BusinessWeek Logo
Ford Explorer

By Jim Henry

Ford Explorer

Sales first half, 2008: 49,935
Sales first half, 2007: 74,704
Percent change: -33.2%

The Ford Explorer, which made its debut in 1990, was once the best-selling SUV in the world. Today, it is a poster child for the now-sinking SUV era. It was last redesigned in 2002 and facelifted in 2006. That probably means the current generation will be around until about 2010. Ford said that for the third quarter, it will eliminate a shift at one of the two plants that make the Explorer and its fraternal twin, the Mercury Mountaineer. The standard engine is a 210-hp, 4.0-liter V-6 that gets only 14 mpg city and 20 mpg highway, by EPA estimate. The optional 292-hp V-8 gets 13 mpg city and 20 mpg highway.