Ford announces EcoBoost option for 2010 Flex

[the Teuton]

I saw this in Virginia last week. 

[SVT666]

No thanks.

[Vinsanity]

oh, dear. I'm all for kitschy throwbacks, but that should be left to the 1980's LTD wagons.


Make it a classy tortoise-shell finish applied only to the bottom half of the doors (or a thick character line above the wheel wells running the length of the car through the door handles), and now we're talking

[Nethead]

I saw this in Virginia last week. 

An updated Family Truckster for the remake of "Vacation"!

[Vinsanity]

An updated Family Truckster for the remake of "Vacation"!

heh. I always imagined that it would be a wood-paneled H2 on 26"s

[Eye of the Tiger]

An updated Family Truckster for the remake of "Vacation"!

[Laconian]

Eat my rubber, Wagonqueen!

[Nethead]

heh. I always imagined that it would be a wood-paneled H2 on 26"s

A worthy alternative, there's no denyin' 

[Raza]

SVO!

That's my line!

[Eye of the Tiger]

That's my line!

Ha ha! 

[Nethead]

So the WifeDude has off half of last Friday and takes the Windstar (88,000+ miles) to one of the local Ford dealerships to have some extended warranty work done to stop an ABS warning light from coming on--either to fix the ABS or else to fix the sensor that incorrectly signals the ABS warning light to come on.  Likely it is the sensor...

So, the WD calls me at work to say "They have a beautiful Flex here for under $30,000."  Startled, I tell her to "Drive One."  Then she said "No, I want you to drive it."  Then he said "Are you SURE it's under $30,000?"  Then she said "Yes, I am."  Then he said "Drive it, because if you don't like the way it drives (it's 202" long and 80" wide, for starters)..."  

Things are goin' thru the Nethead here's head: "Flexes are typically $46,000 fully loaded, but since most stuff is standard they probably start out way above $36,000 and a relatively stripped one probably stickers around $42,000."  And "Two weeks ago, DaughterDude and SonInLawDude asked if we would sell them the aforementioned Windstar for cheap since another grandchild is on the way."  And finally "Does a sub-30k Flex even come with wheels & tires?"

Sooooo, after dinner, the Nethead here agrees to go see the "beautiful Flex"--Flexes are cool as all Hell, but I've never seen one in any color that looked especially pretty, much less beautiful.  So we tool on down to the dealership and hit the showroom.  

Son. Of. A. Bitch!  There sat a 2011 Mediterranean Blue Metallic with Ingot Silver roof and tan interior absolutely righteous Flex that floored the Nethead here!  Effin' Gorgeous!  The MSRP was $30,140 but there was a $1,000 rebate.  OTOH, tax/tag/licenses/bullshit/whatever is high on 30k, which puts a vehicle right back up there when the pencil is finished reaming you a new one. The Nethead here reflects:  A. the WifeDude is impressed,  B. the offspring want our Windstar, and  C. the dealership has access to three unsold 2010s within their chain of allied dealerships that would be about $3,000 less--and one of which had the Towing package and roof rails.  

To make a long story short, we can't pay $3,000 for paint.  So while we debated, one of those three Flexes sold and the another was requested by another dealership that had a customer who was interested.  Luckily, the Towjobber-with-roof-rails was still unspoken for, so we bought it.  It'll arrive Monday from the dealership that has it.  The Nethead here never thought I'd ever own a Flex, just like I never thought I'd ever own a '65 Cobra 427.  Then she said "You don't own a Cobra 427."  Then he said "And I didn't own a Flex, either, yet guess what I pick up after work on Monday?"  Then she said "You are so totally dickless."  Then he said "Flex this."  Yada yada yada...

It ain't EcoBoost, but WTF?  It's a Maxi Cooper with towing gear, and that'll work to tow the Cobra 427.  Then she said "You're insane as well as dickless."

Why yes, as a matter of fact I am.  The Nethead here pushes in the clutch and hits the starter button.  The big side-oiler rumbles to life, sending pure energy into the right arm through the shift lever.  The gauges begin to settle down to a steady little twitch, and heat begins to shimmer off the hood in the hot Riverside sun. The shift into first is surprisingly short, the accelerator predictably stiff.  In one smooth motion, the clutch engages as the accelerator hits the metal and the howl of a thousand demons rips the air as the NASCAR-bred 427 claws for the horizon in a breathtaking blast of cod-crushing momentum, yada yada yada...

