Ford Explorer News

Ford knows it relies too heavily on Ranger and Everest to stay afloat in Australia, but what can be done to address this? Does it plunge headfirst in the bright array of coming crossovers, SUVs, 4x4s, trucks and electric cars, all of which come with no guarantee of success?

Australian roads used to be full of them.Long-gone favourites like the Holden Gemini, Ford Telstar, Mitsubishi Magna and Daihatsu Charade are now just that – memories of a bygone era. May they rust in peace.But not every car was discontinued abroad when they reached the end of the road in Australia. Many kept on selling overseas, and some even still live on today, having evolved as required to keep up with ever-changing consumer demands (and the Grim Reaper at bay).Sure, their styling has changed completely and they’ve been rebranded with cooler names to help keep buyers interested, but they all have one thing in common: a direct link to predecessors that were once part of Australia’s automotive landscape.Like some celebrity or outlaw who faked their demise or disappeared into a witness protection program, we expose their lives today. Same lineage. Different design and name. You’re bound to be surprised. Toyota has recently unveiled four completely different looking vehicles under the Crown name for global consumption which, unfortunately, does not include Australia.While there’s a striking fastback sedan, wagon and SUV, it’s the oddball crossover-style all-wheel-drive sedan version created expressly for the North American market that we’re focusing on, since it directly replaces the Avalon over there.Now, over 15 generations since 1955, the Crown has been a flagship Toyota sedan, its innate conservatism underlined by traditional three-box styling and rear-wheel-drive engineering. Australians had a taste from 1963 to 1987.However, the Crown crossover sedan is different, as it adopts a variation of the Toyota New Global Architecture ‘K’ (TNGA-K), as found in the transverse-engined/front-drive-based Camry, Kluger and scores of other models worldwide.That also includes the 2018-2022 Avalon, the final of five generations of Camry-derived Avalons built in and for America. The 1994 original was later made and sold in Australia from 2000 to 2006 after the US plant moved on to the second-gen Avalon in 1999. Unsurprisingly, a sloppy-seconds sedan from the States failed to entice us away from the hot VT/VX Commodore or AU/BA Falcon, though.So… the new, 2023 Crown crossover sedan for America directly continues the Avalon line and positioning as a jumped-up Camry, albeit in a swish, high-riding body and wearing a noble old badge – one not seen in the US in half a century.As a footnote, American left-hand-drive (LHD)-only production precluded the Avalon from being sold in Australia beyond the first series, but as the Crown crossover sedan will be made in Japan, there’s one fewer hurdle to stop an Avalon revival Down Under… but sorry taxi operators, this is highly unlikely to happen. Hyundai debuted in Australia with the pretty, Giugiaro-penned X1 Excel in 1986, but it was the on-point X3 Excel of 1994 that caught Australian light-car buyers’ imagination, often cracking a top-three sales position. They were literally everywhere.Though highly publicised quality glitches and endless discounting prompted the Australian importer to switch to the X3’s global ‘Accent’ name for the redesign in 2000 (LC series), two more generations followed, in 2006 (MC) and 2011 (RB). The latter proved successful later in life, trading on low prices and larger-car packaging.However, the 2017 HC Accent was created primarily for the Americas, China and Eastern Europe, prompting Hyundai to make it LHD-only, precluding Australia. Instead, the South Korean plant that supplied our market switched to the Venue light SUV, and by 2019 stocks of the old RB Accent dried up.Fun fact: Accent is reportedly