VIDEOS
Video: Ford Explorer America Concept
By Cars.com Editors
May 13, 2009About the video
From the 2008 Detroit auto show, Cars.com's Suburban Dad Patrick Olsen takes a look at the Ford Explorer America concept.
Transcript
(upbeat music) Hi, I'm Patrick Olsen, Suburban Dad for Cars.com, and we're at the 2008 Detroit Auto Show looking at Ford's SUV crossover concept Explorer America.
Now, the name alone suggests family road trip, and there's a lot in here to help out the family that's on that. For example, in the front, there's a traffic crawl with a GPS system with these sort of high-tech gadgets. And these really window up and down controls, not terribly practical, but of course this is a concept. You know when you've got a family car, getting in and out can be one of the hardest things, and so in this concept from Ford, this second row moves way up to let people into the third row. That's a big benefit. In addition, it's got materials on the seats that are made of recyclables that allow you to be able to vacuum it out. Now you may notice that the upholstery in your car that crumbs, M & M's, cookies half-eaten, whatever often sticks to those seats, and here, not so much a problem and much easier to clean up. One of the coolest things we like about the Explorer America is it's got this picnic table and these bench seats that slide easily back into the car. Now I imagine these would be great if you were having a picnic or if you just wanna wipe your feet off or do whatever before you get back in the car, but there's a little bit of a problem. There's two seats and a small table, so my solution with my kids would be using the durable material, let the kids eat inside where I can clean up easy. Let my wife and I enjoy the al fresco dinner. What makes this Explorer different from other Explorers on the road today is that this one is a uni-body concept versus the body and frame that you see today. And the difference with that is that this has a more car-like feel. It should get better mileage because this has been designed to improve that along with some engine improvements. Now Ford tells us that the next generation of Explorers will be a uni-body almost certainly. <v Announcer>For additional information on this car or any other, go to Cars.com and our blog, Kicking Tires.
Show transcript
