He said, She said: Flex first drive review

[xr7g428]

A little different view of the Flex first drive.

 

Automotive Traveler drives Flex

[92merc]

It's funny how they kept commenting on the fuel mileage and weight of the car. If you're coming from a smaller car, sure it's heavier and worse gas mileage. But if you're coming from a SUV, it's lighter and better mileage.

 

I guess it's all a matter of perspective.

[autotronic]

It's funny how they kept commenting on the fuel mileage and weight of the car. If you're coming from a smaller car, sure it's heavier and worse gas mileage. But if you're coming from a SUV, it's lighter and better mileage.

 

I guess it's all a matter of perspective.

 

Hi, my name is Rich Truesdell and I am the "He Drove" in the above quoted Automotive Traveler review.

 

I found your observations very interesting. Of 1,350 words used for the dialog, less than 140 of them, about 10%, talk about weight and mileage issues. With the current fuel situation, with gas clearly on its way to $5.00/gallon, I think this struck the proper balance.

 

And while 17.1 miles per gallon is competitive in the segment, quite frankly it is not much of an improvement over a V6 Explorer. And you are giving up the Explorer's trailer towing abilities in exchange for the Flex's more car-like driving characteristics.

 

I really liked the Flex, appreciate the versatility, admire Ford for attempting a breakout vehicle, gave it four stars out of five, and really hope that it will be successful in what is shaping up to be a very challenging marketplace.

 

"She Drove, He Drove" is a new concept for us at Automotive Traveler. By having two reviewers look at a vehicle from different vantage points, we're hoping to bring a unique perspective to the category of automotive reviews. I hope that you'll return to the review and leave your comments there; you might find that others agree with the point you raised.

 

Richard Truesdell

Editorial Director, Automotive Traveler

[NickF1011]

"She Drove, He Drove" is a new concept for us at Automotive Traveler. By having two reviewers look at a vehicle from different vantage points, we're hoping to bring a unique perspective to the category of automotive reviews. I hope that you'll return to the review and leave your comments there; you might find that others agree with the point you raised.

 

That is a pretty unique way of doing things. Overall I liked the review! We will definitely be checking more in the future. We are review junkies. :shades:

[Deanh]

That is a pretty unique way of doing things. Overall I liked the review! We will definitely be checking more in the future. We are review junkies. :shades:

liked it as well, very fresh....I wonder how they got 17.1, hell I get 15-16 in my gals 4x4 5.4 Expedition regularly...obviously peoples driving habits vary, my right foot has DEFINITELY gotten lighter...got 29 last fillup in the Cooper S, and I regularly see reveiwers getting below 23! in tests of the same car. Also, everyone should stop bleating about MPGS and gas, if that is their gripe then good luck getting 6 or seven comfortable in a Prius or Focus, realize what the reveiwed vehicle is targeting ( Odessey, Siennas, even Expedition, Tahoe etc people willing to downsize to counter their Chevron bill ) in which case this vehicle meets or exceeds its target, also, one thing i will say about Ford...their MPGs seem to be a little more ACCURATE than some....in reality though the market on this car probably has declined due to consumers outrage and reactive buying habits...the pool of "impulse" and emotive buyers may delay a Purchase based solely on mileage ratings...buyers with a need for 6 passenger vehicles will always be there.

[Surgen]

And while 17.1 miles per gallon is competitive in the segment, quite frankly it is not much of an improvement over a V6 Explorer. And you are giving up the Explorer's trailer towing abilities in exchange for the Flex's more car-like driving characteristics.

Automotive Traveler [/b]

 

Rich - I think your review was very balanced. However, I think a 20% improvement vs. V6 Explorer 4x2 (17/24 vs. 14/20) is nothing to sneeze at in terms of Fuel Economy.

 

And you're not giving up all that much in towing (about 20%), Flex can still tow 4,500 lbs, vs. 5,400 on the V6 Explorer (both equipped with the tow package).

