For the second time in a month, a union official’s loose lips has spilled information on a looming change in Ford’s lineup, only this time the product news isn’t an addition — it’s a funeral.
Yes, if the report is true — and Ford isn’t confirming it — the mighty Ford Flex will bow out of existence in 2020, leaving fans of the polished brick heartbroken. Still, there’s a mystery as to the fate of its leviathan-like platform mate, the Lincoln MKT.
The juicy tidbit of product info came last night after Ford Canada sealed a tentative contract agreement with autoworkers’ union Unifor.
The deal means $700 million in investments in the automaker’s Canadian operations, mainly in its two Windsor, Ontario engine plants, but also at its Oakville assembly plant. That plant builds the Ford Edge and Flex, as well as the Lincoln MKX and MKT.
According to the Windsor Star, Bob Scott, vice-chair of the union’s master bargaining committee, claimed that the Flex would be discontinued in 2020. Some of Ford’s investment will go towards a future refresh of its Edge and MKX models.
Ford doesn’t like discussing future product plans, so we’re left with the union’s claim — no doubt drawn from its discussions with Ford officials during this latest round of bargaining. A UAW member in Michigan spilled the beans about the return of the Ford Ranger and Bronco in late September.
While no one can call the Flex a strong seller, it remains a consistent one. The Blue Oval sold 19,570 of them last year, down from the model’s 2009 high of 38,717, but not wildly far off the tally of the previous four years. This year’s sales seem poised to top last year’s number by a small amount. Still, it’s a niche vehicle that Ford doesn’t need, given its market overlap with the Explorer, Expedition and Expedition XL.
While they were all to ready to mention the Flex’s demise, not a word was spoken of the fate of the MKT. Lincoln’s full-size crossover has seen its sales tank pretty bad this year, and, somewhat oddly, it’s almost nonexistent in the country that builds it. In 2015, Lincoln moved 4,696 MKTs in the U.S., and 217 in Canada. That’s a far cry from its best sales year, 2010, where Americans bought 7,435 MKTs and the Canadians 922, but this year looks even worse.
From New Year’s to the end of September, Lincoln logged 2,955 MKT sales in the U.S. and — get ready — just 87 in Canada. The MKT is as rare as an albino moose. In September, a total of three MKTs rolled off dealer lots north of the border.
If the Ford Flex has a date with the afterlife, will the MKT go the same route, or will it retain the platform and adopt a new, more popular personality? The latter option seems unlikely, as Ford plans to switch the Explorer from the D4 platform (which also underpins the Flex and MKT) to the CD6 platform in 2019.
[Image: © 2016 Jeff Voth/The Truth About Cars]
Noooooooooo
Search your feelings, you know it to be true.
Nooooooooo! Nooooooo!
*jumps off of desk dramatically*
Quick, someone get the restraints!
least ye forget who has died for your sins, mortal one.
Let us pray in His name.
Our Engine who art in heaven, hallowed be thy marque. Your Sagniaw Casting Plant come, your torque be done, in Flint as it is in Plant 36. Give us this day our daily bell housing pattern, and forgive us our emissions, as we also have forgiven the EPA. And lead us not into DOHC’s, but deliver us from head gasket failure. For thine is Buick City and the torque and the forced induction forever and ever, Amen.
Praise be Ally
*golf clap*
So sayeth the LORD.
Amen
Like my first marriage. I knew it was coming to an end I just didnt want to accept it. Damn.
If the MKT didn’t have that nutbag swoopy roofline that makes the 3rd row darn near useless, it might have sold a few more. What’s the point of a three-row car if you can’t actually use the 3rd row? Nobody expects it to be luxurious back there, but it should fit an adult now and again. I ALMOST got my wife to bite on one, she liked the interior and the drive, but refused because of the tiny 3rd row. This is how we ended up with a Navigator L.
We basically treat our MkT has a four passenger vehicle (we have the captains chairs). The rear seats haven’t been raised. I wish I could just pull them out.
Same here. I liked test driving the MKT and took the Wife for a test drive. The third row and trunk space just didn’t make sense for our family needs. Not enough room for an adult so our older kids and grand parents wouldn’t fit. We also bought a new 2015 Navigator L base model 4×4 in white platinum with a sunroof. Been very happy with it but it would be fun to drive something that doesn’t drive like a truck. Then again we have a 2011 F250 super duty crew cab 4×4 diesel and the lincoln rides much smoother and handles better. The claim that “it drives like a truck” wouldn’t agree with me :)
Enjoy your Navi!
Expedition EL, not XL.
