MULALLY CHAMPIONS WEIGHT SAVINGS AT FORD
By Drew Johnson
It may be one of Ford?s top sellers, but the new Explorer almost didn?t come to fruition. Upon arriving at Ford in 2006 CEO Alan Mulally was given the task of deciding the fate of the Explorer, which included the possibility of sending the SUV to the automotive graveyard.
?Alan told us we need to truly reinvent the Explorer,? Derrick Kuzak, Ford?s product development chief, said. With the pressure of looming fuel economy regulations, Mulally ordered that the Explorer lose weight and improve fuel economy or face the cutting room floor.
The ploy worked. When Kuzak presented his final bid to Mulally to start production of the new Explorer in 2009, he didn?t start with projected sales figures or expected profits. Instead, he started off by explaining how the Explorer?s engineering team had managed to cut weight by 100 pounds and boost fuel economy by 24 percent.
In January, the Explorer?s sales were up 73 percent.
Continuing trend
But Mulally?s quests for lighter vehicles won?t stop with the Explorer. The former Boeing executive has ordered that all models introduced between 2012 and 2020 must shed 250-750 pounds compared to their predecessors. Mulally has also warned that if a vehicle can?t achieve best in-class fuel economy, he won?t give them the green light.
?Every engineer needs to think about weight as one of the most fundamental elements,? Kuzak said.
The Explorer will be getting even more fuel efficient in the coming months as Ford adds a new turbocharged four-cylinder model to the mix. It?s expected the four-cylinder version of the Explorer will return close to 29mpg on the highway.
repost?
It's a little disingenuous for Ford to use the Explorer as an example of weight savings in its transition to crossover. At 4,700 pounds and up, it's not a light crossover -- 600 pounds more than the Freestyle.
Furthermore, the 2010 Taurus, Mulally's first big project to have a say in, gained some 350 pounds even as it got physically smaller. And the latest new Ford, the 2012 Focus, is up 300 pounds from the 2011.
Weight savings is nice, but only if you actually do it. New Fords are not light vehicles.
Yea I was just about to say, they must be starting this on the next gen of Ford vehicles cause this current crop seems to be around the middle of the pack. A 3,000lb Fusion would be pretty cool though, esp w/an Ecoboost 4 banger.
I called bs on this in the explorer thread as well... good intentioned, but other manufacturers like Mazda started this years ago