[CJ]

Congratulations, NetDude!

[Nethead]

Congratulations, NetDude!

Why thank you, CJDude!  The WifeDude is getting cold feet, but I reminded her this sorta deal on a Flex with towing package and roof rails won't pass our way again--on a brand new one, anyway.  The vehicle arrives today, so she had better make up her mind.  I'm easy--I had no intention of buying a new vehicle Friday morning so personally I'm only out a wasted Saturday if she bails. 

We've paid nothing so far, although I had intended to take a coupla hours of Annual to round up $30,000 from various accounts at our credit unions and deposit it into our day-to-day checking account.  I was gonna cash out a CD early, but the WifeDude balked at that so it'll come from various credit unions.  Half dozen of one, six of the other IMO.

Chicks.  They are soooooo flaky...

[SVT666]

Your wife must be one special person to put up with you....much like my wife.  Congrats.  What's happening with your Bronco now?

[Nethead]

Your wife must be one special person to put up with you....much like my wife.  Congrats.  What's happening with your Bronco now?

And thank you, HemiDude!  Friday morning I had no idea how the day would turn out.

The WifeDude: Always scared by taking the plunge--before, during, and after.
The Bronco:  It's still the only ORV we own.  I'm driving it less because it needs modernizing.  Mileage with the 289 three-speed manual is not great, but I've been there/done that with the Cobra Jet 428 Cyclone so that don't bother the Nethead here.  My plans for the Bronco got delayed when I quit the second job.  

Now, we've sold the commercial properties and had plans to party hearty except for deciding where we want to build the new home.  We've tentatively decided on a set of house plans, but first we gotta agree on where.  
Options:  Near one child's residence, or near the other's.  Or sorta midway between the two.  Or at the beach (which would pretty much mean a different style of house altogether).  
The DaughterDude and the SonDude are early in their careers, and may have moved far, far away just a few years from now.  She and the SonInLawDude are fairly committed to the area where they live, but the SonDude may be moving a coupla hundred miles if he gets a promotion he's put in for.  We don't want to dick up the choice of location for obvious reasons, so taking a "wait and see" attitude prevails with us at the moment.  Meanwhile, the long-needed upgrades to the Bronco remain on hold until the house issues are resolved.  This is all vexing, but we hope to do it once and not have to do it again later...On top of that, we both still work, which sorta ties us to this area in the near term.  I hate playing the "wait and see" game, but there it is...    

[AutobahnSHO]

ROCK ON DUDE!!!!

I really like the Flex. Would love to get one.

[Atomic]

uhhh...

"full-size performance crossover vehicle"

It would seem they created a new category for their marketing.

will be interesting to see how the flex-edge-explorer will do, being so similar in (too) many ways  !

[SVT666]

will be interesting to see how the flex-edge-explorer will do, being so similar in (too) many ways  !

They are only similar in that they both seat 7 and they are based on the same platform.  Otherwise, Explorer is an SUV and Flex is a Crossover.  Edge isn't related.

[Nethead]

ROCK ON DUDE!!!!
I really like the Flex. Would love to get one.

AutobahnSHO:  Yeah, I was thinkin' o' you when we took our first test drive on Saturday morning.  It is quite satisfyin'!  At 80" X 202", the view in the rear view mirror is like looking at a window at the end of a long hallway--it looks so far away.
 Now here I am ag'in in this mean ol' town
 And you're so far away from me
 Now where are you
 When the Sun goes down
 You're so far away from me
 You're so far away from me
 So far I just can't see
 You're so far away from me
 You're far away from me...  
               Dire Straits, Brothers in Arms

I do love that fold-down seating for every seat except for the driver's bucket!  And those seats are big, comfy suckers with megaroom in the footwells.  Nice deadpedal in the driver's footwell, too.

Since this is the lowest model, I don't have to be embarrassed by a big, shiny panel between the taillights!

I love the size of those rear discs!  If I get really, really motivated, I'll paint the calipers red--which means finding some red caliper paint (a can of Sperex VHT from a big box store probably ain't the hot tip here).

I love the absence of rocker panels below the doors!  The doors sorta "roll under" the side of the Flex--although the doors have a pronounced inward lip when you see them in the open position.  The sooner this feature winds up on Mustangs, the better!!!  My verbal description leaves a lot to be desired--google "Ford Flex" and look at the pics.  You may not have noticed the absence of rocker panels (Who would?), but once you do notice how good the absence of rocker panels looks you'll wish all your favorite vehicles didn't have 'em either!

