2024 FORD EXPLORER SPIED WITH CHINESE COUNTERPART’S FEATURES

[redwings1914]

We have to be getting close to an unveiling/order book opening....right? 2023 was around mid-August if I recall.

[rmc523]

On 7/28/2023 at 5:43 PM, joseodiaga4 said:

 

https://fordauthority.com/2023/07/2024-ford-explorer-timberline-spotted-completely-undisguised/

 

I just don't understand this move at all...

 

 

On 7/29/2023 at 9:10 AM, silvrsvt said:

 

The GT350/500 didn't suffer from having the same headlights as the 2015MY, even though the rest of the lineup got new front fascias. 

 

I'm guessing Ford has decided that the Timberline model doesn't need it since it has a distinctive front end from rest of the line prior to this. 

 

Headlights.  GT500 got a unique/new fascia around those headlights, though.

 

Plus, a Timberline model is hardly in the same vein as GT350/500 or Raptor.

 

The problem here is, literally nothing changed on this trim on the front.

 

On 7/29/2023 at 11:59 AM, akirby said:

Most buyers won’t know or care that it’s the same front end,  If they like it they’ll buy it.  You guys get too wrapped up on details that just don’t matter very much in the grand scheme of mass market vehicle sales.  

 

This comment after the years of commentary about Fusion's refresh not going far enough?  Obviously this is one trim, while the others changed more, but still, it should've been changed too.

[T-dubz]

The only way this makes sense to me is if they have a built up supply of parts they need to get rid of, otherwise it would seem cheaper to not have to produce multiple versions of headlights.

 

I personally would not want to buy a brand new vehicle that already looks old, especially when it’s 50k. I have to imagine the grille is one of the cheapest parts of the body to change, just seems odd.

[akirby]

4 hours ago, rmc523 said:

 

This comment after the years of commentary about Fusion's refresh not going far enough?  Obviously this is one trim, while the others changed more, but still, it should've been changed too.

Fusion went 6-7 years with no discernible changes.  Explorer Timberline is only a couple years old, right?

[silvrsvt]

15 hours ago, akirby said:

Fusion went 6-7 years with no discernible changes.  Explorer Timberline is only a couple years old, right?

 

The trim was only released in 2022, so its only like maybe 12-18 months old...

[rmc523]

19 hours ago, T-dubz said:

The only way this makes sense to me is if they have a built up supply of parts they need to get rid of, otherwise it would seem cheaper to not have to produce multiple versions of headlights.

 

I personally would not want to buy a brand new vehicle that already looks old, especially when it’s 50k. I have to imagine the grille is one of the cheapest parts of the body to change, just seems odd.

 

Apparently the police/interceptor units are keeping the current front end as well, so they'd still be making them for that.

 

15 hours ago, akirby said:

Fusion went 6-7 years with no discernible changes.  Explorer Timberline is only a couple years old, right?

 

Fusion went 4 years until the refresh that didn't go far enough.  I'd argue leaving Timberline behind is along the same lines.  You're already refreshing the lineup, why leave a specific trim out of half the refresh just because it's a couple of years old?

 

This would be equivalent to F-150 Rattler not getting the full upgrades of the rest of the '24 F-150 lineup just because they only debuted it a year or two ago.

[silvrsvt]

6 minutes ago, rmc523 said:

Fusion went 4 years until the refresh that didn't go far enough.  I'd argue leaving Timberline behind is along the same lines.  You're already refreshing the lineup, why leave a specific trim out of half the refresh just because it's a couple of years old?

 

It only came out in summer of 2021 and I'm guessing due to COVID going on at the time, didn't really hit the market till late that year or early 2022

 

[akirby]

13 minutes ago, rmc523 said:

 

Apparently the police/interceptor units are keeping the current front end as well, so they'd still be making them for that.

 

 

Fusion went 4 years until the refresh that didn't go far enough.  I'd argue leaving Timberline behind is along the same lines.  You're already refreshing the lineup, why leave a specific trim out of half the refresh just because it's a couple of years old?

 

This would be equivalent to F-150 Rattler not getting the full upgrades of the rest of the '24 F-150 lineup just because they only debuted it a year or two ago.

Well I’m sure they had a good reason for keeping it other than just cost cutting.  Maybe the new one flopped in focus groups and they think more buyers like the current one.

