Ford Explorer 2006 News

The New York Police Department has given a patrol vehicle a rainbow makeover in the lead-up to the city’s Gay Pride March this weekend to show solidarity with the LGBT community a week after the Orlando massacre.The 2016 Ford Explorer SUV’s fabulous costume includes rainbow NYPD badges on the bonnet and front guards, a multi-coloured light bar and rainbow striping to the roof, side panels and wheels.The motto ‘Courtesy, Professionalism, Respect’ which adorns the sides of the NYPD’s patrol cars has been replaced with ‘Pride, Equality, Peace' while the words ‘Our love goes out to Orlando’ appear on the back windows.Speaking at a press conference yesterday, New York City mayor Bill De Blasio said the police car with Pride colours was a symbol of the NYPD’s solidarity and deep connection with the LGBT community.“When we celebrate pride we do it with particular passion and this year we have an obligation to our nation in the wake of Orlando to show what pride and inclusion looks like and the whole city will be celebrating and standing up for and with our LGBT community,” he said.“There are no specific threats directed at this parade, but that does not stop us from being vigilant and using all our resources.”New York City’s annual Gay Pride March takes place this Sunday, a week after a gunman killed 49 people at a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida.

The humble Ford Falcon depreciates faster than any other car on the Australian market, retaining only 47.9 per cent of its value after two years. The Falcon BF MkII slid from $39,890 when new in 2007 to a mere $19,100 to delight used car buyers but create a financial headache for its first owner. But though it topped the list for the car to lose more money in two years than any other, information from automotive researchers Glass's Information Services show the Falcon wasn't much different from its rivals, the now-obsolete Mitsubishi 380 SX and the VZ Holden Commodore. The 380, dumped from Mitsubishi's line up after its Adelaide factory closed last year, retained the same 47.9 per cent as the Falcon and is according to Glass's data, is now worth only $15,800. Glass's operations manager, Chris D'Sousa, says there should be no surprises that the large car sector — of which the 380, the Falcon and Commodore belong — has been hit the hardest on the used car market because of last year's surge in petrol prices. However, he acknowledges that the niche market of the FPV range resulted in the GT Cobra retaining 92.2 per cent of its value after two years. On the other side of the ledger, small cars fared much better. The 2007 small car that retained its value more than any other was the Honda Civic Hybrid with a massive 87.6 per cent of its value retained. It is listed as costing $32,990 new and is now $28,900. But it isn't all good news for the little cars with the worse performer being the Alfa Romeo 147 GTA three-door that fell from $63,990 new to $37,600 now. Even the baby light-car segment has its heroes — the Mazda2 with a whopping 92.1 per cent retained value — and losers. In this case the Proton Satria lost 40.5 per cent of its value, slipping from $18,990 new to $11,300 now. There were interesting winners in the medium-car class, where the Mercedes-Benz C-Class diesels occupied the top 10 places. Sports car winners were dominated by the Ferrari models — the best is the Scaglietti with a 101.9 per cent retention meaning it's worth more after two years than when new in 2007. Even more bizarre is the Ford F250 and F350 range that record a retained value of between 112 per cent and 122 per cent. Mr D'Sousa says these cab-chassis and crew-cab trucks wee highly sought after by tow-truck operators and fifth-wheel buyers and, because they were now out of production, the used market has soared. 2007 LARGE CARS (retained value): THE WORST: 1. Ford Falcon BF — 47.9% 2. Mitsubishi 380 — 47.9% 3. Holden Commodore VZ — 48% THE BEST: 1. Ford FPV GT Cobra — 92.2% 2. Mercedes E-Class — 72.9% 2007 MEDIUM CARS (retained value): THE WORST: 1. Saab 9-3 sedan — 56.4% 2. Jaguar X-Type V6 — 56.4% THE BEST: 1. Mercedes C-Class diesel — 80.8% 2. Ford Mondeo LX — 76.7% 2007 SMALL CARS (retained value): THE WORST: 1. Alfa Romeo 147 GTA — 58.9% THE BEST: 1. Honda Civic Hybrid — 87.6% 2007 LIGHT CARS (retained value): THE WORST: 1. Proton Satria — 59.5% THE BEST: 1. Mazda2 — 92.1% 2007 SPORTS CARS (retained value): THE WORST: 1. Citroen C4 VTS — 51.9% THE BEST: 1. Ferrari Scaglietti — 101.9% 2007 SUV COMPACT (retained value): THE WORST: 1. Ssangyong Actyon — 54.4% THE BEST: 1. Mazda CX-7 — 82.7% 2007 SUV MEDIUM (retained value): THE WORST: 1. Holden Adventra V6 — 56.8% THE BEST: 1. Toyota Prado diesel — 88.9% 2007 SUV LARGE (retained value): THE WORST: 1. Ford Explorer — 55.7% THE BEST: 1. Mercedes GL diesel — 92.2%

The F150 has held pride of place at the top of the truck sales for 31 consecutive years in America, and Ford kicked off its show celebrations with the reveal of the new Effy. The bigger, but slightly lighter new F150 comes in 35 different spec and body variations, yet will be sold as a V8 petrol only until the diesel arrives in 2010. To sedate the greenies, Ford has embarked on a green drive with two of its other show concepts.   Ford’s next affordable small-car entry for America, seen here in concept form as the Verve, features the euro-faced Kinetic Design Language familiar from the Fiesta, Focus and more recently the Mondeo. The three-door concept, originally unveiled last year in Frankfurt, is on show to gauge the American interest. But the sedan version, which dropped its covers for an international audience today, is production-ready and scheduled for sale. It is more than just a small car for the American market - this is the next Fiesta, and we should see it here a year before the Americans in 2009. While the Blue Oval acknowledges the need for fuel efficient vehicles like the Verve concept, it still will not readily relinquish its top spot in trucks. To address the outstanding issues of fuel use and CO2 emissions in their larger cars, Ford has developed a new engine system called EcoBoost. At Detroit, EcoBoost featured at the core of one of Ford’s largest passenger SUVs, the Explorer. A new direct-injection fuel delivery system, combined with twin-turbo charging technology, offers large dollops of progressive power from smaller-capacity four- and six-cylinder blocks, dropping fuel use in the latter by up to 30 per cent. It’s ironic really, as turbocharging an engine is usually anything but eco-friendly. But running a hulking Explorer efficiently with a 179kW four-cylinder under its bonnet certainly seems like a forward step for the Ford Motor Company. And that technology will come here. The same V6 Duratec engine that features in our next Ford Falcon will be Eco-Boosted by 2010.