an acronym, for ‘Advanced Compact Car of Epoch-making New Technology’. The Captiva now represents something of a pariah for Holden loyalists and with good reason, due to poor reliability and iffy quality that tarnished the brand’s reputation, perhaps even irreparably.However, affordable pricing and family-friendly packaging did help propel the South Korean medium-to-large SUV to consistent sales success during much of its considerable lifespan, so there’s no arguing that it also helped keep Holden afloat during hugely turbulent times.As it turns out, the Captiva – which was offered as both a short-body five-seater and long-body 5/7-seater wagon – was set to be replaced by a trio of Chevrolet and GMC-based SUVs.Holden released the Equinox and Acadia in 2017 and 2018 respectively, but the Blazer that was slated to sit in between as the main event never eventuated, since GM pulled the plug on Holden in early 2020.The Blazer now represents Holden’s lost opportunity, being everything its Captiva predecessor was not: Camaro muscle-car-inspired styling, a dynamic chassis and just-right sizing. Of all the what-might-have-been Holdens, this is surely one of the most heartbreaking for not having been given a chance to fly.In 2024, the Blazer will morph into an all-new EV. Would it have been Holden’s first full electric car? The Territory is now steeped in Australian motoring folklore, championed by a visionary leader (the late Geoff Polites), funded extensively through the sale of large swathes of land around Ford Australia’s Melbourne headquarters, lauded as one of the world’s best SUVs at the time, prolonging local production and ending up as Australia’s only-ever truly indigenous SUV.With such accolades, it’s no surprise that the Australian team was reportedly later developing an all-new large-car architecture for the 2010s that was going to replace the Falcon, Mustang and a host of other Ford and Lincolns globally.But the project was pulled and the design and engineering of the T6 truck platform was taken on instead, leading on to the wildly successful Ranger.However, eventually, that large-vehicle architecture surfaced underneath what might have been the Territory’s direct replacement, the sixth-generation (U625) Explorer of 2020. Along with broadly similar proportions and packaging, the big SUV features rear-wheel as well as all-wheel drive configurations, mirroring its legendary Aussie cousin of two decades prior.Ironically, the thing that helped prove fatal to Territory all those years ago keeps the Explorer from being sold in Australia: Ford did not develop it for the steering wheel to be offered on either side of the vehicle. Or, in other words, it's LHD-only.Needless to say, from Byron to Broome, SUV-mad buyers would be queueing up for the American Territory by any other name. Pity. Released locally at the dawn of the SUV craze in 1997, the original, J100 Daihatsu Terios was civilised enough for urban buyers with its monocoque construction and car-like interior, yet provided some off-road capability, with high ground clearance, live rear axle, 4WD and a lockable centre diff.It also foresaw the rise of the light SUV, but the series’ potential was cut short in Australia when controlling shareholder Toyota pulled the pin on Daihatsu in 2005.Sadly, we thus missed out on the chunky J200 Terios of 2006, which improved the design and proportions, looking more like a scaled-down RAV4 of the time. That ran until 2018, and was replaced by 2020 in many overseas markets by the A200 Rocky.We’ve said this before here, but the latest Rocky and its Toyota Raize twin are exactly what Australian new-car buyers need right now, with their compact, city-friendly dimensions and affordable pricing.The Rocky name, by the name, was used by the original Terios’ predecessor of the 1980s, but that was a properly tough ladder-frame-chassis 4x4 rival to the Suzuki Sierra.

