Class: Cars, Off-road / SUV — Model origin:
01:06:38
Background vehicle
Author | Message |
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◊ 2012-06-23 21:26 |
Uncrashed in an earlier scene:![]() ![]() -- Last edit: 2012-06-23 21:45:19 |
◊ 2012-06-23 21:50 |
1995-1997 XLT. |
◊ 2012-06-23 23:37 |
those cars are really unsafe, so prone to roll over and kill people inside those cars..... |
◊ 2012-06-23 23:52 |
The one in the first thumbnail capture is a Limited, the others are a XLT. About the early Explorers being unsafe comment; I would agree to some measure, but there is no silver bullet conclusion as to why it is unsafe. Rather it is a combination of many reasons, some of which do not pertain to the vehicle itself. It is a "series of unfortunate events" scenario, as to why the early Explorers are unsafe. That said, my family owned a 1994 Ford Explorer XLT (UN46), and they loved it for what it was. Later traded in for a BMW 325i (E36) sedan. |
◊ 2012-06-23 23:54 |
I assume he's referring to the Ford-Firestone tire controversy: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Firestone_and_Ford_tire_controversy To say they're all unsafe is an incorrect blanket statement, although there were certainly failures in the design that were thankfully more or less corrected over time. However, my family also had a 1997 Ford Explorer XLT back in the day and it was one of the most reliable SUVs they owned. They ended up selling it to purchase a 2003 Lincoln Navigator. |
◊ 2012-06-24 00:06 |
Indeed, improper driver knowledge, driver error, and tire arrangement were some of the top offenders of the older Explorers. But people like to lay all the blame on the vehicle itself, which is, in a word, foolish. Ford engineers tried to compensate for these issues during the 1998 internal redesigned when the UN105 became the UN150. They lightened the upper portion of the cabin (roof and support pillars) to lower the center of gravity, which in turn reduced the risk of a rollover, but this caused another set of issues, unfortunately. -- Last edit: 2012-07-16 01:17:15 |
◊ 2012-06-24 00:11 |
I love the quote that was in the Owners manual of my 1992 Daihatsu Rocky. "This vehicle handles differently than regular passenger vehicles, you wouldn't take a low-slung sports car off road so don't drive this off-road vehicle like a sports car" ![]() |
◊ 2012-06-24 00:16 |
Exactly. I do feel sorry for people who were/are hurt/had family members killed in any 4x4 rollover, but it’s a 4x4. Period. Don’t drive it like a car, and don’t expect it to handle like a car. -- Last edit: 2012-06-24 00:17:42 |
◊ 2012-06-24 00:19 |
I thought most of the problems associated with the Explorer both real and imagined stemmed from the fact it was still very much a compact pick-up chassis; and in order to acclimate customers into the light truck segment (still consisting mostly of work vehicles in 1990) the tire pressure was lower then it should have been. Pump it up to 30-35 PSI and you're fine. |
◊ 2012-06-24 00:59 |
It was based on the Ford Ranger pickup, and shared many components with it. However, the Explorer did receive some suspension rework, which allowed the Explorer to actually out tow it’s DNA relative. Some reports stated that the Explorer was actually better at towing than the Ranger. Perhaps the added rear weight of the Explorer helped to manage the trailer better. It (the UN46) was officially rated to tow up to 5,600 lbs of braked trailer. |