Ford's Explorer Tease Campaign

Ford is running a teaser campaign on Facebook for its new unibody Explorer.  You can see spy shots here.  I have been following it to see the teasers.  The official reveal will be Monday.  Since they met their goal of 30,000 friends, they will be giving away a new Explorer.

I am amazed at all the people who say basically "if it isn't a truck, I don't want it!"  The days of the body on frame, rear wheel drive, V8 powered SUV are long over.  All the big players have basically left the market except for Toyota, which sells the 4Runner, and of course Jeep.   Oh, and you can't get a V8 4runner.  And Xterra doesn't have 3 rows. GM's Trailblazer and Hummer H3?  Dead.  Even the Jeep Commander, which was unibody, is rumored to be going out of production.

From Edmund's, here is the list of top 5 selling mid-sized SUVs:

2010 Ford Edge

2010 Toyota RAV4

2010 Chevrolet Traverse

2010 Jeep Wrangler

2011 Honda Pilot

Only the Wrangler is a body on frame rear driver.

Aside from niche vehicles like the Wrangler, Xterra, and FJ Cruiser, the mass market is moving towards lighter, more fuel efficient "crossover" type SUVs.  People want a little bit of offroad capability, but they also want good fuel economy and handling.  The sweet spot here is clearly mid-sized unibody designs like the Chevrolet Traverse.