Ford to Kill Mammoth Excursion Next Year

Yahoo ^ | 12/13/04 | Poornima Gupta

[ZGuy]

Ford Motor Co. will kill off the Ford Excursion, its largest sport utility vehicle and a lightning rod for criticism from environmental groups, next year, a source familiar with the plan said on Monday.

The mammoth vehicle will stop rolling off the assembly line in September, as Ford moves to free up production capacity for the refreshed Super Duty pickup truck, said the source, on condition of anonymity.

The Excursion and Ford Super Duty F-Series pickups are assembled at the automaker's Louisville, Kentucky, truck plant.

A Ford spokesman declined to comment on the product plan.

Ford sources had said in 2002 that the company would discontinue the 19-foot Excursion, but it wound up getting an extended lease on life.

The second-largest U.S. automaker is planning to fill the gap in its full-size product lineup with an extended version of its Expedition SUV, the source said.

U.S. sales of the Excursion, which was launched in 1999, are down 25 percent so far this year. The Sierra Club (news - web sites), which dubbed the Excursion the "Ford Valdez" after the infamous Alaskan oil spill, called it an environmental disaster because of its poor fuel economy rating.

Official gas mileage figures are not available from Ford or the Environmental Protection Agency (news - web sites), but a review on Kelly Blue Book's Web site says the Excursion gets about 14 miles per gallon on the highway and 10 miles per gallon in the city.

Apart from the Excursion, a mid-size SUV from Ford's lineup will also be killed.

Lincoln Aviator, which made its debut in 2001, will be replaced with a car-based SUV in 2006, said Lincoln spokeswoman Sara Tatchio. She declined to say exactly when production of the Aviator will stop.

U.S. sales of the Aviator are down 20.3 percent year-to-date.

[Bluegrass Conservative]

Well, they were a tad bit big. LOL

[ken5050]

The competition in trhe SUV market is brutal..there are some 25 or so different models..and coupeld with the high price of gas....OTOH..if you want one..now's the time to buy..especially a 2-3y.o. one just coming off lease...you can steal one..

[Prime Choice]

How many gallons to the mile did that thing get?

(No, that is not a typo...)

[Verginius Rufus]

Rats...thought the headline meant they were sending a team to check out a report that some mammoths were still alive.

[stainlessbanner]

Sweet ride!

[Rebelbase]

There's a petite woman who drives her son to school every day in a mammoth beast similar to the photo. It's never been, nor will it ever be off-road during her ownership of the vehilce.

I get a snicker everytime I see it.

[af_vet_rr]

A tad? I expect a small truck with a conveyor belt to roll up to that thing and begin offloading luggage ;-)

All kidding aside, the Excursion probably had a very limited niche. I wasn't a fan of it too much because I've seen people parking these things (and even the Expeditions) in parking spots too small for them. I wanted to shout up to them "you could park out at the edge of the parking lot, walk in and buy what you want and walk back and be leaving the parking lot in the amount of time you've spent trying to park it close to the store", but unfortunately I didn't have a megaphone with me.

[cripplecreek]

I know how they feel.

[Patti_ORiley]

My 2000 model with a v10 got 14 on the highway. The real problem for this rig was its ride. The 3/4 ton chassis was great when you needed to tow and carry something, but otherwise it just rode too stiff. My previous vehicle was a Suburban and it rode smooth.

[libstripper]

Replacing it with an extended Expedition is probably a good idea. The Expedition and Lincoln Navigator both have one feature that makes them better than all of the other full sized SUVs, except the Nissan and Infinity SUVs--a third seat that folds flat into the floor. I have an '04 Navigator, which replaced an '00 Navigator. The fold flat third seat is light years better than a removable one when carting a lot of cargo around, as I have done with both vehicles.

[pierrem15]

What's the conspiracy against Mastodons? Its' always "mammoth this" and "mammoth that" and nary a worthy mastodon in sight.

I was really looking forward to the Ford "Mastodon Excursion".

[Coyoteman]

I talked to a fellow with a diesel version and a replacement chip; 28 mpg when he was being careful.

Almost bought one a couple of years ago. Decided it was too small, went for the F350 diesel instead.

[MineralMan]

Shoot! I was planning to go on Ford's Mammoth Excursion next year. I've always wanted to hunt a mammoth.

Oh...wait....never mind.

[LoneGOPinCT]

Oh well. At least I'll be able to pick up a diesel one for cheap in a few years. It's a shame that Ford caved to the environazi's though. Had it been for sales or design change that would have one thing.

[stompk]

it's a shame tho being about the only suv diesel avalable.
modern turbo diesels are the most amazing motors. and prob more efficient than a smaller suv with a gas engine. . .

I hear Jeep is adding one for the liberty, coming out "later this year" but hey, c'mon guys, it's almost next year already. . .

[bicyclerepair]

I bid good riddance to all oversized gas-guzzling Stupid-Utility-Vehicles. They should all be branded with a sticker:

"The Royal Family LOVES this vehicle"

[Fierce Allegiance]

I take it you don't have 4 kids and a boat (or trailer load of snowmobiles) to haul around?

You can put a bike on a jetta, but they don't have much trailer pulling capacity.

[blackie]

I always use two parking spaces when I park my SUV or my pickup ~ most parking spaces are designed for little Honda size vehicles.

If it doesn't have a big booming V8 engine, it isn't worth driving!

[blackie]

If it doesn't have a big booming V8 engine, it isn't worth driving!