Posted: 12/16/2004 5:48:57 PM EDT
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I heard this on the news. Is it discontinued finally? I heard FoMoCo was throwing up the idea for about a year or so. My g/f's mom had one. Coolest truck I ever seen/rode in. Who cares if it sucks gas? |
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www.autoweek.com/news.cms?newsId=101409 Ford to dump Aviator, Excursion; automaker to cease production after '05 model year AMY WILSON | Automotive News Posted Date: 12/14/04 DETROIT -- Ford Motor Co. will kill two of its priciest SUVs after the 2005 model year. Production of the Ford Excursion, the automaker's biggest SUV, is expected to end in September, according to an internal Ford document. A supplier source also confirmed the vehicle will be dropped from the lineup next year. Lincoln Aviator production will end in July, according to the Ford document. Lincoln will revive the nameplate with a car-based SUV in 2006. The St. Louis assembly plant that produces the Aviator and its sister Ford Explorer and Mercury Mountaineer SUVs is dropping one of its two shifts in January. Ford officials refused to comment on the demise of the two vehicles. But the end of the Excursion and Aviator is not surprising. The demise of the Ford Excursion comes as the automaker seeks production capacity for the F-250 and F-350 platforms. Ford once said it would drop the fuel-hungry Excursion, a frequent target of environmentalists, after the 2004 model year. But Ford Division President Steve Lyons this year said that production would continue through at least the 2005 model year. The decision to end Excursion production comes as Ford seeks production capacity for its F-250 and F-350 Super Duty pickups, a Ford source says. Those pickups and the Excursion are assembled at the same plant in Louisville, Ky. Also, Ford plans to introduce an extended version of its Expedition SUV during the 2007 model year. Ford is scheduled to produce 15,277 Excursions in 2005, the internal document said. Lincoln's Aviator nameplate will return. But Lincoln dealers face a year-long gap without a mid-sized SUV or crossover. Ford will introduce a next-generation Aviator in fall 2006. It will be derived from a modified Mazda6 car platform. The vehicle is expected to be built at Ford's Oakville, Ontario, assembly plant. The truck-based Aviator hasn't met sales targets since it was introduced in late 2002. The Ford document said the company plans to produce 12,582 Aviators in 2005. |
This might be fun:cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=31834&item=4511507255&rd=1 |
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IMO, it's a case of sales projections being badly influenced by the early adapters. The first couple of years, anybody who needs or wants one will acquire one. After that, the market gets saturated and the need is for replacement only unless marketing can convince people that they need such a vehicle. I'm sure Ford is saavy enough to know this about niche products, but they probably thought that more would step up and they'd have suburban like sales. |
Saw one of those on the road today. Looks SWEEEEEET!!!! If they make an SUV version, the libs will be REAL HAPPY! |
This is what the idiots on the left don't understand. We will always need large trucks to move heavy things - no CAFE standard can ban them. So when they force minimum fuel standards on manufacturers, they simply create a demand for a 'loopholed' truck that is exempt from the standard. Voila' even bigger trucks hit the streets. When will people learn that the free market is the best way to let these things work? Everytime some social engineer tries to force his idea on society, they wind up making things worse - or causing the deaths of millions. |
That's so friggen stupid, but I want one 
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It's demise is exactly on schedule . Ford stated from the get go that it would field it for 5-6 years to compete against the Suburban . No one has every been able to put a dent in GM's niche market for a full size , four door , closed cargo , heavy hauler . Which the Suburban has ruled for 30+ years . |
I want one just to piss the treehuggers off. I'd put a bigassed bumper sticker on it that says something like "I love the smell of burning dead dinosaur in the morning"  But I think I could get a vietnam-era deuce-n'a-half a hell of a lot cheaper -- and it'd be about as practical for me. (which is to say, it'd sit in the parking lot and take up space.....) |