http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2011/10/2013-ford-escape-spy-shots-001-opt.jpg
http://www.autoblog.com/2011/10/31/next-gen-ford-escape-caught-with-very-little-cover/
Not sure how I feel about it. The details of the design seem to look good (at least, what we can make out) but the proportions seem a bit off. Looks like a raised C-Max.
Quote from: 2o6 on October 31, 2011, 08:23:46 PM
http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2011/10/2013-ford-escape-spy-shots-001-opt.jpg
http://www.autoblog.com/2011/10/31/next-gen-ford-escape-caught-with-very-little-cover/
Not sure how I feel about it. The details of the design seem to look good (at least, what we can make out) but the proportions seem a bit off. Looks like a raised C-Max.
Jeez, everybody is going with that high assed rear end look. That's got to be bad for rear vision.
the front of a fiesta, rear hinting at its big brother, the explorer -- from what we can see of the rap around taillights.
I think this will fail, one of the charms of the escape is that it manages to look like a traditional two box SUV and not a super-feminine crv thingy. This throws all of that out the window.
Looks too much like an MPV and not an SUV.
Quote from: SVT32V on November 06, 2011, 01:35:56 PM
I think this will fail, one of the charms of the escape is that it manages to look like a traditional two box SUV and not a super-feminine crv thingy. This throws all of that out the window.
I dunno, I think %0 percent financing and incentives slapped on the hood are the real appeals of the Escape. It's far too old, and is in dire need of a replacement.
Fail.
Maybe the more MPV proportions will result in more room.
I will wait until I see production photos. I remember how little I liked the Chevy Cruze spyshots when it was cladded up and running around as the Nubira. Now I think it's a handsome design.
Quote from: 2o6 on November 06, 2011, 01:58:54 PM
I dunno, I think %0 percent financing and incentives slapped on the hood are the real appeals of the Escape. It's far too old, and is in dire need of a replacement.
The chassis is old and needs to replaced but that doesn't mean it has to look like this nonsense, not everyone wants to drive something as absolutely unattractive as an MPV/crv.
I hate all small suvs look chick... This will add to that list
Gross.
Fail. Why can't an SUV look like an SUV anymore? I really don't like the direction Ford has taken their SUVs.
Quote from: SVT666 on November 06, 2011, 05:56:31 PM
Fail. Why can't an SUV look like an SUV anymore? I really don't like the direction Ford has taken their SUVs.
I always assumed that was the point of the Escape...despite a chassis that's older than dirt.
Picture at the unveiling in Hollywood. It looks much nicer without the disguise.
(http://assets.bizjournals.com/louisville/news/2013%20Ford%20Escape.jpg?v=1)
It looks nicer, but as mentioned...it no longer looks like an SUV (or an Escape, for that matter).
It looks boxier in Ford's own photos, which is a good thing. And they even managed to put the door lock button on the door instead of on the center console!
It looks nicer than the camo version but defintely in the crv/rav4 school of design, although the longer sloping hood looks nicer than the stubbiness of a crv.
It's not as bad as I thought it would be. I still don't like the direction Ford is taking their SUVs.
It looks good. Definitely won't be bad to look at on the road.
Quote from: giant_mtb on November 16, 2011, 03:35:54 PM
It looks nicer, but as mentioned...it no longer looks like an SUV (or an Escape, for that matter).
I rather liked the look of the original Escape; liked it enough to buy one in 2001. But even then I thought of it not as an SUV but as a tall station wagon. I would have posted the link to the article that went with the picture. In the article they confessed these are really station wagons but they just can't call them that because something identified as a station wagon won't sell. I like station wagons, always have so it wouldn't bother me, but apparently it bothers a lot of buyers; or at least the manufacturers think it does.
Quote from: MiataJohn on November 17, 2011, 06:18:40 AM
I rather liked the look of the original Escape; liked it enough to buy one in 2001. But even then I thought of it not as an SUV but as a tall station wagon. I would have posted the link to the article that went with the picture. In the article they confessed these are really station wagons but they just can't call them that because something identified as a station wagon won't sell. I like station wagons, always have so it wouldn't bother me, but apparently it bothers a lot of buyers; or at least the manufacturers think it does.
Subaru made the Outback and the regular Legacy wagon barely sold anymore.
