Comments by "Stephen Hendricks" (@stephenhendricks103) on "" video.

  1. Yeah, but in the rain the plywood will get wet.
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  2. No. They just think enough Americans are so ill informed about the economic sense of leasing that they'll lease 'em.
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  3. Not exactly "tons of towing" , Joe." The Explorer is rated at 5600 lbs. And technically that is "tons". But it's only 600 lbs more than a KIA Sorento. If you want to tow, there are much better alternatives from GM and FCA. In fact, the Dodge Durango in some configurations (tow rating of 8700 lbs) exceeds the tow rating of the Explorer by more than another ton and a half! It is, of course, very quick for a large midsize SUV. But at around 5.7 seconds from 0-60 it's no quicker than its little brother the Edge ST even with a slightly larger twin scroll turbo V6 due to about 300 lbs heavier curb weight. And neither is as quick as the 2018 Edge Sport that was lighter than the 2019 Edge ST. That model turned 0-60 in the low five second range. No doubt that the Edge ST handles and stops better than its predecessor but in terms of straight line acceleration it's a bit less quick than the Edge Sport. And if the Explorer ST's 0-60 estimated acceleration is correct, it, too, is slower than the Edge Sport. Nevertheless, it is important for Ford to offer a high performance Explorer. A large proportion of its sales are to public agency fleets such as police and highway patrols where 0-60 acceleration and top speed are viewed as important and agencies replace their vehicles far more frequently than consumers. (Whether acceleration and top speed are valid priorities even for police is another discussion.) For consumers, however, other priorities outweigh picking up groceries or hauling the family in a vehicle that reaches 60 mph in less than six seconds. The Explorer ST is relatively affordable for a "halo" model but I suspect the take rate among civilians will be relatively low.
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  4.  @autohelix  Interesting theory of a good business model you have. One that GM followed for years when they kept alive the Pontiac and Oldsmobile product lines so they could sit on dealer lots unsold for months. Wasn't exactly a success story.
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  5.  @autohelix  And "Honda, Toyota, Kia, Hyundai, and Volkswagen" have nothing in the class of the Ford F150. The point here is that auto manufacturers build vehicles to meet current customer demand. That is how they make a profit. Manufacturers don't have magic wands that enable them to produce vehicles out of thin air at no cost. No matter how large, every manufacturer is constrained by resources available. Put yourself in the position of a Ford decision maker. Would you divert a production line devoted to building the F150 to produce a Focus RS just in case demand in the future increases for hot hatchbacks? Would you add new production lines (an incredibly expensive investment) with vehicles few people want to buy?
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  6.  @autohelix  So, just to continue the point, if you were a Ford exec would you cut production for Europe to provide vehicles in the US where sedan and hatchback sales are both a small fraction of pickup and SUV sales and shrinking? Furthermore, there is nothing to prevent Ford from introducing new vehicles when, and if, sales in those categories improve. And rather than being holdovers from a previous generation, Ford would presumably have the advantage of knowing what they're competing against. One advantage of being late to the party is that you have the opportunity to see what everyone else is wearing. See the KIA Telluride and Hyundai Palisade for examples. The bottom line is that there is absolutely no benefit of continuing to produce vehicles that aren't selling just so you'll be "in practice" when and if the market changes.
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  7. I'd agree with you, Philip. But considering the supply/demand situation of the Telluride, the price difference between an Explorer and a Telluride is likely to be far less than their respective MSRP's suggest. And that doesn't even take into account that in the real world you're very likely to be waiting for the 2020 Telluride unless you're already on the delivery list.
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  8. I strongly suspect that the discounts on the Edge ST will be considerably more than on the Explorer making the price difference substantially more in the read world. MSRP's can be very misleading.
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  9.  @gabep1281  You're comparing vehicles in completely separate categories. Perhaps a base Cayenne with few if any options is perfectly acceptable to you but you're comparing apples to pineapples.
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  10. Console yourself with the knowledge that the Edge ST equals or betters the performance of the Explorer ST.
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  11. Right...And that's why Ford decided to drop it. Just so much demand it was just too much work to produce and sell them.
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