 

I don’t see it as a problem for the next year or two.  Maybe they’ll come up with a different one by then.  I’m personally not a fan of the Chinese version.

[akirby]

The other possibility is compatibility with US crash standards and/or powertrains.

[tbone]

11 hours ago, rmc523 said:

 

Apparently the police/interceptor units are keeping the current front end as well, so they'd still be making them for that.

 

 

Fusion went 4 years until the refresh that didn't go far enough.  I'd argue leaving Timberline behind is along the same lines.  You're already refreshing the lineup, why leave a specific trim out of half the refresh just because it's a couple of years old?

 

This would be equivalent to F-150 Rattler not getting the full upgrades of the rest of the '24 F-150 lineup just because they only debuted it a year or two ago.

This is my position on the matter and the Rattler is a perfect example as to why it doesn’t make sense to leave it behind.  
 

11 hours ago, silvrsvt said:

 

It only came out in summer of 2021 and I'm guessing due to COVID going on at the time, didn't really hit the market till late that year or early 2022

 

 
The model was introduced by Ford on May 05, 2021, so it will be a little less than three years old.   It will continue to look very similar to a 2020 model which leaves it looking like the outgoing version, and it wont stand out next to its siblings because of it.  I would love to hear Ford’s reasoning behind this decision.  
 

It’s still to early to pass final judgment on the refresh, but I just can’t shake the feeling they are mismanaging the Explorer, when the bones of the vehicle are so good.  I just feel the effort is half hearted at times in the face of very good competition. 

[DeluxeStang]

On 7/31/2023 at 7:10 PM, akirby said:

Fusion went 6-7 years with no discernible changes.  Explorer Timberline is only a couple years old, right?

Yep, but one of the main things that killed demand for the fusion was the lack of significant updates over time. Ford keeps doing this. They enter segments with a lot of energy, their products are competitive and profitable. Then they don't update their products, at least not in ways that are super noticable. Their products lose market share, Ford pulls out of the segment talking about how there isn't enough demand or profitablity, over and over again, it's killing Ford. 

[akirby]

7 hours ago, DeluxeStang said:

Yep, but one of the main things that killed demand for the fusion was the lack of significant updates over time. Ford keeps doing this. They enter segments with a lot of energy, their products are competitive and profitable. Then they don't update their products, at least not in ways that are super noticable. Their products lose market share, Ford pulls out of the segment talking about how there isn't enough demand or profitablity, over and over again, it's killing Ford. 

If Timberline was 4+ yrs old I would agree.  There are no repeat Timberline buyers yet.  

 

And while it definitely hurt sales, Fusion was dead long before the lack of refresh issue.  It was never very profitable and the market was shrinking even for Accord and Camry.  Even a major refresh in 2017 would not have saved it.

[silvrsvt]

11 hours ago, tbone said:

It’s still to early to pass final judgment on the refresh, but I just can’t shake the feeling they are mismanaging the Explorer, when the bones of the vehicle are so good.  I just feel the effort is half hearted at times in the face of very good competition. 

 

Seems like that might not be the case-with the program being stopped and started and the sedans being killed off-it was a great idea that got damaged during the execution phase and there has been complaints about ride etc with it. Not sure if this refresh will address those issues or not. 

[rmc523]

6 hours ago, akirby said:

If Timberline was 4+ yrs old I would agree.  There are no repeat Timberline buyers yet.  

 

And while it definitely hurt sales, Fusion was dead long before the lack of refresh issue.  It was never very profitable and the market was shrinking even for Accord and Camry.  Even a major refresh in 2017 would not have saved it.

 

Ok, so there are no repeate Timberline customers right this second.  But this refresh will go what.....3-4 years most likely?  So if Timberline launched 2 years ago, next year there will be repeat ones ready for the new model.  Hopefully a rear end tuck and revised dash will be enough for them.

 

This ties in with the decontenting - seems like they're trying to save a buck, and customers will notice - realistically, how much would it cost to change the bumper slightly around the new headlights when you're already doing it for the rest of the lineup??

[akirby]

30 minutes ago, rmc523 said:

 

Ok, so there are no repeate Timberline customers right this second.  But this refresh will go what.....3-4 years most likely?  So if Timberline launched 2 years ago, next year there will be repeat ones ready for the new model.  Hopefully a rear end tuck and revised dash will be enough for them.

 

This ties in with the decontenting - seems like they're trying to save a buck, and customers will notice - realistically, how much would it cost to change the bumper slightly around the new headlights when you're already doing it for the rest of the lineup??

