Remember back in January 2005 when we saw the Ford Fairlane concept at the Detroit Auto Show? After that proto-debut, Ford started flashing around pre-production Flex at various events here and there. In January 2007, Ford brought the production version of the Flex to the Detroit Auto Show again. On sale date? Summer 2008, as a 2009 model year car. Three-and-a-half years between concept and production ain't bad. But the fact that Ford has been trotting around production-ready versions of this vehicle roughly 18 months ahead of its on-sale date, well that's just asinine. But not as bad as the price, which Ford announced today. The three-row tall wagon will start at an almost reasonable $28,200. Want all wheel drive? Want a white roof? Leather? Gadgets? It'll cost you, all the way up to $37k or more. At least it's got the 3.5 liter V6 engine standard, and eventually an optional turbocharged EcoBoost engine. I'd still prefer an S-Max or Galaxy, but that's just Eurosnobbery. If this thing was on sale two years ago for $4k less…
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I don’t see what’s so unreasonable about the pricing. This is the same price range as other three-row crossovers.
It’s woefully named, hilariously ugly, and probably priced too high. Things are not looking good for Ford’s supersized Scion xB ripoff. It’s the ripoffs look that may make it a hit though.
Yeah, they need to keep the prices up so that they can continue to offer $8000 rebates.
Er, isn’t that high-$30K price point the same thing that killed the Pacifica?
This is the same deal as the Camaro. They haven’t sold a single one, and it is already yesterday’s news.
Yeah I’ll wait until they offer about 3k in incentives and rename it.
The price is within norms, check the competition, Outlook, AWD Sienna, etc and you’ll see the price is similar.
Not saying it would have been great for it to be 2-4k cheaper.
As far as looks go to me it looks great. Not the plain mini-van not the me too styling of most CUV’s. The styling is instantly reconizable unlike the Outloock, Acadia, Pilot, Highlander, etc.
Not that you can compare it to the highlander or pilot. If you are going for a 3 row vehicle and are a parent of young children you need captains chairs. that means mini-van, Tahoe, Taurus x or the Lambdas.
I think these will sell fairly well.
I think a lot of you folks are confused about how much work goes into building a concept car versus building a production car. 3 1/2 years or so from concept to production is REALLY quick for a Detroit automaker. I know Toyota, et. all do it faster.. but still — I dare you to name one vehicle from Detroit that went from concept to production faster than Flex.
Another upright, boxy vehicle that will make you curse as you scrape bugs, birds and transients from the grill. It totally fits that with escalating gas prices people would be favoring cars with Detroit Duplo stying. Why not just buy a short bus? At least those are reliable and, like most of these 8-seater cows, you too can be the loan occupant in the vehicle.
That’s why it’s so hard to take Detroit seriously Christopher. It’s a sad truth. I’m sick to death of the Camaro, the Challenger and the Flex. Hell, I’m more interested in the Toyota Venza that seemingly popped out of nowhere (I don’t particularly want one, just curious to see it in person).
So how fast do the Japanese go from concept to production when not doing a rebadge. what are the stats. Took Nissan 9 years to do the new GT-R, I believe it too Toyota 3-4 years for the new Corolla.
The Camaro is just over hyped, it debuted in 01/06 and will be on sale in 02/09, doesn’t seem that bad to me. Keep in mind you are dealing with a huge company, do you see the government doing anything fast? Nope you don’t.
The pricing doesn’t seem that bad when you consider a 1998 Windstar GL, optioned to resemble a base Flex, stickered at $28,000 (I bought a used on once and still have the window sticker). Ten years later a superior vehicle with the same options for the same money isn’t that bad).
3.5 years from concept to production would be pretty fast if it were an all new from the ground up vehicle. This is basically a new body on top of the Taurus X.
I do actually like the styling of this, though, and we already know the platform is good. Its too bad the name sucks and not that many people want a huge CUV that has the fuel economy and driving dynamics of an SUV with the towing capacity of a car, ref Tri-Lam platform sales.
I saw the vehicle at the Chicago Auto Show – it looks huge, bigger than a Lambda or Odyssey for example.
What’s really remarkable about how long its taken to get this thing out is that its based on an existing platform. Reminds me of the Pontiac G8 which GM took more than a year to graf a US compliant bumper/front clip to.
I supposed when they showed the concept Ford was 1) covering for the lack of any real new product and 2) were throwing darts at the wall to see if anything would stick. Thus the long delay between concept and production.
Compare this to the Honda Pilot “concept” from the Detroit Auto Show (or Accord from last year), which everyone knows is only a slightly disguised version of the production model that will follow later in the year.