The good citizens of Oakville, Ontario build one fine vehicle!

Note:  A year or so ago, several dudes were whining over in the Mustang thread that all Mustangs don't come with leather-covered steering wheels as standard equipment.  I questioned at the time how much that matters.  Well, the Flex comes with a leather-covered steering wheel as standard equipment, and I find that the charcoal-colored leather with the lighter stitching looks fine but it feels just exactly the same as the recycled soft plastic that coats the steering wheels in our Focus ZX5 and in our Windstar--there's no tactile difference.  I'd wrap the wheel in baseball bat tape myself, but the WifeDude would howl when she sees me unstitching the Flex's leather covering

And Radio Margaritaville might make SIRIUS worth it after all!

[omicron]

Marvellous!

[Nethead]

Marvellous!

omicron:  OMIDUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUDE!!!!!  That's the Mediterranean Clearcoat with Ingot Silver roof like the beauty that we had to pass on (well, didn't HAVE to, but that's a 2011 and we saved $3000 by going to an unsold single-color 2010 (but which DOES have a Class III towing package!)).  The one we saw in the showroom may not have had the chrome on the side mirrors and may have had body-color-painted door handles, but I may be wrong about that...

You can see why the WifeDude and the Nethead here were smitten by it--the first actually beautiful Flex I'd ever seen, although a candy red Titanium model might look great, too.  The aluminum wheels on ours are eight-spokers instead of the ten-spokers on the Flex in your pic.

I love a clean, good-looking vehicle--hence my love of the Flex and the early Broncos.  And good as this pic looks, that Mediterranean Clearcoat/Ingot Silver Flex was ten times better-looking in the sheetmetal!  Even though it's not the one we bought (Sigh...), it is the Flex that sold the WifeDude on selling the Windstar to the DaughterDude and buying a 2010 Flex for ourselves to replace it.  For that reason alone, it is magnificent!

[Nethead]

will be interesting to see how the flex-edge-explorer will do, being so similar in (too) many ways  !

Atomic:  I hear where you're coming from--the three DO appear to have some overlap.  But as the HemiDude pointed out, the Edge is a quite smaller vehicle--something like the Expedition vs. the Explorer.  The Explorer is a quite smaller vehicle, too, and with more ground clearance than either for the occasional offroad episode.  

At 202" X 80", the Flex has no business off the pavement.  Chauffering seven passengers or hauling a washing machine and two-by-fours home from the big box store or trailering a coupla jet skis or towing a Cobra 427 (then she said "I'm setting you up with Lorena Bobbitt if you don't STFU.") are the kinda things a Flex excels at, only not at the same time.  Stuffing yourself and the entire Penn State cheerleading squad inside it works, too .  It is a FLEX, after all...    

[FoMoJo]

And thank you, HemiDude!  Friday morning I had no idea how the day would turn out.

The WifeDude: Always scared by taking the plunge--before, during, and after.
The Bronco:  It's still the only ORV we own.  I'm driving it less because it needs modernizing.  Mileage with the 289 three-speed manual is not great, but I've been there/done that with the Cobra Jet 428 Cyclone so that don't bother the Nethead here.  My plans for the Bronco got delayed when I quit the second job. 

Now, we've sold the commercial properties and had plans to party hearty except for deciding where we want to build the new home.  We've tentatively decided on a set of house plans, but first we gotta agree on where. 
Options:  Near one child's residence, or near the other's.  Or sorta midway between the two.  Or at the beach (which would pretty much mean a different style of house altogether). 
The DaughterDude and the SonDude are early in their careers, and may have moved far, far away just a few years from now.  She and the SonInLawDude are fairly committed to the area where they live, but the SonDude may be moving a coupla hundred miles if he gets a promotion he's put in for.  We don't want to dick up the choice of location for obvious reasons, so taking a "wait and see" attitude prevails with us at the moment.  Meanwhile, the long-needed upgrades to the Bronco remain on hold until the house issues are resolved.  This is all vexing, but we hope to do it once and not have to do it again later...On top of that, we both still work, which sorta ties us to this area in the near term.  I hate playing the "wait and see" game, but there it is...     

Love the Flex .

So, did the WifeDude make up her mind yet?   If so, when do you pick it up?

I haven't seen the blue one you mentioned but the white platinum looks great. 

[Nethead]

Love the Flex .

