Ford Battles SUV Traffic Jam
With the number of sport-utility vehicle models in the U.S. expected to nearly double by 2004, Ford Motor Co. opened its defense of its most popular SUV on Thursday by unveiling the next-generation Explorer, a redesign crucial to the auto maker’s efforts to maintain a leading position in trucks.
The 2002 versions of the Explorer, which has been the country’s best-selling SUV virtually since its introduction 10 years ago, will offer more interior room and an optional third row of seats, allowing up to seven adult passengers.
“If you go back a decade, Ford introduced what became an industry phenomenon,” said J Mays, Ford’s vice president of design. “The Explorer started to mean to SUVs what the Mustang meant to muscle cars.”
The new Explorers, which will arrive in showrooms in March, have huge headlights and taillights, a beefier look to the front and improved handling, thanks to much stiffer frames than those of the current generation. The 2002 models keep similar external dimensions, but their floors are 2 inches lower, even as ground clearance increases by 1 inch, making them easier to enter and exit.
Ford sold a record 431,000 Explorers in 1998. Sales fell slightly in 1999, but the world’s No. 2 auto maker expects to set another record this year, said Explorer Marketing Manager Ed Molchaney.
“Our strategy is to appeal to our current customers and respond with what they want,” he said. “We want their repeat business.”
That’s a tough assignment given the fierce competition from a host of new SUVs just on the market or coming soon from General Motors Corp., Honda Motor Co.’s Acura unit, Toyota Motor Corp., Nissan Motor Co., Mitsubishi Motors Corp. and Volkswagen, among others. In fact, the 43 models of SUVs sold in the U.S. in 1999 will balloon to 83 models by 2004, according to Matt Darnell, SUV project manager for industry forecaster J.D. Power & Associates in Agoura Hills.
“The Explorer’s been the best-selling SUV since it was introduced, but by 2005, we’re forecasting around 320,000 sold a year because of the proliferation of competition,” Darnell said.
Mays, the design guru best known for his work on VW’s New Beetle, says the onslaught of competition and the possibility of sales heading south were the last things on his mind as he was designing the Explorer, his first vehicle at Ford to come to market.
“I thought nothing about what any of the other manufacturers are doing,” Mays said. “With a customer base of 3.6 million, we want to retain them in a modern, refined way.”
That refinement, he said, comes via improvements in the powertrain, anti-lock brakes and stability control, better ride and handling, and reduced noise and vibration.
“Doing the Explorer right is critically important for Ford and their position in the SUV market,” said George Peterson, president of the AutoPacific consultancy in Tustin. “It’s really important that the Explorer stay fresh and competitive and reasonably priced.”
Pricing has not been announced, but the 2002 models are expected to be slightly more expensive than current models, which run from $20,520 for a basic two-door Explorer Sport to $35,020 for a fully equipped Explorer Limited.
The Explorer’s sister vehicle, the upscale Mercury Mountaineer, represents a greater departure from the Explorer than does the current Mountaineer. With increased use of chrome and brushed aluminum, thicker side cladding and more angular lines, it looks “more technical, precise and detailed,” Mays said.
Explorer sales have stayed strong despite the truck’s coming to the end of its product cycle. Usually a vehicle’s sales peter out or even drop drastically when it is close to being replaced, but Explorer sales through June were up 14.2% from the year-earlier period.
“That’s partly on the strength of the new Explorer Sport and Sport Trac, which got off to a fast start,” Molchaney said. “Plus there’s not a wide public perception that we’re coming out with a new one.”
The Sport Trac, introduced in March, is a pickup-truck version of the current Explorer, with an open rear cargo space.
Separately, Ford said Thursday that it is reviewing the safety of Firestone tires used on the Explorers and other vehicles, after reports linked them to accidents in which 21 people have died.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has been investigating nearly 200 complaints that Firestone ATX, ATX II and Wilderness tires, which are often used on new pickups and SUVs, peeled off their casings.
Ford shares, trading on a when-issued basis after a dividend program was approved Wednesday, rose $2.63 to close at $29.25 on the New York Stock Exchange.
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Sport-Ubiquity Vehicles?
The Ford Explorer was the top-selling sport-utility vehicle among 43 models sold last year in the U.S. It remains the No. 1 seller this year, but with as many as 83 models on the market by 2004, Ford faces a challenge in holding on to Explorer customers.Market Outlook
Number of SUV models on the market 1999: 43
2004 projection: 83
Top SUV sellers in 1999Ford Explorer: 428,772
Jeep Grand Cherokee: 300,031
Ford Expedition: 232,140
Chevrolet Blazer: 232,140
Dodge Durango: 189,840
Jeep Cherokee: 165,261
Chevrolet Suburban: 138,977
Toyota 4Runner: 124,221
Chevrolet Tahoe: 122,213
Honda CR-V: 120,754
Sources: J.D. Power & Associates, Automotive News Data Center
