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Ford Explorer
The Ford Explorer is
a midsize sport utility vehicle sold mostly
in North America built by the Ford Motor Company
since 1990 and still in production as of 2006.
It is manufactured in Louisville, Kentucky.
It has been the best-selling vehicle midsize
SUV in the United States each year since its
introduction, and is one of the vehicles instrumental
in turning the SUV from a special-interest
vehicle into one of the most popular vehicle
types on the road. The Explorer has also been
involved in controversy, after a spate of
fatal rollover accidents involving Explorers
fitted with Firestone tires. Both two-door
Explorer Sport and four-door models of Explorer
have been sold. Part-time four wheel drive
is an available option, and since 1995 this
has been a 'shift on the fly' system with
full protection against being engaged at too
high a speed.
With the introduction
of the second generation Explorer in 1995,
Ford attempted to market the Explorer in the
UK, similar to the Taurus Ghia, Ford's attempt
to market the Taurus in Australia and New
Zealand. The Explorer was poorly received
in the UK, apparently in large part because
it was designed for comfortable city cruising,
rather than off road capability. Many UK buyers
only bought SUVs if they needed cargo flexibility
or off road capability, and they looked at
the SUV as less of a family car, as they believed
that station wagons were the best family haulers,
unlike Americans. That meant that UK SUV buyers
largely stuck with Land Rovers or Jeeps. After
the Firestone tire problems (see below), Ford
withdrew the Explorer from the UK market.
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