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Spy Shots: Next-gen unibody Ford Explorer mules caught
by John Neff on Oct 23rd 2008 at 12:41PM 
Click above for high-res gallery of next-gen unibody Explorer spy shots
Our spy photographers have noticed a test mule running around Detroit, and we agree with their guess that it's the upcoming reinvention of the Ford Explorer on a unibody platform. Since its inception, the Explorer has been a true SUV built on a sturdy truck frame, but the market has turned its back on traditional SUVs, so Ford came up with the Explorer America concept that debuted at the 2008 Detroit Auto Show. The concept previews the vehicle you see here, though current mules for the production version are cobbled together with bits of Taurus X and Flex body panels.
The new Explorer will be ditching its truckish roots and climbing onboard a new car-based platform that's shared with the Flex. The new unibody structure will effectively make the next Explorer a large CUV rather than an SUV. The mules are wearing a Flex front end with a modified lower grille to allow more cooling air to reach the engine, but after the more steeply raked A-pillar we find the body of a Ford Taurus X. Our spies note that the wheelbase of these mules appears to be shorter than that of the Flex, though we expect the new Explorer to sport a third row of seats regardless. The mules also appear to be wider than a Taurus X or Flex, which is fitting with the SUV image the new Explorer must project. Click the gallery below for more spy shots of the next-gen Explorer, that should be arriving sometime in 2010.
Gallery: Ford Explorer Unibody - spy shots
[Source: KGP Photography]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
RL 12:48PM (10/23/2008)
Yuck, why do they have to create such UGLY vehicles. If I had to choose between something that looked like this, or something like the new Traverse, etc. there is NO way this would be selected. Apparently the 3 bar, FLEX grill, will be the new theme on all of their vehicles.
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ASEVENSEE4 12:53PM (10/23/2008)
The Traverse looks like an oversized bloated sumo wrestler, you should just get a minivan instead of tooling around in those fugly GM crossovers.
RL 12:56PM (10/23/2008)
I wouldn't mind a minivan, actually. I don't mind the Honda and the Town and Country's are just OK too. But I prefer something with a little nicer looks. But still, I'd take the Chevy, or the Acadia over this. Who's to say though, it is really the face of the Flex and the back end of a Taurus X/Freestyle pretty much, and the "real" explorer really may look nothing like this
Gabagool 12:57PM (10/23/2008)
Looks like Flex had a baby with Taurus X
Flashpoint 1:10PM (10/23/2008)
The Flex doesn't make sense as a badge name. Ford should have made the Flex, the NEW EXPLORER and given you the choice of the V6, Ecotech V6 and V8.
But, no matter what Ford makes, they'd better be sure to include telescoping steering wheels. The lack of which is the main reason I'd never buy a Flex.
TJ 1:13PM (10/23/2008)
Did any of you geniouses read the article? Here is a quote from it:
"though current mules for the production version are cobbled together with bits of Taurus X and Flex body panels"
Is it really that hard to understand?
C.W. 1:14PM (10/23/2008)
i hope you are all aware it will look nothing like this... when they create test mules they snatch parts off of anything that they can that is "roughly" the same dimension... which is why you see a Taurus X body, Flex front end, probably a current Explorer steering wheel, seats out of your grandma's Tempo... whatever... its purely a way to hide a new frame. you act like you've never seen test mules before.
Torrent 1:15PM (10/23/2008)
It's a MULE. Damn. It's not going to be the actual car you see here. They stuck on the front of the Flex with the body of a Taurus X, which tells me it will most likely have the same aerodynamics of the Flex/Taurus X. Taurus X is being killed next year, so now all we would have is the Flex, Edge, Escape, Explorer, and Expedition which will most likely be killed soon, too. Do you think Ford would be that careless as to just stick on a couple crossover parts and call it the explorer?
Don't answer that.
TJ 1:22PM (10/23/2008)
@ TJ: WTF is up with duplicate screen names? That is the most annoying thing EVER.