I’m not surprised at this news. I wish the Flex had been more successful, taking the family hauler market from Explorer and thus allowing it to have been based on the Everest.
Fleet would be the only reason it would be kept, and I would think Navi would just be used instead.
I think the union boss just forgot that they build it.
It’s easy. The Flex goes away, but Ford adds the Bronco and the Ecosport. The MKT goes away, but a new Aviator is spawned on the next gen Ford Explorer chassis.
Lol, Ecosport – that Indian market abomination? They couldn’t sell that here.
Not the current one, no, but the next gen, certainly, assuming it’ll be built up to NA safety standards. Ford “needs” a B-segment CUV to compete with the Trax and HR-V.
I certainly agree with the need, though I really don’t like any of those tiny “CUV” hatchbacks. Wonder what they’ll call the Lincoln version, the Flyer perhaps.
Also just struck me that Nissan doesn’t have anything competitive in this segment, and the Juke needs to go. And Toyota needs something yesterday.
sure they could, with a better interior.
flips table and walks away
Sad news but I doubt there is a single sole who actually knows it is still made that is surprised, I’ve been expecting to hear that this is the last year for several years now.
They won’t kill the MKT – there isn’t a fleet-car ugly enough to replace it. Fleet cars are SUPPOSED to be difficult to look at – they can be uncool without worry – that is their job…
Just to set the record straight . I know that a lot of things have changed , since the last day I punched the clock. However I can just about guarantee , that management does not share confidential information with union officials.
The decision to axe the Flex was no doubt made months ago. They brought that decision to the bargaining table. At that point , it became public knowledge .
2020 is a way off yet, so don’t weep yet. I never liked the Flex, anyway.
How can we call a vehicle that sells less than Chevy Corvette in one year (last year and this year) in a sizzling SUV market a success? This thing should have been retired couple years ago. It was a gimmick, and as gimmicks tend to do, it worked a little at the beginning. It is too low and long to be a SUV. It is some strange station wagon thing that wants to be a SUV. It never works in a CITY. NEVER. Ford made the right decision, only hope they retire it sooner.
“It never works in a CITY. NEVER.”
Do feel free to explain how it works in a city any differently than any of the other millions of SUVs and CUVs each year which proceed to work within cities.
CoreyDL, one huge reason for SUV’s success in cities, is you can see over cars when riding/driving in a SUV. This thing takes away that huge advantage of a SUV. The ride height also gives a sense of security and safety in traffic next to other cars and other SUVs/Trucks. Flex missed on all these counts
So then sedans don’t work in cities, nor do coupes, convertibles, hatchbacks? Your only defense for an SUV “working” in a city is the ride height?
CoreyDL, discussion is not about sedans or coupes (which by the way are losing marketshare every day). Discussion is about why Ford is killing Flex, yet Explorer and Edge are thriving. SUVs are killing sedans/coupes/… because of ride height in cities. Women who are a huge segment buying these vehicles feel safe with a ride height above cars and at same level as trucks. Which this FLEX doesn’t have.
The tall chair height, tall roof, square doors, and low floor is the main reason I might get one to haul my disabled & obese boomer folks to the doctors now that they’re increasingly not doing it. Now I just need to convince them to ditch the Outback.
The ride height of a Flex is 1″ shorter than an Explorer, and still taller than most any sedan.
It was never advertised as an SUV.
Drzhivago138, if it wasn’t meant to be a SUV, it should have never been. Station wagons don’t work in our market.
“[I]f it wasn’t meant to be a SUV, it should have never been.”
…It wasn’t. That’s what I said.
pmirp1-
Your opinion is bad.
What 7-passenger CUV works in a city? Size wise, there is little difference between the Flex and Explorer/Traverse/Enclave/Highlander/Pilot/Pathfinder. The Flex accomplishes the same tasks as those vehicles within basically the same footprint (some are shorter, some are longer. all between 68″-71″ tall). The Flex isn’t selling well for a few reasons:
1) The Explorer now exists and it conquers all
2) Styling
3) The 3.5TT and high trims are now available on the Explorer
The Flex stayed alive for so long because it conquested affluent buyers that had never thought of purchasing a Blue Ovaled vehicle before, did well in California, and has average transaction prices much higher than the segment average. It’s been a profitable vehicle for Ford that deserves praise and should not be labeled a gimmick.
This is a great example of why manufacturers don’t try creative and new things. Ford builds the Flex and MkT (both concepts were widely lauded), and they never have great sales success. They crib a Land Rover design, give it an Explorer nameplate, and make it worse in most objective ways and can’t build enough of them.
Adam Tonge, my opinion is corroborated by Ford when Ford decided to stop building this thing. So it is a good opinion proven by action by Ford.
