With rising gas prices, what do you think? It's supposed to replace the Excursion.
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It's no secret that GM has been eating Ford's lunch with its Chevrolet Suburban and GMC Yukon XL full-size sport-utes. The Ford Excursion has its fans, but it never attained big enough sales volumes to give the Suburban/Tahoe twins much to worry about.
To get back in the game, Ford is now working on an extended-length version of the 2007 Expedition that may carry the Everest name when it goes on sale late next year. As can be seen from our spy shots of the prototype, the overall shape of the Everest won't be drastically different from the current Expedition. Styling cues up front will most likely mimic the F-150, but the Everest doesn't appear to share the high beltline of Ford's best-selling pickup.
A close look at the spy pictures clearly shows that Ford will continue to use an independent rear suspension in its biggest SUVs. This almost assures that the automaker won't offer a heavy-duty version of the Everest as GM does with the Suburban/Tahoe.
Less clear is what will be under the hood. Original rumors had the Everest getting Ford's 6.2-liter Hurricane V8, but when that program died most speculation turned to the F-150's 5.4-liter V8 and possibly even a small displacement diesel power plant. The 300-hp, 5.4-liter looks to be the front-runner at this point, especially given Ford's stormy relationship with Navistar that resulted in the cancellation of a previous V6 diesel program. Some rumors have even suggested that Ford will go ahead and build a V6 diesel of its own, but nothing has been confirmed yet.
Look for the debut of the Everest at the 2006 North American International Auto Show.
More Photos
===================================
It's no secret that GM has been eating Ford's lunch with its Chevrolet Suburban and GMC Yukon XL full-size sport-utes. The Ford Excursion has its fans, but it never attained big enough sales volumes to give the Suburban/Tahoe twins much to worry about.
To get back in the game, Ford is now working on an extended-length version of the 2007 Expedition that may carry the Everest name when it goes on sale late next year. As can be seen from our spy shots of the prototype, the overall shape of the Everest won't be drastically different from the current Expedition. Styling cues up front will most likely mimic the F-150, but the Everest doesn't appear to share the high beltline of Ford's best-selling pickup.
A close look at the spy pictures clearly shows that Ford will continue to use an independent rear suspension in its biggest SUVs. This almost assures that the automaker won't offer a heavy-duty version of the Everest as GM does with the Suburban/Tahoe.
Less clear is what will be under the hood. Original rumors had the Everest getting Ford's 6.2-liter Hurricane V8, but when that program died most speculation turned to the F-150's 5.4-liter V8 and possibly even a small displacement diesel power plant. The 300-hp, 5.4-liter looks to be the front-runner at this point, especially given Ford's stormy relationship with Navistar that resulted in the cancellation of a previous V6 diesel program. Some rumors have even suggested that Ford will go ahead and build a V6 diesel of its own, but nothing has been confirmed yet.
Look for the debut of the Everest at the 2006 North American International Auto Show.
More Photos
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