks just as good, if not better than it's competitors.
The gap sure is closing between Japanese manufacturers and American ones in terms of quality. I don't think Toyota can claim to be class leading much longer.
IMO, Ford makes the best interiors of the Big 3.
the pictures above are only ones I've found with high resolution
http://www.desktopmachine.com/ its a good site but I'm not sure if Edmunds will allow a link to it.
no, they won't have the employee discount on them, that only applies to the leftover 05 explorer. the only 06s are the escape, expedition and f-250/350, which were realeased early.
That's crazy! I could see a loaded Honda Pilot (or even the Acura MDX) for less than that, not to mention a nice Expedition, 4runner or tahoe for less cash. Its no wonder that Ford is slapping a $2,000 rebate on these already. With $3.30 gas, it going to take closer to $7,000 off for people to want and even look hard at these.
Price Information MSRP
STANDARD VEHICLE PRICE $30,450
Key Standard Equipment
ORDER CODE 220A-XLT V6
LH/RH MIRRORS W/APPROACH
AIR CONDITIONING - CFC FREE
FLOOR MATS, C/K CARPET
Optional Equipment
2006 MODEL YEAR
SILVER BIRCH CLEARCOAT
MED LIGHT STONE LTHR SPORT BKT
.4.0L SOHC V6 ENGINE
.5-SPEED AUTOMATIC O/D TRANS
.P235/70R16 A/S OWL TIRES
3.73 RATIO REGULAR AXLE 50
FRONT LICENSE PLATE BRACKET
RUNNING BOARDS 450
SAFETY CANOPY 560
TRAILER TOW PKG CLASS III/IV 150
6-CD MP3 CAPABLE AUDIOPHILE 510
ADJ PEDALS L/MEMORY 120
AUXILIARY CLIMATE CONTROL 650
ROOF RAIL CROSS BARS 60
REVERSE SENSING SYSTEM 255
50/50 FOLD FLAT THIRD ROW SEAT 845
LUX BUCKET W/PWR DRIVER SEAT 695
REAR SEAT ENTERTAINMENT W/DVD 1,295
CONVENIENCE GROUP 250
.ELECTROCHROMATIC MIRROR
.AUTO LAMP HEADLIGHTS
.KEYPAD
A 4x4 XLT with moderate options runs about
Base Price: $30,450.00
o Audiophile AM/FM 6-CD In-Dash Changer w/Subwoofer, MP3 Player (290 Watts) $510.00
o Leather-Trimmed Low Back Sport Buckets (10-Way Power Driver, Including Power Lumbar and Manual Passenger Lumbar Support and Recline) $695.00
o Auxiliary Climate Control $650.00
o Power Adjustable Pedals $120.00
o Reverse Sensing System $255.00
o Safety Canopy™ Air Curtain System $560.00
o 3rd Row Seat – Manual Fold-Flat (Cloth - Vinyl when Ordered w/Leather-Trimmed Seats) $845.00
- Destination and Delivery $645.00
$34,730.00
minus the dealer discount and rebates, you can easily get it for a lot less than that.
Improved visibility front and rear. Front seats have been raised to improve forward vision and second row articulating head restraints enhance rearview vision when the seat isn't occupied.
i dont know about others, but it seems that when sitting in my 02 the roof seems to be in my eyes (i am <6' so i am not excepionally tall). my hair brushes up against the moonroof - could they have possible RAISED the seats? or did they make the glass taller?
interior is still cheap looking. the 3rd row is still usable, but a bit tighter. door handles - 02 to 05 they were too low, now they are a funky design - you have to see it to understand. the load floor is flate it just takes two steps to get it that way. it seems the space behind row 3 is even less than before.
The Freestyle is built on the 500's platform, I believe. The Explorer is still a truck, with body on frame design and it'll still tow. I'm surprised at your comments - it seems a lot smaller than before.
Now, what were those pluses again?
exterior - cleaner lines
seats are more comfortable. leather is softer and seems richer.
load floor can be flay.
3rd row seats are split.
unfortunately, the 2nd row is now 60/40 and not 40/20/40.
i understand that the explorer can tow more, but the interiors are very similar. seems like the frestyle and explorer basically can serve the same market except for the towing.
I did get to drive the 06 Mountaineer though. The foldaway running boards are a lot better than I thought they would be. I wish the Explorer had the option. They fold down and out tot he perfect position and then tuck away nicely when you shut the door. You can also control how they are deployed, by using selecting Automatis or Off or Down.
The Mountaineer was a top of the line Premier model and seemed like a very good price, with a V8, power fold 3rd row, Nav system, DVD player, moon roof, and some other stuff it was 38K.
The interior of the Merc is very upscale, with very nice aluminum trim on the steering wheel and where the wood is on the Limited Explorer.
The V6 is a lot better than the previous generation, very quiet and smooth at idle and plenty of torque. The tranny is very smooth shifting too. The V6 accelerates surprisingly well.
The V8 is also very smooth and quiet and the 6 speed is very smooth shifting. The MPG difference between the V6 and V8 is hardly anything, like 1 mpg.
One thing very noticible about al of the models is how quiet they are, no wind noise, no road noise, and you can barely hear the engine (V6 or V8) unless you are accelerating hard. They are more like a luxury car than a SUV when it come to noise levels.
EZ exit seat On/Off (Drivers seat moves back to the farthest position when you remove the key, making it easier to get out and in to the vehicle)
Auto Door Locks On/Off (doors lock around 15mph)
Auto Door UNlock On/Off (nice they give you the choice)
Rear Parking Sensor On/Off
Auto headlight Light delay, and a few more things that I can't remember.
To change between ON and OFF you use the RESET button