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Remember when the Fjord Explorer got REALLY nice?

Lorenzini

Lorenzini

Dec 31, 2004
4,804
196
41
Los Angeles
#1
I believe that started with the 1995 Eddie Bauer model. My family rented one for a ski trip in Utah and it kicked major booty and was very comfortable. At the time that was the "it" SUV.

Do they still have that status nowadays?

Who here drives an Explorer?
 
#2
I actually quite like the new explorers, they are taking styling ques from the Land Rover LR3 nowadays (one of the perks of OWNING Land Rover), and getting back to being a tad more boxy, and I dig that...I just don't trust Fords.

But alas, as with all larger SUV's, they are experiencing a sales slump with the whole gas price war stuff, but they can be had pretty reasonable, and the ride if still there, nice and tight (up until a year or so ago, my Bro in Law was a dieshard Explorer buyer)

So if it floats your boat and you trust in Ford, get one, they're getting real nice.

Ron
 
#3
My drummer just traded in his Explorer for a new Ford Edge. While I prefer having true 4x4 ability, the Explorer and Edge are VERY comfortable vehicles, and suprisingly, his Edge still holds his whole damn drumset. And when I say "whole damn drumset"...


l_08a15809da53c33c1c0990f233421ca5.png
 
#5
I'm curious to hear your reasons for avoiding Ford. Exactly what don't you trust? Cuz last night my buddy gave me some incredible horror stories about getting his Chrysler's scheduled maintenance and a small problem repaired. And my buddy's girlfriend's new Toyota Fit is not impressing us mechanically inclined folk who can spot mechanical problems a mile away. The problem isn't about trusting one brand over another, or foreign over domestic. It's about learning which vehicles are highly rated, and which vehicles need attention. By ANY brand.

For example, the announcements this morning that the Hummer H3 got failing grades for front impact crash tests, where the test dummies showed data representing broken femurs in driver's right legs.


So gimme some examples why you don't trust Ford. Cuz after T-Boning a Jeep in my Bronco, and towing my buddies out of snow banks, my Fords have served me quite well. In fact, haven't seen a REAL problem with a Ford since my dad's oooold 247,000 mile Ranger, or my mom's Lincoln's oil leak.
 
#7
Bryan316 said:
So gimme some examples why you don't trust Ford. Cuz after T-Boning a Jeep in my Bronco, and towing my buddies out of snow banks, my Fords have served me quite well. In fact, haven't seen a REAL problem with a Ford since my dad's oooold 247,000 mile Ranger, or my mom's Lincoln's oil leak.
Click to expand...

When I saw that "Fjord" in this post I knew something was up. I bet what you really meant to type was
Link Removed
but you didn't know that, did you? :ninja:

(I had a 253,000 mile Ranger, a 1985. Whatta truck.)
 
#8
ARGH for crap's sake, Toyota Yaris. They look identical, man... teensy deathtraps with no actual protection around you. But I'll give her credit, it WOULD hold my bass rig. But only my bass rig. Any passengers to the gig, or recording gear, or guitarist's gear, heck no.


And I'm using my cars to keep me alive when redneck trailer park trash wearing a Jack Daniels cap and a Slayer shirt makes a left turn in front of me without even NOTICING there's a wave of traffic coming right at him, in his brother's vehicle because he's JOBLESS LIVING IN HIS BROTHER'S TRAILER. 26 year old jobless redneck driving someone else's car like a brain-damaged dufus. His brother musta loved him. And yes, all the stereotypical hatin' going on here is TRUE, because as we waited for the cop, he was explaining everything, hoping I'd be merciful on his ******** jobless arse. Hell no! Mercy is NEVER an option!
 
#9
I had a 1994 Explorer - great vehicle and made it to 180K before it needed a new trans. Still running I think (sold it a few years ago). Slightly off-topic, but my family has had a combined 7 F150's with straight-6 engines that have all lasted over 250K miles without major problems. And my '92 right now has 195K and still running strong.
 
#10
I've owned a couple of Ford vehicles, & never had any problems... As a matter of fact, I think Ford is the ONLY USA manufacturer I'd trust. I just think they're sales are slumping, bcause they've done a really poor job over the past 10 years of making cars that are actually attractive (save the new Mustang). I do think the Edge is a nice step...
 
#11
We get a new Edge for my wife. It's a really nice car. Drives like a car, hauls like an SUV. And with a 265 hp V6, it can move too. Sweet!

I had a 1998 Mustang V6, and mechanically it was one of the most problem-free cars I've ever owned. If you take care of you cars (regular maintenance), they'll take care of you. No matter WHO makes them.
 
