About this time last year, a case was under review in California involving a woman that was paralyzed after she rolled her 1997 Ford Explorer while trying to avoid an object in the roadway. The case has been bouncing around the courts since the crash took place in 2002, and when it was orginally brought to trial, the jury initially awarded the plaintiff $369 million, with $246 million in punitive damages. Over the past six years that sum has been cut down to $82.6 million (of which $55 million is classified as punitive damages), but no money has been paid out. The 4th District Court of Appeal in California was asked to re-review the case after Ford appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, claiming that the vehicle met federal safety standards and hence, wasn't liable in the case. The court approved the $82.6 million payout yesterday and we're assuming that Ford is either cutting a check or crafting a new legal strategy.
Update: Video of the Explorer America concept reveal is available after the jump.
click above for morel live images of the Ford Explorer America Concept
The unveiling of Ford's Explorer America concept might finally prove that the end of the SUV era is upon us. FoMoCo's stalwart 'ute has left the body-on-frame world and joined the ranks of crossovers that – if you believe the hype – are quickly filling up the SUV-sized vacuum left in garages across the country.
On the outside, Ford decided to keep several of the design cues that have defined the Explorer over the years, simply smoothing the edges, raising the belt line and giving it a healthy injection of futuristic lines that would make it a shoe-in as Robocop's next black-and-white cruiser. The sliding door on the passenger side might not make it to production, but it would be a smart addition to bridge the gap between machismo and minivan.
As reported earlier, both Ford and General Motors will be cutting back production during the first quarter of 2008 in an effort to stem the tide of excessive dealer inventory. GM already idled three pick up plants for two weeks and now Ford has temporarily shut down two of its own plants Monday.
The F150 plant in Dearborn, MI and the Explorer plant in Louisville, KY ceased production yesterday and it's unclear as to when the factories will resume their duties. Both models have seen a slip in sales over the course of the year (F150s are down 12.4-percent and Explorers sales have slipped by 23.5-percent compared to 2006), with analysts pointing to the slow economy and even slower house sales contributing to the downturn.
In a related article from the Detroit News, FoMoCo exec Mark Fields says that the automaker is expecting a rough 2008 as car sales in the U.S. continue to slow. Fields asked and answered his own question, saying, "Do I think it's going to be Armageddon? No." And continued by saying that Ford will take the coming year on a month-to-month basis in order to "manage the business appropriately." We'd hope that Ford is looking a little bit further down the line then "month-to-month," but in its current predicament, maybe that's all it can do.
[Sources: Detroit News, Automotive News – Sub. Req.]
FoMoCo is on the brink of settling a class-action lawsuit brought by owners claiming that Ford's Explorer was prone to rolling over. The settlement covers approximately one million people in California, Connecticut, Illinois and Texas who've owned 1991 through 2001 Explorers.
Ford's spokesperson, Kristen Kinley, believes that "the settlement is fair and reasonable," but declined to given an estimate of how much Ford would be shilling out to slighted owners. However, vouchers are expected to be issued to owners in the four states that would allow them to put $500 towards a new Explorer or $300 for another Ford, Lincoln or Mercury product.
Remember when bald-headed Britney Spears went bananas and attacked a paparazzo's SUV with a green umbrella? An armada of Martian flying saucers landing in Central Park's Sheep Meadow would have gotten less media attention. In any case, the owner either needs cash badly or simply came to the realization that in this celeb-addled society, there might be some sucker fan willing to pony up good money for this bit of tabloid memorabilia. It's up on eBay now, paired with the umbrella that was used in the "attack." The opening bid is $25,000 -- with the reserve still not having been met. When you consider that an '02 Explorer Sport has a private party resale value of around $9,000 according to KBB.com, it might behoove the owner to just yank the reserve and take what he can get. After all, 25 grand is a lot for a used Explorer like this, and it won't be long before people stop caring entirely. Autoblog says: Take the money. Run.
UPDATE: Commenter naugahyde points out that the listing is vague, as it says it's for a Ford Explorer Sport with the actual umbrella-weapon. So it could possibly not be the Explorer Sport that suffered at the hands of the pop star. Now, based on auction telecasts we've seen, this should be no obstacle to the insane with money if it is, in fact, the case. Then it's simply known as a "recreation."
The same basic technology that shaves seconds off of pit stops will soon be available on select Ford models for 2008. Ford's capless gas tank, or Direct Fill System (DFS), may seem like little more than a way to save a few seconds at the pump, but there are actually some additional benefits, as well. One obvious positive is that drivers won't have to get their hands dirty by unscrewing the cap, but for people with arthritis, DFS can make life a lot less painful, too. Ford's self-sealing technology can also prevent fuel evaporation caused by ill-tightened caps.
It seems like Ford has been talking up this technology forever, and now it's finally here. Autoblog Green has a quick video that shows the technology in action and you can check it out after the jump. They saw it in person a couple weeks ago and you'll first find the feature first on 2008 Ford Explorer models.
In 2002, Benetta Buell-Wilson was driving her 1997 Ford Explorer in Southern California when she swerved to avoid debris on the freeway. The high center of gravity of the SUV and the quick steering input caused the Explorer to roll four-and-a-half times, eventually coming to rest on its roof. The impact caused the roof to collapse, crushing Mrs. Buell-Wilson's neck and paralyzing her from the waist down. The subsequent lawsuit, claiming that Ford manufacturered a faulty roof, awarded her $369 million dollars, of which $246 million was classified as punitive damages. In the proceeding cases, that figure was cut down twice by a California state appeals court to $82.6 million.