Quote from: SVT666 on November 17, 2011, 08:00:52 AM
Subaru made the Outback and the regular Legacy wagon barely sold anymore.
We had a 1997 Escort wagon. Comparing the interior volumes to the Escape there wasn't a whole lot of difference. The Escort was a decent little car. If I had to do it again I'd kept the escort wagon, had the door dings knocked out, put some nicer wheels and tires on it, had power locks and windows installed, upgraded the stereo and maybe done something with the engine (aftermarket turbo?).
It's a shame the way the wagon has gone in this country.
Oh my god.
Station Wagons an SUV's are not the same.
No shit, sherlock. You're preaching to the choir here.
This thing already looks old to me. It looks like every car Ford EU has had the past 5 years.
Quote from: Colonel Cadillac on November 17, 2011, 03:59:25 PM
It's a shame the way the wagon has gone in this country.
+1
What really kills me is the way we buy up stupid sedans. Hatches or wagons have way more 'usable' space in them, with virtually no loss in driving, gas mileage, etc...
Was talking with a woman yesterday, she has 2 kids, wants something roomy, but good on gas mileage.
Of course she rejected minivans, wagons, and hatches "just because". :huh: My full-size minivan gets as good/better gas mileage as some of even the smaller SUVs out there...
I miss station wagons.
I wonder how many people would go for a minivan that has all wheel drive and that was raised off of the ground a few inches higher than normal? I also wonder if SUV's are going to eventually morph right back down into station wagons again in the next decade?
Quote from: Northlands on November 22, 2011, 04:36:01 PM
I miss station wagons.
I wonder how many people would go for a minivan that has all wheel drive and that was raised off of the ground a few inches higher than normal? I also wonder if SUV's are going to eventually morph right back down into station wagons again in the next decade?
They're almost already there man.
(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4b/2009_Infiniti_FX_--_07-30-2009.jpg)
(http://www.auto123.com/ArtImages/130707/Infiniti-EX35-2011_i01.jpg)
(http://newcarpdf.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/2012-Chevrolet-Orlando-side-view-640x400.jpg)
(http://www.mazdavancouverisland.ca/images/mazda/2011-Mazda-CX-7-475x2151.jpg)
(http://www.2011subaruoutback.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/2011-subaru-outback-4e01a11000b86.jpg)
Why does everything have to have this weird squinched-up rear end now?
Can it still tow 3500 lbs?
Quote from: Secret Chimp on December 15, 2011, 12:37:01 AM
Why does everything have to have this weird squinched-up rear end now?
Because poor visibility is stylish.
Quote from: 280Z Turbo on December 15, 2011, 12:47:45 AM
Can it still tow 3500 lbs?
According to the latest Autoweek: Why yes, yes it can.
Wow. Well, they can kiss all of their male buyers goodbye, I guess. This thing looks like such a Mom-ute it's insane.
The options for buying an SUV that actually looks like an SUV are getting fewer and fewer. And most of those options are HUGE ass SUVs like the Suburban and Tahoe.
I don't understand all the love for the old car's styling. I always thought it looked cheap and old.
I've always liked the Escape's styling. This makes it look stupid. Very non-manly.
Quote from: TurboDan on December 18, 2011, 06:51:37 PM
Wow. Well, they can kiss all of their male buyers goodbye, I guess. This thing looks like such a Mom-ute it's insane.
The options for buying an SUV that actually looks like an SUV are getting fewer and fewer. And most of those options are HUGE ass SUVs like the Suburban and Tahoe.
Strictly non-scientific but I think I see more women than men behind the wheels of Suburbans and Tahoes.
Quote from: MiataJohn on December 19, 2011, 06:34:00 AM
Strictly non-scientific but I think I see more women than men behind the wheels of Suburbans and Tahoes.
Yeah, you're probably right. What SUVs to men tend to drive these days anyway? Are men being relegated to pickup trucks at this point? No offense, but you'd never catch me dead in a pickup truck.
Quote from: TurboDan on December 19, 2011, 09:28:14 AM
Yeah, you're probably right. What SUVs to men tend to drive these days anyway? Are men being relegated to pickup trucks at this point? No offense, but you'd never catch me dead in a pickup truck.