[xr7g428]

How many Prius's does it take to carry 7 people and their luggage? It seems like there ought to be some sort of miles per passenger per person rating. And even at that, What is you do want to be able to carry a ladder or a bunch of Costco mega paks? There just isn't much comparison that factors in the utility side of things.

[Michael Reynolds]

I wonder how many miles the Flex had on it at the time. If it is like any of the other Duratecs, it is tight as all get out until it is broken in. One thing to keep in mind.

[Deanh]

How many Prius's does it take to carry 7 people and their luggage? It seems like there ought to be some sort of miles per passenger per person rating. And even at that, What is you do want to be able to carry a ladder or a bunch of Costco mega paks? There just isn't much comparison that factors in the utility side of things.

then buy a smart car....snicker!

[Deanh]

I wonder how many miles the Flex had on it at the time. If it is like any of the other Duratecs, it is tight as all get out until it is broken in. One thing to keep in mind.

yup...they need upwards of 6500 miles AT LEAST.

[Michael Reynolds]

No offense, but I often question the current breed of automotive writers. It seems to me that there is too much emphasis about how well something is dampened, how quiet an engine is at full throttle or how soft and pretty an interior is. I understand that those are important factors for a lot of consumers out there, but is their heart in the proper place?

 

Essentially what I'm getting at is the deletion of the wit and nuances, and focus more on what matters. Why is it that almost every review I read has a warped since of reality, as if 'x' automaker stands alone in doing everything 100% right, 100% of the time. It is your job as a 'writer' to not only keep the reader engaged, but also get the facts that matter from the manufacturer. If I can do it simply by looking at an automotive website, then the 'writer' should be able to do the same. Never mind the simple fact that most 'writers' have access to information that we don't. If these people are true enthusiasts then they should know how engine families perform, and there should be mention of it.

 

Believe me this isn't just a Ford thing, nor is it directly related to the article linked here either.

[autotronic]

No offense, but I often question the current breed of automotive writers. It seems to me that there is too much emphasis about how well something is dampened, how quiet an engine is at full throttle or how soft and pretty an interior is. I understand that those are important factors for a lot of consumers out there, but is their heart in the proper place?

 

Essentially what I'm getting at is the deletion of the wit and nuances, and focus more on what matters. Why is it that almost every review I read has a warped since of reality, as if 'x' automaker stands alone in doing everything 100% right, 100% of the time. It is your job as a 'writer' to not only keep the reader engaged, but also get the facts that matter from the manufacturer. If I can do it simply by looking at an automotive website, then the 'writer' should be able to do the same. Never mind the simple fact that most 'writers' have access to information that we don't. If these people are true enthusiasts then they should know how engine families perform, and there should be mention of it.

 

Believe me this isn't just a Ford thing, nor is it directly related to the article linked here either.

 

Michael, thank you for your comments. Regular readers of Automotive Traveler know that we're all about driving vehicles in real-world situations, such as piling a family of five into a vehicle and sending them off on vacation. Just as you've said, we're just as bored by every car review focusing on how brittle the interior plastics are or how numb the steering is. That's almost meaningless for most car buyers. They need a vehicle that will get them from point A to B with a certain level of functionality, such as the number of family members that it can carry.

 

We'd much rather make the drive part of the review experience. A great example of this is that in issue two of Automotive Traveler we found a way to make driving even a Grand Marquis interesting. How did we do it? We did our drive in Hawaii based on the premise that if Steve McGarrett was still the head of Hawaii 5-O, he'd be driving a big, black Mercury Grand Marquis. That's the kind of experience that we think people want to read about, not regurgitated press kits.

 

Unfortunately our time with the Flex was very limited. We had to evauate as best we could, the vehicle, with the route and time allowed. To this point, in my companion review over at cardomain.com, here's what I said in conclusion.