On Monday, the Supreme Court ordered the state appeals court to review the decision, using the court's decision to overturn $79.5 million in punitive damages awarded during the highly-publicized tobacco case that was heard earlier this year. The rational being that the jury can punish a defendant only for the harm done to the plaintiff and not to the other people affected.
Ford claims that the roof was designed to meet federal safety standards and that no wrongdoing had taken place. This is one of many cases that Ford has had to defend over the past several years.
It looks like the age of the traditional body-on-frame SUV is coming to a close for most mainstream customers. While there will continue to be a market for big SUVs like the Tahoe and Expedition for customers who actually need to haul or tow stuff, many customers in the high volume mid-sized segment are realizing they can get by with something a little smaller and lot more fuel efficient.
The Ford Explorer dominated SUV sales charts throughout the 1990s and into the first part of this decade with sales of 445,157 in 2000. In the last couple of years, however, Explorer sales have tanked seeing it drop from first to fourth on the sales charts. Last year ,sales dipped to 179, 229 and the freefall shows no signs of letting up. The numbers are down another twenty-three percent so far this year.
On the flipside, sales of the redesigned Honda CR-V are up forty-two percent so far this year and it has jumped to the number one spot on the chart followed by the Toyota RAV-4 and Ford Escape, with the new Ford Edge coming on strong as well. The CR-V is doing so well that Honda is having to consider how to increase volume to meet the demand. For the first time, the automaker has started importing extra units from Japan to supplement the main production facility in East Liberty Ohio. Ford has already announced plans to move the Explorer to a unit-body crossover platform, which can't happen soon enough. The only problem will be finding a place to fit into a lineup already filled with the Escape, Edge, Flex and Taurus X.
There's still fallout landing from the Firestone-tire-crashing-Explorer episode. Maryland-based Quality Control Systems Corporation has sued NHTSA in an attempt to gain access to any reports Ford made to the agency regarding injuries and deaths from tire-related incidents. This latest action, under the Freedom Of Information Act, has been brought on by NHTSA's refusal to share any data it's collected about Explorer crashes.
NHTSA has been waffling about the level of detail it will release. A federal judge had ordered the agency to revamp a proposed rule allowing a high level of secrecy. The order was appealed by the Rubber Manufacturers Association, we're assuming in the interest of self preservation, and NHTSA is sitting on its hands until that appeal is resolved. If something was amiss with the tires, recommended inflation pressure, or just plain bad driving, the public deserves transparency. NHTSA contends that deciding what level of information to release on a case-by-case basis would be overwhelming – as well as possibly revealing sensitive corporate information. A blanket policy favoring informing the public, rather than protecting companies that make faulty products would be a step in the right direction. Instead, we're going to still be in the dark while time is wasted clogging up the legal system and paying lawyers to duke it out. Now, that's what we call progress.
We've arrived at episode #53 of the Autoblog Podcast, which means we're at the final stage of the Autoblog Podcast Relaunch Sweepstakes. The prize this week is the king of all iPods, an 80GB iPod Video. It doesn't get any better than that, so if you've been waiting to enter the sweepstakes, now's the time. To do so, listen to the podcast and wait to hear the secret keyword revealed. Once you've got it, email the keyword to abresearch at gmail dot com along with your name, age and address. That's it! We'll accept submissions through Wednesday, January 10th at 12 AM EST, at which time we'll randomly draw the final winner. Check out the official rules here and subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes by clicking here.
For episode #53, we continue our discussion of concept and production cars that have been unofficially debuted ahead of the Detroit Auto Show that begins this weekend. The Chrysler Group had three vehicles prematurely revealed, including the Chrysler Nassau Concept, Jeep Trailhawk Concept and 2008 Dodge Viper SRT-10, now with 600 ponies of ridiculous power. The Rolls-Royce Phantom Drophead Convertible also was revealed last week, but the biggest attention getter had to be the Ford Interceptor Concept, a rear-wheel drive Mustang-based sedan which gets a thorough once over on the podcast. Finally, news came in the past few days that the next-generation Ford Explorer would leave its truck roots and be born again as a large CUV. Along with our discussion of the news, we also read some feedback from listeners on how the new show is going. Enjoy!
SUBSCRIBE to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes LISTEN to the show now ADD the Autoblog Podcast feed to your RSS aggregator
About this time last year, a case was under review in California involving a woman that was paralyzed after she rolled her 1997 Ford Explorer while trying to avoid an object in the roadway. The case has been bouncing around the courts since the crash took place in 2002, and when it was orginally brought to trial, the jury initially awarded the plaintiff $369 million, with $246 million in punitive damages. Over the past six years that sum has been cut down to $82.6 million (of which $55 million is classified as punitive damages), but no money has been paid out. The 4th District Court of Appeal in California was asked to re-review the case after Ford appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, claiming that the vehicle met federal safety standards and hence, wasn't liable in the case. The court approved the $82.6 million payout yesterday and we're assuming that Ford is either cutting a check or crafting a new legal strategy.
2010 Nissan Cube breaks cover in Japan
Officially Official: 2010 Ford Mustang!
2010 Ford Mustang revealed early on Ford's own website!
2009 Nissan 370Z rolls out early in So. Cal
VIDEO: 2009 Nissan 370Z revealed early in So. Cal.
In the Autoblog Garage: 2009 HUMMER H3T Alpha
In the Autoblog Garage: 2009 Mercedes Benz C63 AMG
In the Autoblog Garage: 2009 Hyundai Genesis