To answer your question, in Atlanta where I live Explorer works, Highlander works, Pilot works. They are everywhere.
Do you really think styling is the only reason Flex doesn’t sell? Do you think Highlander and Pilot are pretty designs? Sure, I give you Explorer now looks beautiful. But you tend to ignore the fact that Pilot and Highlander and Traverse are far from good looking. Yet they sell. BECAUSE they work in cities where they ride high and proud. They look like SUVs, not like a second generation SCION XB on steroids.
Trust me, SUV is not about a strong engine. I have the Pentastar in Grand Cherokee and it is plenty fast for what I need it to do. It has nothing to do with ecoboost v6 in Explorer. As long as a SUV has at least a V6 for a three row SUV, it is good enough.
Creativity is good, but you can’t change the major DNA of a SUV (ride height) and then expect it to work. I rest my case.
IMO the only “good looking” mid-full size CUVs are the Highlander, Envoy and Santa Fe. The rest are ok but really do nothing for me stylistically.
Sad about the Flex…if anything, it should be livery vehicle instead of the MK-whatever. It’s style and shape are distinctive, and certainly no worse than some of the abominations out there (I’m look at you, Pilot).
I know I’m in the minority, but the Explorer just doesn’t do anything for me….
What Envoy?
It is almost all styling. The Flex seat height, roof height, and ground clearance are almost exactly the same the Pilot and Highlander.
The Flex has polarizing styling and that has hurt it in the marketplace. And yes, the Explorer getting the Ecoboost V6 hurt the Flex. It added high dollar sales to the Explorer and took them away from the Flex.
The concept of the Flex isn’t going away though. Ford will replace it with another large CUV that isn’t named “Explorer”. It will just have styling that appeals more to the masses.
Regardless of it not meeting initial sales goals, the Flex has been a profitable product that has more than justified it’s existence.
“The concept of the Flex isn’t going away though. Ford will replace it with another large CUV that isn’t named “Explorer”.”
Can I quote you on that? Because if it’s true, I rescind completely my negative reaction to this story.
“3) The 3.5TT and high trims are now available on the Explorer”
Sorta stretching that there aren’t we? 2016 is the first year for the Platinum and the Explorer has been murdering the Flex ever since it was released. Most of the units we build anyways are 3.5 or 2.3 XLT’s and Limited trims.
Sport was 2013.
I know it’s a smaller part of it, but Flex Ecoboosts are getting replaced by Explorer Ecoboosts. Both are mostly NA V6 though.
Styling is the major reason why the Flex only achieved cult status instead of mainstream success. Plus, the Explorer stomping it with its looks and 4WD branding.
Where’s the “sad/dislike” button?
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/facebook-has-just-summarized-all-human-emotion-into-7-categories-2015-10-08
The Flex is one of a *very* short list of current vehicles that will be at car shows in ~20 years.
My wife loves hers and it’s always nice to own a Canadian-made vehicle. I guess people would rather drive that pug-ugly Explorer which seems twice as big with 2/3 of the usable space.
Whaddya gonna do.
Flex is a rolling display of how the market is sometimes at odds with itself. The average car buyer is choosing a CUV for overall convenience, but they’re overwhelmingly choosing the cramped, bulky, claustrophobic Explorer over the much more open, airy, and space efficient Flex.
Truth.
The market is choosing style over function. They’re also choosing the Explorer because of it being “capable” off road; that little dial for the Terrain Management System put the nail in the Flex’s coffin.
Where is there any style?
Very true. I like the Flex because it’s open and airy feel and the fact that it doesn’t fit the SUV/CUV or minivan mold. My one big issue with it was that it was just too large. The design had a sporty image when compared to SUV/CUV/minivan alternatives, it’s size just didn’t match the sporty design. I know the size was one of the selling points to families, but I always thought it should be about 7/8 of it’s current size and 500 lbs lighter. So basically I wanted a (more) proper wagon . . .
This thing had the looks only a livery fleet could stomach.
This and the Flex = the Homer car. We should be happy either made it this far
You like lowered Hondas, one of the few aesthetic affronts in the automotive realm that can actually lower the value of nearby properties.
I mean, obviously taste is subjective, but it’s like a guy in a tie-dye shirt calling someone else poorly-dressed.
EDIT: I just realized you’re probably referring primarily to the MKT, which, fine- that thing is hideous. But, if you’re dissing the Flex, I will maintain my #triggered state and continue to make fun of whatever you like.
If only I could convince my wife her next SUV should be a Flex.
