2011 Ford Explorer: One More Teaser Shot Plus a Far More Interesting Video on the Camo Process

Ford's dedicated Facebook page on the new 2011 Explorer hit 30,000 fans / likes today and to celebrate this oh so special achievement, the company published one more photo in a long line of dreadfully boring teaser pictures. This time, Ford showed off the '11 Explorer SUV's grille piece. Nothing more to say here.

More interestingly, the Dearborn automaker also released a new video explaining the process that went into camouflaging the prototype versions of the SUV model, which by the way, will be unveiled on Monday, July 26. You can watch the video after the jump.

Read more »

Ford Offers (Yet Another) Glimpse of 2011 Explorer's Interior and Exterior

In less than a week's time, on Monday July 26, the teasing will finally be over with the unveiling of the completely redesigned for 2011, Ford Explorer. But until then, Ford will continue to offer sneak peeks of its car-based crossover through pictures and videos.

This time, the Dearborn-based automaker released a photograph of Jennifer Brace who helped design MyFord Touch partially revealing the 2011 Explorer's dashboard and center console, as well as two videos with Ford racing drivers Robert Hight and Bob Tasca III.

The new 2011 Explorer will arrive in U.S. showrooms before the end of the year. It will be offered with the choice of a 2.0-liter turbocharged four and a 3.5-liter V6, both paired to a six-speed automatic transmission for improved fuel economy.

Read more »

2011 Ford Explorer's New 2.0-liter Turbo to Boost Fuel Economy over V6 by 30 Percent [Plus New Video]

About a week before Ford lifts the covers off the all-new 2011 Explorer, the company released the first details about the expected fuel economy performance of the SUV's new 2.0-liter turbocharged straight-four EcoBoost petrol engine.

Ford says the Explorer with the EcoBoost engine will get at least 30 percent better gas mileage than the existing V6-powered 2010 Explorer, without, however, releasing any specific numbers.

The current Explorer with the 210HP 4.0-liter V6 is rated at 14mpg city, 20mpg highway and 16mpg combined (4x2 model), meaning that fuel economy for the EcoBoost-powered 2011 Explorer will be better than 18.2/26/20.8 mpg respectively.

Read more »

2011 Ford Explorer SUV: Lame Teaser Pictures Round 5

As if FoMoCo's marketing department would stop at round four... Anyway, here are two more crappy cropped teaser images of the all-new 2011 Ford Explorer crossover / SUV that is set to be fully revealed on the firm's Facebook page at the end of this month. If you haven't done so already, follow the jump to check out the rest of the pictures.

Read more »

2011 Ford Explorer SUV: Lame Teaser Pictures Round 4

Here are a couple of new teaser shots of the upcoming 2011 Ford Explorer SUV that were released by the Detroit automaker on the vehicle's Facebook page. This time we get a peek of the front quarter panel and head lamp assembly as well as the SUV's profile. It shouldn't be long before Ford swipes the covers off its all-new Explorer which is set to go sale in the U.S. later this year, so stay tuned for more. In the meantime, check out our previous post here that includes a video clip of a prototype model.

Read more »

2011 Ford Explorer SUV: Lame Teaser Pictures Round 3

No really, Ford is in fact trying to convince us that it is teasing the new explorer and not a boat in this latest picture that was uploaded on the SUV's dedicated Facebook page. Whatever. The redesigned from the ground up 2011 Explorer should descend upon us in a couple of weeks time, maybe even sooner. Time wasters can check out the rest of the teaser pictures after the jump.

Read more »

VIDEO: 2011 Ford Explorer Prototype Testing

Ford has dropped some new teaser footage of a camouflaged 2011 Explorer, with the vehicle's Program Manager, Julie Levine, describing how the new SUV is being put to the test in various on and off-road tests. The new unibody Explorer will be unwrapped in July and go on sale in the States later this year.

It will be offered with the company's new 2.0-liter Ecoboost turbocharged four-pot and a 3.5-liter V6 engine in both naturally aspirated and twin-turbocharged versions.

Read more »

2011 Ford Explorer Found Hiding Behind Marketing Team Boss

Ladies and gents, we present to you Amy Marentic, FoMoCo's car, crossover and SUV marketing manager. And oh, the vehicle stalking her is the forthcoming, 2011 Ford Explorer. The Dearborn automaker released this new teaser photo as Marentic was recently interviewed by Reuters on the 2011 Explorer, which is expected to be officially revealed in July.

In that interview, she talked about what led the company to "reinvent" the Explorer and how Ford will try to win back customer loyalty.

"Right now six out of 10 who own an Explorer defect to another brand," said Marentic. "We want to switch that around and keep all of those customers like we used to in the early to mid-1990s."

To achieve this, Ford says that the new Explorer will retain many of the capabilities of a traditional SUV, with three rows of seats for up to seven adults, and the ability to tow a 19-foot boat, adding to the equation an improved ride, sharper handling and at least a 25 percent improvement in fuel economy over the current Explorer's 14 mpg city and 20 mpg highway numbers.

Read more »

2011 Ford Explorer SUV: Lame Teaser Pictures Round 2

Teasing future cars with cryptic or mundane photos is so... 2008, yet Ford insists on following this method for some social media love. If you disliked the 15 rounds (!) of Mustang teaser shots back in 2008, then we suggest you skip this post altogether because as with the previous Facebook photos of the 2011 Explorer SUV, there's nothing really worth seeing here other than the opening picture showing the Land Rover-like terrain-management system knob.

Read more »

2011 Ford Explorer SUV: First Official Teaser Photos, More to Come

Hidden somewhere in these cryptic photos is the all-new 2011 Ford Explorer SUV. The pictures were just released a few minutes ago on FoMoCo's dedicated Facebook page.

They don't show much of the new SUV model but the plan is to slowly undress the 2011 Explorer through a series of pictures that will be uploaded on the much-criticized lately, yet massively powerful, social network site in the same way Honda did with the Accord CrossTour last year.

So, when will we see the new Explorer? There's no specific date, but Scott Monty, Ford's head of social media, told the New York Times today that the company's new SUV model will be fully revealed sometime in July.

Read more »

2012 Ford Explorer Illustration the Real Deal? Nope, it's a CGI by Josh Byrnes.

You may be wondering if this rendering of the 2012 Ford Explorer SUV that appeared on several automotive sites / weblogs is real. While the illustration appears to very close to the prototypes we've seen in spy shots (as well as the official teaser picture), a quick search on the internet reveals that it's actually a CGI or Computer Generated Image that was made by Josh Byrnes for Australian website 'Caradvice'.

Read more »

2012 Ford Explorer SUV Officially Teased

Pictured here next to Jim Holland, chief engineer behind the new Ford Explorer, is (trumpets, please), well, the new Explorer - or at least, a smidgen of it.

The successor to Ford's 90's break-out hit is supposed to debut this year, but there's still no official word from Ford.

We know the new Explorer will be sharing its underpinnings with the Flex, something that usually wouldn't make sense. The Flex is a quirky crossover, and the Explorer is supposed to be an SUV.

That is, unless Ford has some crazy off-roading, efficiency-themed crossover technology coming out. Guess we'll just have to wait and see. Power would hopefully come from some Ecoboost 4- and 6-cylinder engines.

Sadly, there's really nothing to be said about the styling...yet. If it has a hint of Ford's 2008 Explorer America concept in it, that would be nice. And sliding doors need to make a comeback, too.

Read more »