Joe771476 Posted February 25, 2016 Share Posted February 25, 2016 I was looking at a latest-generation Suburban and thought to myself it's a nice looking vehicle with crisp, lean lines. And then I thought...............so is the new F150! The original old Excursion was a hulking vehicle based on the hulking Super Duty platform. But the new aluminum body based F150 would make an excellent platform for a trimmer Excursion! Could this indeed be one of the new SUV's from Ford? If not, I hope Ford is listening! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmc523 Posted February 25, 2016 Share Posted February 25, 2016 (edited) What you're talking about is already in the lineup - Expedition EL. And it's due to be redesigned shortly. Edited February 25, 2016 by rmc523 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NLPRacing Posted February 25, 2016 Share Posted February 25, 2016 In addition to the F150 based Expedition & Expedition EL, I would love to 4 row/6 door SUV based on the Super Duty. Something like this: http://www.customautosbytim.com/NewExcursion.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lfeg Posted February 25, 2016 Share Posted February 25, 2016 wishfull thinking. GM discontinued the 3/4 ton Suburban several updates ago due to extremely low take rates. Ford really does not need to dump money and effort into such a small niche. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TBirdStangSkyliner Posted February 26, 2016 Share Posted February 26, 2016 As an EL owner, I would be in favor of the next generation getting a name unique from the Expedition. I have to explain to dang near everyone that the EL is like a Suburban in length. These have to be as popular by proportion in my market as anywhere in the country and just over a bupkis number of people are aware that the Expedition can be had in a length more or less equivalent to GM's products. When a company's vehicles have to be described in terms of their competitors, they are at a big disadvantage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atomcat68 Posted February 26, 2016 Share Posted February 26, 2016 As an EL owner, I would be in favor of the next generation getting a name unique from the Expedition. I have to explain to dang near everyone that the EL is like a Suburban in length. These have to be as popular by proportion in my market as anywhere in the country and just over a bupkis number of people are aware that the Expedition can be had in a length more or less equivalent to GM's products. When a company's vehicles have to be described in terms of their competitors, they are at a big disadvantage. For Ford, adding a large model nameplate will likely get it unfairly labeled a gas pig (like Excursion did). Chevy gets away with it because the Suburban name came first and they offered a smaller one with a different name. Besides there is an advantage to using an established nameplate over developing a new one in a class of vehicles that lost popularity to CUVs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
7Mary3 Posted February 26, 2016 Share Posted February 26, 2016 (edited) wishfull thinking. GM discontinued the 3/4 ton Suburban several updates ago due to extremely low take rates. Ford really does not need to dump money and effort into such a small nich. GM is actually bringing back a heavy duty Suburban, this time it will be a 3500 series 1 ton. Chevy only, no GMC version. Fleet/municipal/government, no extra fancy trim levels either. There is a market, but it's small. http://www.gmfleet.com/chevrolet/suburban-hd-heavy-duty-suv.html Edited February 26, 2016 by 7Mary3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fordmantpw Posted February 26, 2016 Share Posted February 26, 2016 GM is actually bringing back a heavy duty Suburban, this time it will be a 3500 series 1 ton. Chevy only, no GMC version. Fleet/municipal/government, no extra fancy trim levels either. There is a market, but it's small. http://www.gmfleet.com/chevrolet/suburban-hd-heavy-duty-suv.html MSRP Starting at $79,715! Holy ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NLPRacing Posted February 26, 2016 Share Posted February 26, 2016 MSRP Starting at $79,715! Holy ! That makes 15 year old Excursions with 200,000 miles going for $30,000 sound like a bargain! If Chevy can sell HD based Suburbans for $80K and up, I can't imagine that Ford couldn't build a Super Duty based SUV and not make money on it, even if it doesn't sell in big numbers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fordmantpw Posted February 26, 2016 Share Posted February 26, 2016 That makes 15 year old Excursions with 200,000 miles going for $30,000 sound like a bargain! If Chevy can sell HD based Suburbans for $80K and up, I can't imagine that Ford couldn't build a Super Duty based SUV and not make money on it, even if it doesn't sell in big numbers. Seriously, the Excursions bring that much money? Dang! I think Ford could probably sell enough to make a profit for a few years, but when oil prices go back up, then what? Cut it off? Then they've wasted development funds to build it for a few years and make a small amount of money when they could have invested the same money elsewhere to make a larger profit. With the F150 and SD sharing cabs now, maybe the development costs wouldn't be that much to have the Expy and SuperExpy share body work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fgts Posted February 26, 2016 Share Posted February 26, 2016 I think Ford will. FCA is coming with a Ram based SUV, think how Ford sat and looked at the GM midsize trucks did before fielding a competitor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fordmantpw Posted February 26, 2016 Share Posted February 26, 2016 I think Ford will. FCA is coming with a Ram based SUV, think how Ford sat and looked at the GM midsize trucks did before fielding a competitor. Ford already has an F150-based SUV. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted February 26, 2016 Share Posted February 26, 2016 And you're not selling 100K of them regardless. Tiny market. Could be done but not a priority. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NLPRacing Posted February 26, 2016 Share Posted February 26, 2016 Seriously, the Excursions bring that much money? Dang! I think Ford could probably sell enough to make a profit for a few years, but when oil prices go back up, then what? Cut it off? Then they've wasted development funds to build it for a few years and make a small amount of money when they could have invested the same money elsewhere to make a larger profit. With the F150 and SD sharing cabs now, maybe the development costs wouldn't be that much to have the Expy and SuperExpy share body work. Taking the next gen Expedition EL body and putting it on a Super Duty frame shouldn't be that big of a deal, maybe re-work the floor plan a little. There are families and businesses that would love to have the ability to carry more than 6 passengers AND tow 10,000 pounds or more. The old Excursion & E350 could do it, but Ford currently doesn't offer anything that can. Hopefully Nissan doesn't beat Ford to the market by putting that 5.0L Cummins in their full size "van". 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