Ford Australia has just outlined its electrification roadmap, which includes the rollout of five new electrified models before the end of 2024.

Ford is on a roll, but the problem is, Ford in Australia has only one such vehicle, the evergreen Ranger - an ageing pick-up truck that currently bombarded by newer wannabes - and nothing else.

Ford needs help. The Blue Oval, like most brands, is suffering a sales drop in 2019, but there doesn't seem to be anything truly exciting in the pipeline to arrest that decline.

Ford may have been forced to rename its imported Territory-replacing Edge large SUV to Equator for the Australian market

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.

Facelifted Ford Explorer previews Ford Territory replacement.Ford has given a glimpse of its family-sized SUV for the future, taking the covers off the new Ford Explorer that will ultimately replace the locally-made Ford Territory once production at Broadmeadows ends in 2016.Ford unveiled the facelifted version of the 2011 Explorer at the Los Angeles motor show today and it is believed to be a pointer as to how the next generation model due in two years will look.Ford Australia has not yet confirmed that the US-built Explorer will replace the Territory SUV but well placed insiders say it is a done deal.CarsGuide understands Ford also considered using the Territory name on the next generation Explorer because it is so popular with Australian buyers.But in the end the decision was made to go with the global Explorer name, although the Territory badge may live on as one of the model grades.The facelifted version of the 2011 Ford Explorer, which arrives just past the midway point of the model’s lifecycle, has adopted a more upmarket appearance with hints of Range Rover in the grille and headlights.The interior has been upgraded with more luxury equipment and appearance.The current Ford Explorer already shares a lot in common with the Ford Territory: both share their underpinnings with large sedans (the US Taurus for the Explorer and the Australian Falcon for the Territory), are available with five or seven seats, and are car-like to drive.Ford insiders are adamant that the recently released Ford Everest, based on heavy duty Ranger ute underpinnings, is not the replacement for the Territory, and nor is the other global Ford SUV planned for Australia, the Edge, which is a five-seater only.Ford sold 17,291 Explorers across two generations in Australia from 1996 to 2005. But the US model was dropped after sales of the locally-made Territory quickly outsold it.Ford Explorer sales in Australia1996 6051997 38231998 35091999 18122000 14982001 13872002 18692003 14672004 8912005 430Source: VFACTSUPDATE: Since this article was published, CarsGuide has learned there are no plans to introduce a right-hand-drive version of this generation Ford Explorer.  

The secret (and some not so secret) models that will power Ford, Holden and Toyota when their factories close.

And the VE Commodore was given just three stars. The latest Used Car Safety Ratings, taken from Monash University's Accident Research Centre (MUARC) crash survey awarded five stars to the Camry and Aurion on models built from 2006 until 2008. The results show that almost one in three vehicles have a "poor" or "very poor" crash test result. The worst result was for the 1990-96 Daihatsu Mira, while the 2004-07 VW Golf was the safest. The 1999-2002 Ford Fairlane/LTD, Holden's Statesman/Caprice and the 2003-5 Mitsubishi Magna/Verada line-ups all rated four stars.  Three-star ratings were also awarded to the 2002-08 BA/BF Ford Falcon, the Holden Statesman/Caprice range from 1994 to 1998 and the 2002-07 Holden Commodore VY/VZ range. The results also suggest smaller cars have improved in recent years, with the 1996-200 Volkswagen Polo scoring five stars and the 2005-2008 Holden Barina rating four stars. The ratings list showed that (excluding light-commercial utes) every vehicle class has at least one vehicle with an "excellent" five-star rating and of the 199 vehicles examined, more than a third scored either good or excellent. The survey rates occupant safety, as well as how other road users (cyclists, pedestrians, motorcyclists and other drivers) are affected in a crash, based on Australian and New Zealand injuries suffered by 5.4 million people from 1987-2008. FIVE STAR "excellent" Audi A4 01-08 BMW 5 Series 96-03 BMW X5 01-08 Chrysler Neon 96-99 Ford Explorer 01-05 Ford Transit 01-08 Mazda 6 02-07 Mazda MX5 Roadster 98-05 Mercedes Benz C-Class 00-07 Mercedes Benz M-Class 98-05 Mitsubishi Nimbus 99-03 Mitsubishi Pajero 00-06 Peugeot 307 01-08 Saab 900/9-3 94-02 Saab 9000 86-97 Subaru Liberty/Legacy/Outback 03-08 Subaru Forester 97-02 Toyota Aurion 06-08 Toyota Camry 06-08 Volkswagen Golf/Jetta 04-08 Volkswagen Polo 96-00 Volvo S40/V40 97-04 ONE STAR "very poor" Daewoo Espero 95-97 Daewoo Tacuma 00-04 Daihatsu Feroza/Rocky 89-97 Daihatsu Rocky/Rugger 85-98 Daihatsu Charade 93-00 Daihatsu Mira 90-96 Ford Festiva 94-01 Holden Commodore Ute VR/VS 94-00 Holden/Suzuki Scurry/Carry 82-00 Holden/Suzuki Drover/Sierra 82-99 Holden/Suzuki Barina/Swift 89-99 Hyundai Excel/Accent 95-00 Hyundai Getz/TB 02-08 Kia Ceres 92-00 Nissan Micra 95-97 Nissan NX/NX-R 91-96 Proton Wira 95-96 Subaru Impreza 93-00 Suzuki Vitara/Escudo 88-98 Toyota 4Runner/Hilux 89-97 Toyota Landcruiser 90-97