Beats me, I've never understood the facination with SUVs. The one I owned was a 2001 Escape, 4 cyl, 5 speed manual. Useful, but somewhat noisey and thirsty for a small engine small SUV. If I had to do it over again I'd have bought a Focus wagon.
I'll buy my first pickup truck when I retire. A beater to haul stuff from Lowes/Home Depot to the house and waste to the dump and leave at the base of the drive when it snows. I refer to it as the kind of truck you'd be embarassed to be seen in. ;)
Quote from: MiataJohn on December 19, 2011, 09:36:35 AM
I'll buy my first pickup truck when I retire. A beater to haul stuff from Lowes/Home Depot to the house and waste to the dump and leave at the base of the drive when it snows. I refer to it as the kind of truck you'd be embarassed to be seen in. ;)
;)
(http://www.autobahnusa.net/images/transports_large/l_hill1.jpg)
Quote from: FoMoJo on December 19, 2011, 01:47:54 PM
;)
(http://www.autobahnusa.net/images/transports_large/l_hill1.jpg)
I'm not looking for anything that nice. ;)
(http://image.dieselpowermag.com/f/miscellaneous/1989-dodge-ram-cummins-what-mods-next/9754350/whats-next-for-the-old-dodge.jpg)
Quote from: 2o6 on December 18, 2011, 08:47:58 PM
I don't understand all the love for the old car's styling. I always thought it looked cheap and old.
Agreed. The old one is long past it's sell-by date. Looked like a leftover from the 1990s.
Quote from: Madman on December 21, 2011, 11:03:38 AM
Agreed. The old one is long past it's sell-by date. Looked like a leftover from the 1990s.
Well it was designed in the 1990s. ;)
Still though it's outselling its more "up to date" competitors so that means something.
And yes I know a lot of escapes are fleet sales.
Quote from: MiataJohn on December 21, 2011, 11:46:58 AM
Well it was designed in the 1990s. ;)
Still though it's outselling its more "up to date" competitors so that means something.
And yes I know a lot of escapes are fleet sales.
I would, also, venture that the mechanicals are better than the more streamlined looking competitors since the 2009 upgrade. Did I mention that I got 35 US mpg on a recent trip with my wife's '09 Escape?
Quote from: MiataJohn on December 21, 2011, 11:46:58 AM
Well it was designed in the 1990s. ;)
Still though it's outselling its more "up to date" competitors so that means something.
And yes I know a lot of escapes are fleet sales.
It's fleet sales, and the fact that there are lots of incentives slapped on the hood to move stock.
Quote from: FoMoJo on December 21, 2011, 11:50:31 AM
I would, also, venture that the mechanicals are better than the more streamlined looking competitors since the 2009 upgrade. Did I mention that I got 35 US mpg on a recent trip with my wife's '09 Escape?
I don't want to be rude, but it's based upon the Mazda 626....which was introduced in 1997.
The motor and transmission are pretty good, but the rest is really, really old.
Quote from: 2o6 on December 21, 2011, 06:14:05 PM
I don't want to be rude, but it's based upon the Mazda 626....which was introduced in 1997.
The motor and transmission are pretty good, but the rest is really, really old.
Not exactly. There's a good article put out by the engineering teams that I read about 11+ years ago detailing how they started with the 626, for the Japanese team and the mondeo for the American team but, essentially, ended up with a new platform. Although the Japanese team prevailed in their design it was upgraded (made more robust) for the NA market. If I can find the article, I will link it.
Quote from: FoMoJo on December 21, 2011, 07:18:02 PM
Not exactly. There's a good article put out by the engineering teams that I read about 11+ years ago detailing how they started with the 626, for the Japanese team and the mondeo for the American team but, essentially, ended up with a new platform. Although the Japanese team prevailed in their design it was upgraded (made more robust) for the NA market. If I can find the article, I will link it.
It's still an old platform, though.
Quote from: TurboDan on December 18, 2011, 06:51:37 PM
Wow. Well, they can kiss all of their male buyers goodbye, I guess. This thing looks like such a Mom-ute it's insane.
The options for buying an SUV that actually looks like an SUV are getting fewer and fewer. And most of those options are HUGE ass SUVs like the Suburban and Tahoe.
could not have said it any better, dan. i hope with the outstanding new jeep grand cherokee, chrysler will see to it that smaller jeeps future will carry on with the brutish good looks and character of the GC.