I heard Rush Limbaugh say today that Ford was going to quit building the Excursion in 04. Has anyone else heard anything about it? He said the evironuts forced it on Ford. My feeling is that it isn't selling fast enough and they are wanting to find a way to ease out of the market. They'd probably sell better if they didn't cost a fortune. I really would like to have one but I won't make myself hostage to FMCC forever to get one. I guess I'll just keep driving my 66, or 72, or 78, or 80, or...

 

[updated:LAST EDITED ON 31-Jul-02 AT 11:27 PM (EST)]I was very busy today and only heard a small bit of Rush.

However, if this is true it really opens up a can of worms. That means the Hummer2 and 'burban are next. Then what will the anti's go after the mini-van? Then maybe the Focus.

Rush's website says the info came from the New York Times.

 

I saw that on the news today.. Just when I decide to save up for a powerstoke version, they go and stop making it..

Wm
'96 F450 White with Grey interior Crew Cab. Banks Turbo, Intercooler and Exhaust,
Power pack Chip, shift kit, Auxiliary transmission, electronic enhanced transmission control,
16 forward and 4 reverse ratios. 340hp 660ft lb 4 wheel drive, 4.10 gears, 12,ooo# winch

 

I heard the same thing thats a shame i liked the Excursion






Wiz

An Equal Opportunity Truck Lover!

http://www.clubfte.com/users/thewiz427/index.html

 

From what I heard it was the 10mpg that killed it and slow sales. I heard that they intend to stop production in '04.

 

Well Eric, it was the perceived 10 MPG, the lack of "fight" from Ford against that perception, their inept marketing department and a product that was built on a work truck platform (Super Duty) but neutered so that it could be driven to soccer games by suburban moms (and dads) in "style & comfort" that resulted in poor sales...which in turn killed the Excursion.

My prediction of the future of the Ford "approved" heavy-weight SUV will be a stretched Expedition type truck based on the new F150 ('04 redesign ??) using the (hopefully) "little-PSD" and the DOHC 5.4L as available engines and the 7700 GVWR package as a beginning point to get at least a 10K tow rating. We'll see....

I'm off the soapbox on this subject....*whew* it's been beat to death all over the net already!

 

I talked to one of my Ford contacts about this subject, and while he wouldn't say it was definitely done after '04 - the best answer was "most likely" - from what he said Monsta is right on the money as far as the reasons behind it. He said the marketing department had absolutely no idea what to do with it, and didn't know how to change the public perception of the vehicle...which led to slow sales, which is the root cause of the problem. As far as the environmental groups go, he disagreed with Rush - he said that the initial uproar had pretty much died down, and at this point it was merely a financial decision. He also mentioned that (for the most part) the people who wanted something to use as a truck were buying SD trucks, and those who wanted something closer to a car tended to buy the Expedition instead - and now with the redesigned Expy, they thought that might draw away a few more buyers from the Excursion. They couldn't hide the fact that the Excursion was built on a truck chassis, so they couldn't make it ride like a car no matter how hard they tried - and it didn't have a bed and couldn't haul gooseneck & fifth-wheel trailers, which limited its appeal to the truck folk. In the end, they ended up with a compromise that only appealed to a small portion of the market...which makes sense when I stop and think about it. Maybe what they need is a double-crew cab, with 3 rows of seats and 6 full-size doors. Actually, one of the people around here has exactly that truck - a longbed crew-cab 4x4 F350 that's been extended 2 or 3 feet with another set of doors tacked on. I've seen it around a number of times, but have never gotten the chance to talk to the guy who owns it to see who did the work.

As far as a replacement goes, I haven't seen or heard anything about it yet - so either it's mostly using current parts or we simply didn't get the contract. Of course, even if I *did* know I couldn't tell you guys anyway.

LK

 

I seen a White 6 door F350 long bed running around here every now & then. My friend & I have the same comment everytime we see it. "There's no way we'd ever be able to park that thing at the grocery store."

Carlene

 

I heard it on the local news last night. I live in the California bay area, the hot bed of the biggest bunch of anti-SUV SOB in the known universe. So when the talking head on the local news channel started the report she had a twinkle in her eye and a large smile on her face. News report went something like this: "Ford announced that it will quite make the Ford Excursion SUV at the end of the 2003 model year. Reports of low fuel mileage are to blame, the 7 foot tall, 19 foot log SUV only gets 10 MILES TO THE GALLON"! The real kicker was when they showed video clips of the evil SUV, they keep showing pictures of a Ford Expedition and a Chevy Suburban. They showed a side view of an Excursion only once. Well, what to you expect form a bunch empty headed pampered liberal media types. I guess all those SUVs look the same from the back seat of their limos.

 

Here is a link to a FOX news article concerning the Excursion.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,59261,00.html

Bru

2002 F150 Super Crew
Black 4X4 Lariat
5.4 Engine Ford Chrome Bars
Ford Bedliner

1979 Bronco 351M 75K orig.

 

>I seen a White 6 door F350 long bed running around here
>every now & then. My friend & I have the same comment
>everytime we see it. "There's no way we'd ever be able to
>park that thing at the grocery store."
>
>Carlene

Ah c'mon Carlene.....it'd fit quite nicely on top of a couple of ricers. *grin*

Ron

 

I asked my brother-in-law why he bought the Expedition instead of the Excursion. He answered ,"Because the Expedition is big but fits in my garage and the Excursion is huge and doesn't.
Dono

 

Good Grief!

I take it he doesn't have 6 kids and a trailer to pull...

 

> Good Grief!
>
>I take it he doesn't have 6 kids and a trailer to pull...

I wasn't knocking the Excursion - that big sucker will get the job done.
Dono

 

The problem with the "perception of poor fuel economy" is that heavy duty trucks aren't required by the EPA to post their fuel mileage estimates on the window stickers. Most people incorrectly think that it's missing because it's so low. Ford should print the numbers as a "service" to the consumer because the mileage is pretty good for a 7000+ lb vehicle. I've been very happy with my Ex's 11-12 around town and as high as 17 on the highway, considering it's size.

I was browsing Explorers and Rangers the other day, and they EPA ratings ranged from 15 - 21. For a vehicle less than 1/2 the size shouldn't they be getting 22 - 34 or even better?

If we outlaw big trucks/SUVs, then the whole RV/Boating industry is going to shut down as no one will be able to tow a large trailer.

So now the question is replace the F350 in late 2003 or the Ex in 2004? I know, let's do both!