 

"It's impossible to come to a meaningful verdict on a vehicle based on a two-and-a-half hour test drive, so I won't try to give you one here. I'll reserve that for when my Ford PR reps can get me in a Flex for a week-long loan, where I can really put it through its paces, maybe on a trip up to Death Valley later this summer to stalk pre-production prototypes during hot weather testing. But my first impressions are universally positive. It's big, quiet, and with its infinitely configurable interior, it's a welcome addition to the crossover category, especially for those families who need six- or seven-passenger capabilities."

 

Personally, I love the Flex, but of course I love station wagons; I have four of them, including a massive 1969 Mercury Colony Park 10-passenger. It even has a 429 V8 which makes it great for towing a vintage 24-foot Airstream. And no, I'm not interested in selling it to someone who'll strip the big block...so don't ask.

 

Wagons are cool. And I wasn't kidding when I said that I think that Ford would do well to offer a Squire option package for the Flex, just a little bit of "wood" or even stainless steel trim along its flanks. (I bet you that someone will have one at the SEMA Show this fall.) All I can think about is how my surfboards will look on the roof.

 

And there are many of us, now in our fifties, that have very fond memories of times spent in the back of a Ford station wagon growing up. After all, Ford was once known as "the Wagonmaster" and I can't believe that they continue to virtually ignore this important part of their heritage. At one time, Ford would sell 130,00 Country Squires annually. Often they were the most popular model in the full-size Ford range. I hope that Ford will sell that many Flexes over the next 12 months.

 

If it walks like a duck, and quacks like a duck, it is usually a duck. If you have a car-based, two-box, three-row seating vehicle that lacks sliding doors, it's a station wagon, pure and simple. One of the problems that doomed the Dodge Magnum was absolute aversion of Chrysler's marketing people to call it a station wagon. Hopefully Ford, after the Flex launch has been completed this fall, won't make the same mistake.

 

There appears to be some sort of mindset in the executive ranks in Detroit that there is some sort of minivan-like stigma attached to the idea of a station wagon. This is rubbish; in Europe, they call as they see 'em and call them station wagon or estates, as they have for the past sixty or more years.

 

This is all just my opinion, and I absolutely welcome all the arrows that you can fling in my direction.

Richard Truesdell

Editorial Director, Automotive Traveler

[Deanh]

nice to see an automotive writer that at least on the surface 9 good or bad ) seems to go into a reveiw sans any pre-conceived ideas.....with most unless it has a propeller or a Chickensfoot it is lambasted.

[NickF1011]

If it walks like a duck, and quacks like a duck, it is usually a duck. If you have a car-based, two-box, three-row seating vehicle that lacks sliding doors, it's a station wagon, pure and simple. One of the problems that doomed the Dodge Magnum was absolute aversion of Chrysler's marketing people to call it a station wagon. Hopefully Ford, after the Flex launch has been completed this fall, won't make the same mistake.

 

There appears to be some sort of mindset in the executive ranks in Detroit that there is some sort of minivan-like stigma attached to the idea of a station wagon. This is rubbish; in Europe, they call as they see 'em and call them station wagon or estates, as they have for the past sixty or more years.

 

This is all just my opinion, and I absolutely welcome all the arrows that you can fling in my direction.

Richard Truesdell

Editorial Director, Automotive Traveler

 

I think the major aversion to using the term "station wagon" is simply because it sounds OLD. There's nothing "hip" about the word "station" and definitely nothing cool comes to mind when people hear "wagon". "Crossover" sounds modern and cool. Even the "CUV" and "SUV" terms are easier to swallow and market as they are just mindless acronyms. If there was a cooler name for "station wagon", maybe auto execs wouldn't be afraid of using it. "Estate" wouldn't quite cut it here, I'm afraid. It sounds too stodgy.

Edited June 12, 2008 by NickF1011

[Michael Reynolds]

Michael, thank you for your comments. Regular readers of Automotive Traveler know that we're all about driving vehicles in real-world situations, such as piling a family of five into a vehicle and sending them off on vacation. Just as you've said, we're just as bored by every car review focusing on how brittle the interior plastics are or how numb the steering is. That's almost meaningless for most car buyers. They need a vehicle that will get them from point A to B with a certain level of functionality, such as the number of family members that it can carry.

