Ford introduces new Explorer as 'most dramatic re-invention'
2011 Ford Explorer will be builty at South Side assembly plant
Ford unveiled its revamped and more fuel-efficient Explorer by driving it through a giant crate on stage at Millennium Park this morning. The 2011 model will be built at Chicago's South Side assembly plant.
Bill Ford Jr., executive chairman and great-grandson of founder Henry Ford, called the new Explorer the company’s “most dramatic re-invention yet” but said “we want to be appropriately cautious” in deciding whether to hire even more Chicago plant workers.
(Al Podgorski/Sun-Times)
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Ford unveils revamped Explorer
“We will have to see,” he said to reporters. “Overall, the car market isn’t as healthy as it was two years ago. So far in July, though, early sales look good.”
Ford said that, despite the company’s four straight quarters of growth, “we’ve got to get the economy moving again for all of our sakes.”
Asked whether another model might come to Chicago, Ford said, “I think they’ve got all they can handle” with the fast-selling Taurus, the Lincoln MKS sedan and now the Explorer SUV.
The Torrence Avenue assembly plant has started calling in laid-off union workers and accepting transfer employees to fill the 1,200 new jobs the 2011 Ford Explorer will bring here, plant manager Jan Allman said after the Explorer unveiling.
“We have notified local employment agencies” for hiring possibilities, she said, noting that no exact numbers are known yet for new hires.
Allman, hired as the first woman to run a Ford assembly plant a year ago, said she has been most impressed by the Chicago plant’s work ethic and attention to quality.
Gloria Georger, plant manager at the Ford Motor Co. stamping plant in Chicago Heights, said the plant, with 850 employees, will start hiring an unspecified number of new employees in November to supply the Explorer.
Dealer Al Meyer of Willowbrook Ford said, “I’ve never been more optimistic about the future” in his 31 years in the business due to Ford’s leadership and the quality, styling and freshness of the products.
Meyer said at the height of his 31 years, he sold 200 new cars a month. That dropped to 40 in late 2008 and is now back to about 70.
The company executives, dealers and United Auto Workers union members and busloads of 250 employees, retirees and supporters were joined by Mayor Richard Daley and Gov. Pat Quinn under a scorching sun at the Chase Promenade to laud the Explorer, which was driven through a faux-wood panel to make its on-stage debut.
The Explorer’s unique features include:
** Twenty to 30-percent greater fuel efficiency due to a 100-pound reduction in weight, along with a standard 3.5-liter Ti-VCT V6 engine and an optional 2.0-liter EcoBoost I-4 four-cylinder engine.
** Inflatable rear seat belts — aimed at protecting children who usually ride in back seats.
** Curve Control technology that helps keep the vehicle in control in snow, sand and uphill driving, including slowing down on offramps.
** MyFord Touch technology that lets the driver connect with LCD cluster screens with compass and temperature display.
The price is expected to be announced in a couple days, said Jim Tetreault, vice president of manufacturing.