I think that’s the problem, it’s in a sort of CUV market that primarily attracts female buyers but the Flex primarily appeals to males.
Also, what a stupid name. It didn’t do the vehicle any favors.
The 2005 concept vehicle was called “Fairlane”. I like that better.
Like my first marriage. I knew it was coming to an end I just didnt want to accept it. Damn.
You know, this necessarily brings to mind one of Ford’s greatest flaws–at any given time they will have a great vehicle that they just absolutely refuse to spend even 50¢ marketing on, and then they kill it for “lack of interest”. To this day, I’ve never seen a single TV spot for the Flex. No one could be faulted for thinking this had happened five years ago, Ford has given it so little marketing effort.
It was apparently fairly popular in the Golden State, which helped keep it going as Farley was sensitive to that market.
They were heavily marketing it in the late 00’s and then kind of gave up on it once the new Explorer rolled off the line. Basically, had they named it Explorer XXXXXXX and made it a sub-brand of Explorer it would have been easily rolled into the marketing of the Explorer line and sold as a companion vehicle.
They could have classified it like they do with the “F-Series”, and called it the Explorer Flex. It would then just be another variant (ahem) of the Explorer, and made its contribution to the fabled nameplate. Heck, the Escape could be called the Explorer Escape, and suddenly we have another huge best-seller.
Good riddance. They should have killed this disappointment 8 years ago. Sales have always been pathetic.
With a handle like “EBFlex”, I can only assume this comment was made ironically.
Sadly, it wasn’t.
Not at all. It may be a good vehicle, but the sales have sucked. Why waste time, money, and effort on a dud of a vehicle?
At this point it doesn’t cost much more to keep it in production as long as the assembly line is running its mates. The Flex is hot in California and the majority of them go out the door heavily loaded so it generates some marginal profits and attracts a clientele that wouldn’t otherwise have looked for a vehicle at the Ford store. If all of those well heeled CA buyers are happy with their Flex they may buy another Ford when they are done with the Flex and there isn’t a new one available. So every one that goes out the door now could mean a sale of another Ford product in the future.
I have a neighbor who drives a Flex. His wife is… portly… and fits in it OK, and his kids go in the back. It works well for them as a family wagon, and they love it. It’s kind of the modern Country Squire Wagon, an alternative to the minivan. He’s not too happy about the gas mileage, though.
I can see why so many buyers opt for something else, since the station wagon body style has been supplanted by so many other options.
he’s a troll who’s been here under several names.
The market has spoken, and the shape it wants in this class of vehicle is that of the bulbous and awkward Explorer. Nothing long and certainly nothing square. My wife thinks it’s the ugliest thing on the market, and it seems like most women and some men agree.
A shame, but I’m not surprised. It sells enough to make it worth it to play out the string on this generation, but not enough to justify developing a replacement.
I hope they do something special for the 2019 or 2020 version, whichever is last. I’d probably endure sleeping on the couch for a year to bring home a Flex with Black Label-quality paint and leather, a juiced version of the EcoBoost, and a few goodies not otherwise available.
My wife is one of the rare ones that actually likes and it was at the top of the list for the next family truckster. Unfortunately then gas prices started their steep climb and the recession set in. It just didn’t make sense as her commuter car so we held on to the old family truckster and got her a more fuel efficient sedan as her commuter. Of course the fact that the kids are now gone and the need for a 7-assenger vehicle is next to non-existant doesn’t stop me typing Flex in the Craiglist search bar on occasion.
If I got one I’d be seriously tempted to get one of the woody kits and have the sign guy I know make me some Country Squire script stickers for the flanks and tail gate.
I see a fair few Flex units around Oklahoma City and Edmond. My cater-corner neighbors have one (as well as a 2013 F-150 and a 90s Sable; I think they are Ford people). I would buy it, and it is the only D3 / D4 vehicle I’d buy.
And CD6? That must be the new RWD platform. If the Explorer indeed goes RWD and has a reasonable amount of space, I may buy one.
Hehe, we say “catty-corner” here.
“Kitty-corner” here…
We say kitty-corner or “acrost” if it’s straight across, but occasionally you’ll get someone who says catty-wompus just to be difficult.
I do hear “acrost” as well here in Ohio.
Funny how you brought that up. “Acrost” is the name of the vehicle which will replace the Flex.
Oh, no! The dreaded “Catty-Wampus” is a fierce Hoosier beast that is half-wolverine, half-bear, and half-badger! A truly frightening beast to encounter late at night!
So do most people here. Fortunately, I am not from Oklahoma and have fought against assimilating into the local accent. I still get yelled at for not saying “y’all”.