#12
My mom has an Edge. It's a sturdy vehicle alright and drives really well, however the blind spots on that thing freak me out. I borrowed her car once (my trusty mustang doesn't exactly hold a lot of gear) and I felt like I was going to slam into another car every time I made a turn or changed lanes.



I don't get why so many people hate on ford. My '97 mustang has been in this family for about a decade and hasn't had any mechanical issues whatsoever.
 
#13
Ahhh. blind spots. I've got one. It's called my center mirror. Cuz I've got the tinted windows (which I could NOT get replaced with clear windows, bah humbug!) and the cap over my bed has tinted glass all around (which I could not order otherwise, either!). Two layers of dark, renders my center mirror useless. Except for other vehicles' headlights, which still doesn't help with gauging distance anyways. Backing up to the doors of a gig, impossible. I just have my brother jump out and wave me in. We're far more accurate that way anyways!
 
#14
My experiences with Ford have been pretty good. My parents have only owned Ford vehicles since the early '90s and with the exception of a '92 Explorer, they've been great. They had a '91 Mercury Cougar that had 440 000 km on it when they sold it. My dad's owned half a dozen F-series trucks that have all been very reliable. I have a '00 Focus that I'm currently selling, but it has 120 000 km on it and it hasn't had any problems and the only work done on it has been regular maintenance.

If I was buying a domestic vehicle, it would probably be a Ford. I test drove a late model Explorer before I bought my Pathfinder. It was a nice vehicle.
 
#15
I had a 92 Mazda Navajo (essentially an Explorer w/Mazda badging) that I beat the crap out of, and it always came back for more. When I finally traded it in, it had over 200K miles and was running on 5 cylinders (out of 6)! I liked it just fine, but wanted something with a little better performance.

FWIW, my neighbor's spankin' new Ram 1500 w/Hemi uses 16 spark plugs, and a tune-up will run him over $500 when it's that time... Yikes.

I really hate how all these auto manufacturers are putting those stupid fender vents on their cars.
 
#16
Bryan316 said:
ARGH for crap's sake, Toyota Yaris. They look identical, man... teensy deathtraps with no actual protection around you. But I'll give her credit, it WOULD hold my bass rig. But only my bass rig. Any passengers to the gig, or recording gear, or guitarist's gear, heck no.
Click to expand...

It's only a death trap because there's so many SUVs and large truck drivers on the road here. :)

Like any company, Ford can make good cars and crap. My mom's old Ford Tempo was crap. A lot of Ford trucks are great. It's hard for American car companies to compete due to uncalled for stigma. I admit that my Chevy S-10 pickup was definitely not my first choice for a first car (I wanted a Volkswagon GTI), but it's a real workhorse that has given me over 10 years of loyalty with little problems. I just hope that whatever car I get next follows suit.
 
#18
I guess what I was saying, and I'll get a lot of crap for it I think, is that I don't totally trust all American car manufacturers. That's probably a terrible generality but in my experience the fit and finish isn't great, ESPECIALLY on their medium sized and compact cars, sedans, etc.

I have a 1996 Toyota Avalon that just runs like a champ and will most likely never die. 150,000 miles, 1 wreck, and 0 engine or transmission problems. I am a fan of Toyota and Honda.

HOWEVER, American TRUCKS seem to be build very very sturdily. So, do I trust Ford? Well I trust Ford Trucks, absolutely.

And Fjord? That's true :D It was on porpoise.
 
#19
Infernal Affair said:
It's hard for American car companies to compete due to uncalled for stigma.
Click to expand...



Ready for a helluva derailment?


I blame the downfall of the American auto industry on the greed of the auto unions, and their bought-and-paid-for invincibility. When an employee can skip work for five hours straight to sneak off to a sports bar and drink all afternoon, GET CAUGHT ON VIDEOTAPE, and not get fired, all while earning a completely undeserved $35 an hour for completely uneducated menial labor, that's when your industry takes a dump on you.

When the unions no longer protect worthless cheating corrupt employees and the Big Three can fire someone for doing something unacceptable, then we'll start to see a change.

When the worker goes back to earning a FAIR wage for the level of work they do, instead of getting twice my college-educated arse gets just cuz his daddy got him into the scam of the unions, we'll see some change.

When the auto industry can get rid of all their rediculously overpaid employees, including upper management (I'm looking at YOU, Bill Ford Sr.!) and executives who waste company funds with a private jet to fly from Dearborn to Florida DAILY, then we'll start seeing the foreign auto market's price advantages dissolve.



But that ain't happening. This is America. Where the corrupt rule.


That being said, all hail the example Henry Ford set all those decades ago. Too bad his kin screwed it all up and Hoffa got too much corrupted power for the unions.
 

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