Last night at the witching hour of midnight just as the news embargo covering the 2011 Ford Explorer was lifted Ray Wert, the outspoken, but not out tweeted editor, of Jalopnik.com took a very public leak all over the new Explorer.
He wrote in THIS post:
"See, rather than creating a new name (what, did Ford Marketing run out
of names that start with the letter "F?" If so, we've got one that's
four letters long we think'll work just fine), they'll be using the
Explorer name plastered on the side of this new crossover they're
calling an SUV. The reality is the Ford Explorer is dead. Long live the
plastic-clad crossover."
And not content to just take on Ford and the new Explorer he even went so far as to dribble all over the would be Explorer buyer by writing:
"Which is to say, it's "reinventing SUVs" for soccer moms who "want to
ride up high," "want to feel safe in a big car" and "are f#$%#
clueless about what makes a good SUV."
BTW: We modified the "F…ing" word above because we're pretty old school when it comes these things.
It seems to us that all too often the "Truth About Cars" editorial road pioneered by Robert Farago leads to a dead end.
Yes, there certainly is a symbiotic relationship between car manufacturers and the journalists that cover the auto industry…and yes some some would describe that relationship as unhealthy and incestuous (and sometimes they would be right), but we say that's no excuse not to do your homework.
Jalopnik.com should cut Ford some slack.
Not only is Ford responding to what they believe their customers want, but we think that it takes some guts and even great financial risk to put a 4-cylinder turbo in the new Explorer. And (get this) put that smaller engine above the standard V6 in the grand Explorer pecking order.
So what if the new Explorer is now longer a "traditional body on frame" SUV. That entire way of thinking about cars and trucks and SUV's and CUV's and whatever "UV" is next is an outdated way of classifying new vehicles.
Most buyers today care more about how their car interacts with their smart phone than what sort of a "UV" it is.
We believe Ford is correct when they say their buyers don't get the SUV vs. CUV distinction. They just want a good-looking reasonable-priced vehicle that seats a family of five with room for two more when it is their turn to car pool to school.
And perhaps now Jalopnik.com gets it as well since they recently printed a somewhat back-handed retraction recently:
"I've heard a lot of commenters bitchin', moanin' and complainin' about the For Explorer today. You're right, I should go easy on Ford. At least FoMoCo did it on their own without U.S. government loans."
But they are still wrong.
It's not about the Fed loans, or about who took what, it's really about old fashioned and old school journalism that's genuinely fair and balanced.
So yes Jalopnik.com we get that you are all edgy and sometimes too cool for
school. We get that a deep and long held passion for cars burns bright in your
editorial offices, but sometimes you might just want to actually drive a car before you
get all medieval on it.
Just sayin….
Roman Mica
Managing Editor
TFLcar.com