“Fortunately, I am not from Oklahoma” – as stated by every Texan, throughout the ages.
My Texan wife confirms, but also clarifies that she’d much rather be from Oklahoma than Arkansas.
Explorer goes to RWD for 2020.
If this is the case it almost seems like Ford would need another large CUV, based on a FWD platform, for packaging reasons alone. The Durango is the best-packaged RWD CUV out there and it gives up a lot of cubes to the FWD competition.
Stretched Edge. They already have one in China.
How’s the interior volume on that stretched Edge? Can it compete with the Pilot and the enormous Lambdas? The existing Explorer and Flex at least get somewhat close to those guys, and beat the Highlander.
In theory an Edge L should be better inside than an Explorer.
I would like to see Ford stretch the wheelbase if the Edge a few inches if they are going to throw two more seats in it in the US.
Whenever I see a Flex I think it’s a 2006 Scion xB that’s closer than it appears.
Recently a family member, the opposite of a “car person,” asked me what I thought about these. Her late-model CR-V in perfect condition is just that unpleasant to drive, I’m told. This gave me some joy because I quite like these (like really, really quite like these,) but I couldn’t unequivocally recommend it because:
A) I do not believe it will be as unfailingly reliable as a CR-V (her primary requirement,) and
B) the only one I can truly love is the Limited, with its 3.5TT, which will absolutely positively not be as unfailingly reliable as a CR-V, and it’s a $40k car at least, which is off-putting to someone who couldn’t care less about having a “nice” car.
I might still try to convince her that reliability won’t be that big a problem and she deserves something nice, so she should definitely buy a loaded Flex Limited. But that would be selfish, because I just want to drive it, and wax its wonderfully functional shape, and buy bulky items at Costco only because they’d fit.
I wish I had an excuse to own one of these.
Dammit, Janet!
Sad to see it go, but visually it lost the plot during the restyle by trying to look all mean n’ stuff. The new nose is stupid, the black wheels are stupider, and the elimination of the contrasting white roof is completely unforgivable. The whole fun of the original was its children’s storybook quality: it was the Mini Cooper that swallowed a school bus!
Now it just looks like someone went down to Pep Boys, bought all the PlastiDip they had in stock, and smoked all the trim on mom’s station wagon. *shudder*
I’ve never been so excited to report that I was wrong about something. Was just at the Ford dealer and what was being unloaded off the new-car truck but an EB Flex, candy apple red, silver wheels, white roof. You CAN still get a Flex in the colors God intended. Sanity prevails.
Both sort of look like funeral hearses, MKT in particular, so good riddance to both. Not sure what will the funeral homes replace the MKT with…
Navi/GM K2xx
They should Lincolnize the Flex, using more of its base boxiness vs what they did with the MKT…
put a 1964 Continental grill on the Flex and sell it only at Lincoln. base 3.7na FWD and AWD 3.0EB… WOuld be a better Town Car replacement than current MKT
There is no 2017 MKT listed on Lincoln’s website so I guess it got the bum’s rush.
Never liked the Flex. Drove one for 2 years. Third row seats awkward. High door sill. Motor loud on acceleration. Constant computer glitches. All in all, a less than stellar vehicle.
Ford has started selling the Edge in Norway, which is pretty uncompetitive (too heavy, not unique, too pricey, and no 7 seater at that size). I have been asking for the Flex for years. Now I know the bland Edge and the fantastic Flex come from the same factory…doesn’t help.
interestingly there is a 7 seat Edge for China.
http://www.ford.com.cn/suvs/edge/
Dang! I guess the safety standards differ, but the reason for not outfitting the car with the all important third row in Europe was that the architecture wouldn’t allow it.
No, it’s because Europe already has Galaxy and S-Max on the same platform.
Notice that the 7-seat Chinese Edge isn’t any longer WB, but it does have a more squared-off rear end behind the doors.
I think it needs a longer wheelbase for US use. Like you said, the Chinese Edge L gains all its length, if any, behind the rear wheels.
With family regulations the way they are, the Chinese always prefer to get their length in the back.
I’m perplexed as to how it lasted this long. It was a dud from the start. Yeah, sure, great inside, but outside it looked like the 1st gen Scion xB’s mom.
dud or not, still need to recoup the development costs.
It’s a dud when compared to Ford’s initial sales targets. However, it’s made a nice niche for itself. I’m sure the development costs were recouped long ago.
Hope it is redone, and becomes the much beloved Town Car.
The Emkay names are being retired.
I rented a Flex to go up into the mountains with 4 passengers and it did great. I liked it. I don’t need something that big all the time but I can’t complain.