Randy 3:48PM (10/23/2008)
@CW
"i hope you are all aware it will look nothing like this... when they create test mules they snatch parts off of anything that they can that is "roughly" the same dimension... which is why......"
Well I'd agree with you 100% but what about the Aztek! It seemed to make it from Mule to production without a single change! :)
Oh and if ANYONE gets on my case for bashing the Aztek.. I'll.... I'll...
Grant 12:51PM (10/23/2008)
Flex, Edge, Taurus X, and now Explorer - c'mon Ford, how many crossovers do we need? Either keep the Explorer truck-based, or let it die with dignity.
There are many reasons why the domestic auto industry is in trouble, but one that we rarely hear about is the waste of engineering budgets on four different vehicles that serve basically the same purpose.
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Gabagool 12:58PM (10/23/2008)
Actually we hear it ALL the time
Judy Zik 2:08PM (10/23/2008)
This makes no sense. WTF. Ford already has two really good three row cuv's that are not selling. So now they are going to waste money developing and marketing a third? One can only hope that sharing the same platform as the Flex it will just be another product on the list at the same flex plant and not have a plant dedicated to it's production.
Zach 10:10AM (11/12/2008)
Ford may (and hopefully will) design this as an SUV instead as a crossover.
This was done with the Escape, which was built on a modified Mazda GF platform which was the old Mazda 626
jinsei888 1:03PM (10/23/2008)
stop making suv's! you kinda wonder if Ford just WANTS to go under...
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Joe 1:57PM (10/23/2008)
They can't stop making SUVs/CUVs. People buy them. People want them, even if sniveling little people like you will do nothing but badmouth their existence because they're less fuel efficient than the Pious I'm sure you drive.
The fact of the matter is that a large portion of the population need a people mover, and of that portion, another portion abhor the looks and stigma of a mini-van. Those people buy SUVs or CUVs because they look better, function better, and aren't mini-vans. They also offer more interior cargo space and heavier duty suspension packages, which, in many cases, are necessary for people that actually haul things from time to time. I'm not talking about the people that need to move 2 tons of firewood, but the people who are redoing a bathroom and need to transport a bathtub or something bulky like that.
Sure, some mini-vans have fold flat seats, but the suspensions are typically too soft to stand up to any sort of real use, other than people hauling.
Wayne 7:48AM (10/24/2008)
I agree we need SUV's and trucks, but as their purpose as people movers I disagree. When I grew up (late 80s and 90s) my family of 5 had a Chevy Corsica and a single cab old truck. If we needed to go somewhere, we all crammed in the car - we didn't need 7 captain chairs with 10 speaker radio, Blu-ray player, and an X-Box 360 when heading to the relatives. We didn't need to sit high off the ground or have 8 airbags to be safe. There were only 2 airbags in that car and we ALL lived to tell about it. Oh and we were not poor.
The argument that people *need* their SUVs to move their family of 2 or 3 kids just doesn't fly. We can have them sure, but in their current form sales haven't really grown.
Jon Hervé 1:10PM (10/23/2008)
Why this?
Ford must like wasting billions to continue developing Flex's and Edge's ugly brothers.
Taurus X, Explorer and Escape should be cancelled.
Am I missing something?
Why would I prefer a Taurus X ($27K) over an Edge ($25K)?
And why would I prefer an Explorer ($27K) over a Flex ($28K)?
At least, for an ugly box, the Escape is cheap.
Oh, well.. when Ford will want to save some money, they'll have easy decisions to take.
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Arumage 1:20PM (10/23/2008)
Why would you want to cancel the Escape? It actually sells so it would cost them money to cancel it. They sold 127,000 through September of last year. I can understand cancelling the Taurus X and the Explorer though.
CityWok 1:21PM (10/23/2008)
@ Jon Herve
The reason you would want a Taurus X over an Edge would be the third row seat.
Maybe you hate the styling on the Flex? Not that that it's a good reason, but who knows?