The latest addition to Ford's seemingly ever expanding lineup of crossovers, the Flex, will start showing up at dealerships this summer and it now has a price tag. The new full size Flex SE will be starting off at $28,995 for the front-wheel-drive model, which includes the cost of getting the vehicle from the Oakville, Ont. factory to the showroom. Two other trim levels will also be offered, as will all-wheel-drive, all of which easily pushes the price over $30,000. The AWD Flex Limited, for instance, kicks off at $37,255. Initially, power will be supplied by Ford's 3.5L V6, but a turbocharged EcoBoost model will be added next year.

http://www.autoblog.com/2008/02/27/f...d-from-28-995/

 

I love that way it looks! The pricing is pretty good also!!

 

glad they didn't call it Fairlane.

 

I love the seats......and the white roof. Looks different from anytihng else on the road, and thats a good thing. And its about time Ford started getting their interiors right. Hopefully all the next gen versions of the Taurus, Fusion etc will start taking ques from the Flex.

 

I dunno about this thing anymore.

I think the Flex is either gonna be a huge hit, or a huge flop. Ford North America is really looking like the company that's still banking its fortunes on the truck/SUV/CUV strategy...cause that seems to be where it's still putting most of its energy.

With oil now up over $100 a barrel - and the threat of $4.00 per gallon gas by spring - that strategy could fail in a spectacular way.

The new Fiesta can't get here soon enough.

 

Just remember, a family of 5 or 6, and their cargo can't fit into a Fiesta. This thing IS needed for families.

 

For families of 5 or 6 they will probably go with minivans since they're a lot cheaper.

 

Hey...they arent cheap either...this thing is right in the "I dont want to drive a minvan" price range...

 

I'd like to upgrade to a Flex in a couple years, get rid of my '01 Explorer Limited 4WD.
I agree though the price seems a bit steep. I won't be able to justify it to myself unless I can get into the upper 20's for gas mileage with one of these though. Seems unlikely... in any SUV

 

All of which begs the question: Then why do you need the Expedition, Explorer, Escape, Edge (what is it with these alliterative names, anyway?!) and Freestyle? Not to mention their Mercury and/or Lincoln equivalents...

I still maintain that Ford of North America has turned into a predominantly "truck" company. We have a plethora of trucks or truck-related vehicles; a Mustang with a truck rear axle in it; a 500/Taurus that sits up high (like truck seating) and so forth and so on.

Meanwhile, the latest issue of Automobile magazine just TRASHED the new Lincoln MKS as a botched and incoherent design exercise that offers nothing especially innovative or class leading.

I honestly don't think Ford of North America "gets" cars, nor particularly cares to build them (outside of Mustang, that is). The North American Focus is a great example of that, something consumers all over the Internet constantly harp about.

Meanwhile, Ford of Europe seems to do a much better job of gauging what its customers want, which in this day and age is also pretty much what North American car buyers want, too, judging by the mass exodus to imports in recent years.

Take the below Focus coupe. Great looking car. Why is it not available here?







Or, as Automobile puts it >>

Arriving at a high-school prom, it's hard to miss the popular girls - stunning in their ruby dresses, hair twirled high enough to expose delectable silver hoops.

Now, imagine bringing the other prom date - outfitted in the same jeans and Abercrombie tee she wore last Tuesday.But no worries, Jenny did throw on the latest shade from Maybelline.

Like that embarrassing prom partner, the restyled North American Ford Focus (with Sync) is the date you reluctantly hold hands with, while across the dance floor, Ford Europe gets the goods - a Focus RS high-performance model and now an all-new Focus Coupe-Cabriolet.

 

You say that like it's a bad thing.

Am I missing something here? Isn't MKR that cool concept from last year's Detroit Auto Show?

Only thing about Lincoln that I don't like is names. MKZ, MKX, MKS, MKR ... I follow auto industry very closely (especially Ford Motor Company) and even I get confused by these names. Imagine how bad it's for somebody who doesn't follow auto industry.

 

Of course it's a bad thing when gas is $4.00 a barrel and an overabundance of overlapping "trucks" are effectively the only thing you've got to offer the public as your car sales slide deeper into red ink.

Ford of North America is a one-trick pony when it comes to cars these days (no pun intended).

Sorry, I meant MKS.

 

MKS, he corrected it.

Same things were being said about the Edge right before its intro, and it's been the former.

 

We have a dark purple one here at our plant for display, all one color, I must say, In person it looks awesome. I really really think when you see one in person , you will change your mind. I cant wait for the eco boost though

 

See, even Ford guys like you sometimes get confused with Lincoln name.

 

Hollywood, I've seen the Focus Cab, and while its a SWEET CAR (and would sell here) did you see just how much that car costs over there? Its not an inexpensive car! The Focus is considered a premium small car over there, hence the price, the amazing options they have, and why the B-cars have been over there for years (as an alternative for those who can't afford a Focus). With exchange rates, and such, the Focus Cab, if sold here, I think it would cost somewhere in the mid to high $20,000 range.

Look at the G6 vert, they don't sell many of those and its a bigger car, at the same price. The Sebring, a rental queen.

 

As usual, that argument fails to subtract the 17% VAT tax automatically added to everything across the pond...which we wouldn't have to pay.

But here's the thing: Why can't we just take all the engineering and specs for that car, and build it at a Ford plant in Mexico for the North American market - using the same strategy they have planned for the new Fiesta? God knows the Fusion (built in Mexico) has had the highest initial customer satisfaction rating of any new Ford...ever!

Face it: the bureaucrats at Ford of North America are largely conservative dinosaurs stuck in the past, unable to make decisions for a modern and fast-changing global market. My guess is that Mulally is going nuts dealing with these corporate mastodons. It must be like pulling teeth to get them to sign off on any innovative new strategies that are different from the "established" (aka: archaic) way of doing things.

As to the G6 and Sebring - both those cars are crap. The Mustang V6 Vert competes with both those cars, and the Mustang sells, doesn't it?

I am so sick of people making excuses for Ford of North America's Pleistocene way of doing business. They always have an excuse for why they can't get it done.

Meanwhile, Saturn - which is virtually all Euro now - is doing surprisingly well during these tough times according to a report on Autoline Detroit last night.