Who said this version would last more than a year or two at most?  I expect it to be replaced or at least refreshed next year or worst case year after.  That’s why I don’t think this year is a big deal.

 

I agree if it goes 3-4 years that’s not good.

[tbone]

34 minutes ago, rmc523 said:

 

Ok, so there are no repeate Timberline customers right this second.  But this refresh will go what.....3-4 years most likely?  So if Timberline launched 2 years ago, next year there will be repeat ones ready for the new model.  Hopefully a rear end tuck and revised dash will be enough for them.

 

This ties in with the decontenting - seems like they're trying to save a buck, and customers will notice - realistically, how much would it cost to change the bumper slightly around the new headlights when you're already doing it for the rest of the lineup??

I agree regarding decontenting.  Wouldn’t have been much to update it.  The work was already done for the Chinese version.  

[tbone]

14 minutes ago, akirby said:

Who said this version would last more than a year or two at most?  I expect it to be replaced or at least refreshed next year or worst case year after.  That’s why I don’t think this year is a big deal.

 

I agree if it goes 3-4 years that’s not good.

Considering the last version went four years with virtually no changes, aside from some decontenting, I wouldn’t hold my breath that they will do an out of cycle update.  I hope I’m wrong though.  

[rmc523]

1 hour ago, akirby said:

Who said this version would last more than a year or two at most?  I expect it to be replaced or at least refreshed next year or worst case year after.  That’s why I don’t think this year is a big deal.

 

I agree if it goes 3-4 years that’s not good.

 

Because i think they are trying to milk it as much as they can since CD6 was reportedly expensive and originally intended for more vehicles to spread out costs.

 

Couple that with Ford redoing the dash (unlike Ford for a refresh), and I think we'll see it stick around for at least 4 years.

[akirby]

1 hour ago, tbone said:

Considering the last version went four years with virtually no changes, aside from some decontenting, I wouldn’t hold my breath that they will do an out of cycle update.  I hope I’m wrong though.  

The last version Timberline is only 2 years old.

 

IT’S JUST A FREAKING GRILLE!  They could change it next Tuesday.  There is nothing to suggest it will stay the same for 3-4 more years.  If it does I’ll gladly admit I was wrong.

[ExplorerDude]

Explorer is currently scheduled to undergo another major refresh for 2027MY. Which sees significant exterior changes front and rear.

[tbone]

8 hours ago, akirby said:

The last version Timberline is only 2 years old.

 

IT’S JUST A FREAKING GRILLE!  They could change it next Tuesday.  There is nothing to suggest it will stay the same for 3-4 more years.  If it does I’ll gladly admit I was wrong.

I was meaning the introduction of the current generation of the Explorer in 2020, not specifically the Timberline model.  

Edited August 3, 2023 by tbone

[Harley Lover]

13 hours ago, ExplorerDude said:

Explorer is currently scheduled to undergo another major refresh for 2027MY. Which sees significant exterior changes front and rear.

 

That suggests that the larger part of the budget this cycle was spent on the interior - next cycle the exterior gets the majority of the budget.

[DeluxeStang]

18 hours ago, ExplorerDude said:

Explorer is currently scheduled to undergo another major refresh for 2027MY. Which sees significant exterior changes front and rear.

When will we be getting a new explorer generation entirely? Maybe around 2030 or so? It just seems like this generation has been a dud compared to what came before and Ford needs to completely redesign it to move past it's shortcomings. 

[silvrsvt]

1 hour ago, DeluxeStang said:

When will we be getting a new explorer generation entirely? Maybe around 2030 or so? It just seems like this generation has been a dud compared to what came before and Ford needs to completely redesign it to move past it's shortcomings. 

 

That all depends on how fast the conversion over to EVs take. If anything the 3 row EV coming out will branch out to become a more boxy Explorer at some point. 

[T-dubz]

1 hour ago, DeluxeStang said:

When will we be getting a new explorer generation entirely? Maybe around 2030 or so? It just seems like this generation has been a dud compared to what came before and Ford needs to completely redesign it to move past it's shortcomings. 

I wouldn’t say that. I believe the explorer is the top selling midsize suv. Exterior design still looks better than most of the competitors. The interior is where it was really lacking and hopefully that gets fixed with this refresh.  IMO the only area it’s been a dud is quality.