34 I AUTOMOTIVE I
MARCH 9, 2011 MID RIVERS NEWSMAGAZINE
NEWSMAGAZINENETWORK.COM
Ford rolls out new, improved Explorer The 2011 Ford Explorer has been redesigned from bottom to top, inside and out, to reflect a contemporary vision of what customers today want in a modern SUV. “Ford has changed everything about the all-new Explorer, yet it’s still instantly and instinctively recognizable as a Ford Explorer,” said Moray Callum, executive director of North America Design. “We believe that’s because it’s a contemporary interpretation of the same capabilities Explorer has always stood for, without compromise.” “The all-new Explorer combines bold, evocative design language with a wind- and noise-cheating aerodynamic shape on a rigid unibody platform,” said Melvin Betancourt, design manager. “Explorer has the height, stance, ground clearance and SUV cues that clearly indicate its off-the-beaten-path capabilities.” The Explorer design team was challenged with reinterpreting the segment-defining icon as a modern, contemporary SUV for the 21st century. “The new Explorer starts with proportions and stance,” Betancourt said. “Its agile, fluid lines combine with the
muscular toned sheet metal, delivering athletic good looks and unsurpassed aerodynamics. ” Standard roof rack, rounded corners, shorter overhang, and aggressive wheels and tires provide the rugged cues that customers recognize in an SUV. From the rear, LED stop lamps glow from the jewellike taillamp cluster. The Explorer name projects from the rear liftgate appliqué. As with the exterior, the Explorer interior design brief was to modernize, making soft-touch surfaces and occupant comfort key priorities. A goal was to make the Explorer interior a three-row medium for the technology, convenience and connectivity it contains, while inspiring driver confidence in dynamic driving on any road, anytime, anywhere. The feeling of the interior is one of an upscale, premium vehicle, from the choice of materials to the high levels of fit-and-finish. “Make it look expensive: That was my goal for the new Explorer interior,” said Mike Arbaugh, interior studio manager. “This is a vehicle that challenges higher-end SUVs like BMW X5 and Audi Q7, so the interior design,
craftsmanship and fit-and-finish should play in that league.” As part of Ford’s global product development system, Explorer was subject to extreme testing while still in the virtual computer-aided design phase. Issues identified and addressed in the virtual realm help deliver a higher quality vehicle when prototype build begins. Then these running prototypes are tested and validated to ensure that the attributes targeted at the outset are delivered for customers.