630land Posted February 26, 2016 Share Posted February 26, 2016 Should be mandatory diesel powered. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T-bird Posted February 26, 2016 Share Posted February 26, 2016 (edited) Just a question for you techies.. Would the frames on these need to be as heavy duty as say an f250 or 350. Could they be aluminum for weight loss? Edited February 26, 2016 by T-bird Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fordmantpw Posted February 26, 2016 Share Posted February 26, 2016 Hopefully Nissan doesn't beat Ford to the market by putting that 5.0L Cummins in their full size "van". Considering the Titan XD can only tow 12k, would their van be even close in capability? Should be mandatory diesel powered. Nah, EcoBoost would be nice. The V10 sold well in the Excursion. I'm still hoping for an EB F250 in the next couple years. Just a question for you techies.. Would the frames on these need to be as heavy duty as say an f250 or 350. Could they be aluminum for weight loss? I don't think it would need to be as heavy duty as the F250, but I'm not sure if the costs for Al have gotten to where they need to be for an Al frame in a truck of that size. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NLPRacing Posted February 26, 2016 Share Posted February 26, 2016 Considering the Titan XD can only tow 12k, would their van be even close in capability? The current 12 passenger NV can be equipped to tow up to 8700 pounds. If they were to make an "XD" van with a diesel, I don't see why it wouldn't be able to tow 10K or more. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TBirdStangSkyliner Posted February 26, 2016 Share Posted February 26, 2016 For Ford, adding a large model nameplate will likely get it unfairly labeled a gas pig (like Excursion did). Chevy gets away with it because the Suburban name came first and they offered a smaller one with a different name. Besides there is an advantage to using an established nameplate over developing a new one in a class of vehicles that lost popularity to CUVs. I don't dispute your points. "EL" just doesn't translate into "extended length" for most people, though. It is too much like the monikers for trim levels used by everyone for decades, including Ford. There have been "SEL's", "LE's", "ELT's", and many other similar names for trim levels. When target-market people in places like Montana don't realize that Ford has been producing a Suburban-class vehicle for five years, something is broken. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpd80 Posted February 26, 2016 Share Posted February 26, 2016 (edited) The Excursion would occupy production space that could be otherwise used by Expedition and Navigation I would rather see Ford maximize Expedition and Navigator production over relaunching the Excursion. Adding 3.0 V6 diesel and 4.4V8 diesel would go a long way towards elevating the appeal of those vehicles and allow Ford to charge premium pricing for those very desirable versions.. Edited February 26, 2016 by jpd80 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bzcat Posted February 27, 2016 Share Posted February 27, 2016 The Excursion would occupy production space that could be otherwise used by Expedition and Navigation I would rather see Ford maximize Expedition and Navigator production over relaunching the Excursion. Adding 3.0 V6 diesel and 4.4V8 diesel would go a long way towards elevating the appeal of those vehicles and allow Ford to charge premium pricing for those very desirable versions.. I think the OP is just saying Ford should rename Expedition EL as Excursion, basically as a marketing exercise to further differentiate regular Expedition from the long one. Although equally likely, the OP may not know Expedition EL exists... which also kind of the point. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TBirdStangSkyliner Posted February 27, 2016 Share Posted February 27, 2016 It isn't rare for people to ask me when I say I have an Expedition EL if it s the short one or the one that is a little longer. When I open the hatch and push the bttons to fold the seats, people are unversally surprised at the room. The EL has to be one of the most misunderstood, under the radar, vehicles in production. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmc523 Posted February 27, 2016 Share Posted February 27, 2016 I think the OP is just saying Ford should rename Expedition EL as Excursion, basically as a marketing exercise to further differentiate regular Expedition from the long one. Although equally likely, the OP may not know Expedition EL exists... which also kind of the point. I think using the Excursion name would hurt it outside of former Excursion owners (and even then, it wouldn't be the same vehicle). Excursion has a gas-guzzler image. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpd80 Posted February 27, 2016 Share Posted February 27, 2016 I think the OP is just saying Ford should rename Expedition EL as Excursion, basically as a marketing exercise to further differentiate regular Expedition from the long one. Although equally likely, the OP may not know Expedition EL exists... which also kind of the point. True, point taken. I wonder if there is a stigma attached to Excursion name after environmental groups pressured Ford to axe it. All things can change and yeah, maybe Expedition EL is a hidden product to most people.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmc523 Posted February 27, 2016 Share Posted February 27, 2016 Come to think of it.... Has the Expedition EL ever been advertised? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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