 

We'd much rather make the drive part of the review experience. A great example of this is that in issue two of Automotive Traveler we found a way to make driving even a Grand Marquis interesting. How did we do it? We did our drive in Hawaii based on the premise that if Steve McGarrett was still the head of Hawaii 5-O, he'd be driving a big, black Mercury Grand Marquis. That's the kind of experience that we think people want to read about, not regurgitated press kits.

 

Unfortunately our time with the Flex was very limited. We had to evauate as best we could, the vehicle, with the route and time allowed. To this point, in my companion review over at cardomain.com, here's what I said in conclusion.

 

"It's impossible to come to a meaningful verdict on a vehicle based on a two-and-a-half hour test drive, so I won't try to give you one here. I'll reserve that for when my Ford PR reps can get me in a Flex for a week-long loan, where I can really put it through its paces, maybe on a trip up to Death Valley later this summer to stalk pre-production prototypes during hot weather testing. But my first impressions are universally positive. It's big, quiet, and with its infinitely configurable interior, it's a welcome addition to the crossover category, especially for those families who need six- or seven-passenger capabilities."

 

Personally, I love the Flex, but of course I love station wagons; I have four of them, including a massive 1969 Mercury Colony Park 10-passenger. It even has a 429 V8 which makes it great for towing a vintage 24-foot Airstream. And no, I'm not interested in selling it to someone who'll strip the big block...so don't ask.

 

Wagons are cool. And I wasn't kidding when I said that I think that Ford would do well to offer a Squire option package for the Flex, just a little bit of "wood" or even stainless steel trim along its flanks. (I bet you that someone will have one at the SEMA Show this fall.) All I can think about is how my surfboards will look on the roof.

 

And there are many of us, now in our fifties, that have very fond memories of times spent in the back of a Ford station wagon growing up. After all, Ford was once known as "the Wagonmaster" and I can't believe that they continue to virtually ignore this important part of their heritage. At one time, Ford would sell 130,00 Country Squires annually. Often they were the most popular model in the full-size Ford range. I hope that Ford will sell that many Flexes over the next 12 months.

 

If it walks like a duck, and quacks like a duck, it is usually a duck. If you have a car-based, two-box, three-row seating vehicle that lacks sliding doors, it's a station wagon, pure and simple. One of the problems that doomed the Dodge Magnum was absolute aversion of Chrysler's marketing people to call it a station wagon. Hopefully Ford, after the Flex launch has been completed this fall, won't make the same mistake.

 

There appears to be some sort of mindset in the executive ranks in Detroit that there is some sort of minivan-like stigma attached to the idea of a station wagon. This is rubbish; in Europe, they call as they see 'em and call them station wagon or estates, as they have for the past sixty or more years.

 

This is all just my opinion, and I absolutely welcome all the arrows that you can fling in my direction.

Richard Truesdell

Editorial Director, Automotive Traveler

 

By all means, I had no issues at all with the write-up. I also understand that with a short time frame you have to do the every best you can with the limited amount of time to address items that your readers value the most. As far as my rant is concerned, that was more geared at the Edmunds and C&D folks. It's a shame, but I can go in with the exact idea of how and what their articles will read like.

 

I can't speak for the board as a whole, but I think it's pretty great that you post here. Thanks, and I look forward to reading what your site has to offer up in the future.

[Sixt9coug]

I think the major aversion to using the term "station wagon" is simply because it sounds OLD. There's nothing "hip" about the word "station" and definitely nothing cool comes to mind when people hear "wagon". "Crossover" sounds modern and cool. Even the "CUV" and "SUV" terms are easier to swallow and market as they are just mindless acronyms. If there was a cooler name for "station wagon", maybe auto execs wouldn't be afraid of using it. "Estate" wouldn't quite cut it here, I'm afraid. It sounds too stodgy.