Honda gets the buzz from the concept and potential buyers will remain interested until the new models shows up at the dealer (and will likely avoid buying something else in the interim). The Flex intender will finally get tired of waiting, waiting, waiting…
The styling of this vehicle is hardly original, it’s literally a gigantic Scion xB with a Ford shaving razor grille on it.
It’ll be interesting to see if the market gives it the same success the xB enjoyed or if it will go the way of the Taurus X.
I thought Big Al said they were done with the “Homer Simpson” cars…
I love how Ford is so proud of their new engines that “give you the power of a V8, out of a V6″…but yet they design/re-design them (Flex/F-150) to have the aerodynamics of a house.
“Detroit Duply Styling”…That’s a great way to describe Ford’s new styling direction. They can design anything they want…as long as they use a ruler.
The reason that 30K is not unreasonable for the Lambdas is because they look like proper 30K vehicles. They don’t look like a bug-eyed, bling-ified Scion xB
Golly, how I pine for the old days. Remember? The only way to see a new car two years before release was thanks to a lucky auto-paparazzo. These days the D3 show them to you before they’re even designed.
Isn’t that basically admitting you’re behind the curve?
Re: How long it’s taken to put this into production
It’s not that 3.5 years from concept to production is bad. It’s not. It’s that Ford effectively launched this car (minus the advertising) over a year ago. They keep bringing out copies of the Flex that look production ready, they set up the full website for it (http://www.fordvehicles.com/flex), they’ve shown it at auto shows, and they have been road testing it without camo.
The auto press is already tired of the Flex. The pictures have already been shown from the car shows in mainstream news publications (i.e. the NY Times, LA Times, etc).
There’s one thing for ramping up excitement prior to a vehicle’s launch, and obviously you can’t keep something completely secret during development. But they overexposed the Flex, just as Chevy did with the Camaro, Dodge to a lesser extent with the Challenger, Pontiac with the G8, and in an arena no one cares about, VW with diesel engines and the Jetta station wagon.
The rear view of the flex makes the mini clubman cooper works thing look attractive!
Wow, I really don’t like the back end. I see a whole ‘lotta Chrysler 300 in it from that angle.
Could it be possible that the domestic manufacturers are ‘behind the curve’ in the concept circuit because they show a concept when it’s actually a concept, and not the finished product before the bean-counters said no?
Just sayin’
The Flex has a bad name, a hold-over from the “everything must begin with f– f=Ford!” mode. They need to rename this thing Bronco, yesterday.
I like it, think it looks good. For those of you who compare it to the Scion xB, just remember, the xB was nothing original either. I also think the price is within reason considering it will be one of the safest vehicles on the road, have a modern powertrain and can be loaded with family friendly options. If you think it is overpriced, I think you havent bought a car in the last ten years.
If this looks like anything from the past, I would say a Volvo 240 Wagon, which you could say the xB stole design elements from.
I will be buying a 3 row crossover next winter, and this will definitely be on my list of cars to test drive.
If you’re tired of seeing the Ford Flexible for the last three years as a ‘concept’ just imagine how you’ll feel down the road if Ford sticks to its recent product cycles–Crown Victoria/Grand Marquis, Ranger, Windstar/Freestar, Focus (1st generation), Econoline Van. You may be able to buy the same car in 2025.
Flex name stinks. Pricing is competitive. Looks are subjective (that said—Ford cannot afford to launch another bland vehicle like the 500—so the polarizing look is a good thing)
Q:Is 3.5 years from concept to production too long or too short?
A: If I ask my 5 year old kid to draw me e nice car on a piece of paper, he can do better than Flex in less than 15 minutes. 3 and a half years to draw a box on an existing set of wheels (TaurusX) is an outrageously, shamefully, appallingly, terribly long time.
Keep up the good work Ford.
@incitatus…looks are highly subjective. If the Flex look is polarizing (re: you hate it)…this is a good thing for Ford—not a bad thing.
umterp85: “…the polarizing look is a good thing”
I like the euphemism.
“She’s not just plain ugly.
She’s got polarizing looks.”
“Senior citizens”, “Golden Agers”, just call them old people for God’s sake (no offense to anybody).
gamper:
If this looks like anything from the past, I would say a Volvo 240 Wagon, which you could say the xB stole design elements from.
As the owner of a 240 Wagon, I find this blasphemous on all accounts.
incitatus—others in this string do not share your opinion on the look of the Flex—and some do —that’s called polarization. I repeat—that is good for Ford because there will be enough that like the Flex look to sell at least 100K.
I think the price point is too high for their targeted Scion demographic.
@kjc117:
I think the price point is too high for their targeted Scion demographic.
Scion isn’t the targeted demographic. This is a 3-row, 270-300 horsepower full size vehicle, about the size of a Toyota Avalon wagon.
The Flex is NOT a re-badge. It's not just a body tweak. It's a completely new vehicle utilizing the D3 platform.