So, did the WifeDude make up her mind yet?  If so, when do you pick it up?

I haven't seen the blue one you mentioned but the white platinum looks great.  

FoMoJo:  OmiDude posted a pic of an identical/nearly identical Flex upstream!  Mediterranean Blue Metallic is a dark green with a dollop of blue in the mix--technically, it should be filed under "greens" instead of under "blues" in the unabridged encyclopedia of automotive finish colors.

Yes, she did make up her mind and we bought it!  We got it after work yesterday and we've driven maybe thirty miles so far--we have issues to resolve on the ABS warning light on the Windstar so we've needed to drive the Windstar more than would otherwise have been the case.

I've seen White Platinum--over all, I think I like the basic bright white of our Focus ZX5 more than I like White Platinum, but I've always been a fan of pure, bright white because it looks more racy than slightly off shades of white (cream, for example).  The white of fresh snowfalls--a pure, bright white if ever there was one--awes me, although the sort of not-quite-pure-white of baby T-Birds certainly added glamour to their sexiness.  My late father's '61 Country Sedan looked pretty damned sharp in "Corinthian White" back in the day, however, and that was a sort of cream color instead of a pure, bright white.  White is not a Flex's best color, although it would be acceptable.  "Regular" red wouldn't work either, although a candy red probably would look great!

[FoMoJo]

Well, I hope you and the WifeDude enjoy it for many years to come.

[Nethead]

Well, I hope you and the WifeDude enjoy it for many years to come.

Thank you, Fo!  The WifeDude has yet to drive it, but she's like that with all the new vehicles we buy.  I have it here at work today, and got to enjoy Radio Margaritaville on the way in  SIRIUS is growing on me...

Naturally, the Nethead here appreciates a lot of what this Flex has (see above), but I also appreciate what it doesn't have--such as a power liftgate, chrome door handles, and '03 Windstar-style cupholders.

And some things I wouldn't have paid for if they had not been standard--like the radar-backup-warning-dohickey that beeps when you back up to within six feet of a solid object.  OTOH, the WifeDude NEEDS that--she has dented the rear ends of two of our other four vans/minivans over the decades so this whistle/buzzer/bell may pay for itself over time.

Ford did this right--the Flex is a bit pricey for sure, but it has so much that's standard equipment that a completely unoptioned Flex has a vastly satisfying array of gear and gizmos right out of the box .   Er, make that "right IN the box".

[CJ]

NetDude, let's get some pictures of this beauty!

[Nethead]

NetDude, let's get some pictures of this beauty!

Ceej, the beauty is the one that omicron posted upstream in this thread--Mediterranean Blue Metallic with an Ingot Silver Clearcoat roof!  That was the vehicle that the WifeDude called me at work about last Friday, and it was the first Flex which I would label "beautiful" that the Nethead here had ever seen--they're sharp-looking in a super-functional way, but it took that baby to make me think "beautiful".  And it really is!  

But this color combo is new for 2011, and I couldn't justify $3,000 more bucks for a year-newer title and pretty paint (well, the tan interior on the 2011 is gorgeous, too, but again that is a looks thing).  The unsold 2010 we bought is a single-color Flex with a few (but important) options--the most notable being the Class III towing package and the roof rails.  The true value of that 2011 Mediterranean Clearcoat with Ingot Silver Clearcoat roof is that it is the Flex that wowed the WifeDude into considering a Flex (and the sub-$30,000 price clinched it).  She was leaning sorta Sienna/Odyssey otherwise, which woulda been our fourth minivan (plus one Dodge full-sized van prior to minivan availability).  Frankly, it was high time we got outta that circle although the Nethead here has never been a minivan hater--it wasn't until the Flex came out that there really existed a viable alternative to a minivan's utilitarian excellence.  I'd been hot for a Flex since day one, but the WifeDude was no way.  

It  IS  the most expensive vehicle we've ever bought, but the higher costs of vehicles since we last bought new vehicles in 2003 was gonna pretty much mean that any roomy vehicle we bought was likely to be the most expensive vehicle we had ever bought, so there it is.  'Dunno about the WifeDude, but the Nethead here is very pleased!  

[SVT666]

Pictures or this is bullshit.

[AutobahnSHO]

Pictures or this is bullshit.

+1
With your (Nethead) ugly mugg in the reflection.  

I'm just sad that they're so expensive and will be for a long time. How is the space inside compared to a minivan???