 

 

How about the Deathmobile?

 

[NickF1011]

How about the Deathmobile?

 

Does it include an angry drunken pirate with every purchase?

 

 

I like the name though. After all, the Deathmobile was a Lincoln!! :yup:

Edited June 12, 2008 by NickF1011

[Edstock]

Hi, my name is Rich Truesdell and I am the "He Drove" in the above quoted Automotive Traveler review.

First, welcome to the Blue Oval News Outpatients' department. Here you will find many thoughts and motives.

 

Second, you have a very nice site. Good photo-editing.

 

Third, fair review. Maybe they should consider a diesel, even if it takes urea. Or hustle the 2.5 EcoBoost and the Ford/Getrag for it.

 

Station wagon: 1959 Mercury Colony Park

 

Edited June 12, 2008 by Edstock

[Critic]

[Deanh]

the Griswalds!!!!!!!

[igor]

 

 

 

igor

[timmm55]

Personally, I love the Flex, but of course I love station wagons; I have four of them, including a massive 1969 Mercury Colony Park 10-passenger. It even has a 429 V8 which makes it great for towing a vintage 24-foot Airstream. And no, I'm not interested in selling it to someone who'll strip the big block...so don't ask.

 

Wagons are cool. And I wasn't kidding when I said that I think that Ford would do well to offer a Squire option package for the Flex, just a little bit of "wood" or even stainless steel trim along its flanks. (I bet you that someone will have one at the SEMA Show this fall.) All I can think about is how my surfboards will look on the roof.

 

And there are many of us, now in our fifties, that have very fond memories of times spent in the back of a Ford station wagon growing up. After all, Ford was once known as "the Wagonmaster" and I can't believe that they continue to virtually ignore this important part of their heritage. At one time, Ford would sell 130,00 Country Squires annually. Often they were the most popular model in the full-size Ford range. I hope that Ford will sell that many Flexes over the next 12 months.

 

Editorial Director, Automotive Traveler[/b]

 

69 Colony Park is a very cool wagon! I too grew up in the back of a Ford wagon (59 Country Sedan).

I did a woodie/vista cruiser Flex photochop ;-)

[FordBuyer]

69 Colony Park is a very cool wagon! I too grew up in the back of a Ford wagon (59 Country Sedan).

I did a woodie/vista cruiser Flex photochop ;-)

 

Remember the Oldsmobile VistaCruisers? I grew up in '59 Ford Country Sedan 9 passenger station wagon also with rear facing third seat. But I remember admiring those Vista Cruiser station wagons.

[autotronic]

69 Colony Park is a very cool wagon! I too grew up in the back of a Ford wagon (59 Country Sedan).

I did a woodie/vista cruiser Flex photochop ;-)

 

Timmm55,

 

Yes my Colony Park is a very cool, and huge (it covers virtually the same amount of road real estate as a Expedition EL).

 

Because my Photoshop skills are basic and limited to the conversion of RAW files to JPGs, would you be able to work up a Photochop of what a Flex would look like with a limited amount of wood cladding? Maybe add the raised, lighter "wood" as a second step, like the '65 Country Squire had? I think the '65 to '72 Country Squires (I owned a '71 when I was a junior in college, followed by a Cougar XR7-G for my senior year) as the high water mark of Ford station wagons; big enough to lay a 4x8 flat in the cargo compartment, no ugly rail road tie bumpers found on the '73 and later cars.

 

If you need a high res file to start with, drop me an E-mail at richt (a) automotivetraveler.com and I'll get you the direct side profile shot I have.

 

I'd love to get a follow-up post on automotivetraveler.com to do a design analysis, like Automobile magazine does in each issue.

Richard Truesdell

Editorial Director, Automotive Traveler

[sullynd]

I did these a while back... Well since I cannot get the attachments to work, click here to see the original post.

 

The Flex - Country Squire

 

 

 

The Flexie-Truckster

Edited June 13, 2008 by sullynd