Sierra Clubbers are giving each other high-fives, no doubt, with the end of the Ford Excursion SUV. The last Excursion issues forth from the Louisville, Ky., Ford plant today. At its introduction in 2000, the Sierra Club denounced the goliath ute, dubbing it the Ford Valdez after the Exxon tanker that fouled Alaska's shoreline with millions of gallons of crude oil. Even with its reputation, Ford still sold more than 20,000 Excursions in each year on the market; in the first year the company moved 50,000 of them, 44-gallon gas tank and all. With new chairman Bill Ford at the helm, Ford's about-face into the hybrid market probably will prevent another mammoth Ford SUV from hitting the market - for probably at least 18 months, when a stretched version of the next Expedition is expected to be introduced.

 

They won't stop with the Excursion. Sooner or later they will go after the Hummers....at least the H1's and possibly the H2's as well. What surprises me is that the anti-SUV people have virtually ignored the Chevy / GMC Suburban / Yukon XL, which handily outsold the Excursion and was almost as large and heavy.

Though, as you know, I believe in freedom of choice for the consumer, in some ways I'm not exactly shedding any tears for the Excursion's demise.....in my 30-plus years of driving and evaluating cars I found it to be THE worst-handling vehicle I have ever driven, short of an commercial-class work truck. The suspension was both too sharp over small bumps and WAY too soft over large ones. The steering was just atrocius. In addition, the whole front end bobbed up and down like a boat when you hit the brakes at low speeds. The Suburban and Yukon XL have FAR better suspension and chassis engineering.

But.....if you needed to haul a lot of people and tow a BIG load as well, the Excursion had no equal...not even the Suburban.

 

Its about time RIP

 

Yep I agree with everything. My boss at Volvo had one and I got the chance to drive it very often. Hated that damn thing. And I am the type of guy that loves to drive huge trucks(well when I can as I dont own one), but this truck was pure crap. But anyway, I'm sure Ford will be back with an Expedition XL or something.

 

i never liked that truck anyway too big and ugly

 

I completely agree... the Excursion definitely had a purpose.


... but to this day I have never seen one with more than 2 people in it... nor have I ever seen one towing anything. I understand it's purpose, but I'm glad to see it go... even though I know something else will eventually pop up to take it's place. There's simply too many people in this country with male-genitalia envy, too much money, and not enough common sense.

 

I rented one for a weekend trip to the mountains (4 people, lots of gear). It was massive and I agree it serves a purpose, but not for everyday transportation.

My GF still had her NSX at the time, and the DOOR HANDLES of that beast were above the top of her car.

 

I'm actually sad to see it go...it's been one of my favorite SUVs, particularly the Triton 6.8L V10 equipped one. Loads of torque and a great truck to powerbrake. Prefer it over GM's Suburban though.

 

I'm glad it's gone....way to damn big!!! It has it's purpose but I think it was rarely used for it. By me, I noticed it being driven mostly by females. And these were usually the females that also believed that driving a 6000lb SUV was no different than when they drove their 3000lb Accord!!!

That is until the first emergency stop they had to make!!

 

I am glad it is gone too. Way too big and pointless and a waste of resources building it and driving it. I too never saw more then 2 people riding in it and I usaully see just one person driving it as they would too and from work or running erands. Never saw one hauling a trailer or boat or anything either. I remember seeing a guy at the mall trying to back into a space in an Excursion and hit one of the cars beside him and the car in back of him. It took him like 5 minutes to do it and he got out and walked to the back because the thing was sticking out so far but it was as far back as he could go. We just looked at him shaking our heads and my friend asked him if he was going to pay for the damage he caused to the other cars. He just kept walking so my friend wrote the guys tag number and his number on a peice of paper and put it on their windshields and said that was the guys plate number who hit their cars and to call him if they need a witness. The Excursion had a purpose that very few people need and the vast majority of the people who bought it never used it for its intended purpose and used it just like they use a family sedan. Many people bought them just because they were the biggest heaviest SUV on the market and that was one of Fords main selling points. Hopefully nothing like it will be released ever again but I think their is already a bigger vehicle being made to sell to the public. It looks kind of like a commercial dump truck. It was on the show "Joey" recently.

 

I agree, Falcon.....it had a useful role in people-moving and towing big loads, but the chassis and suspension engineering was very poor at best....and unlike GM's big full-sizers, the Excursion had only part-time 4WD that could not be used on a dry surface.......which is bad because on a partly-plowed and dried road in winter, you don't know exactly what is under your tires from one minute to the next....the road can go from icy to wet to dry and back again.

UDel also brought up the valid point that some of the people who bought this vehicle didn't really need it but just used it to intimidate other drivers or because they wanted tons of sheet metal and a full-frame around them in an accident.

 

Mmarshall, I know exactly what you mean about the handling...more like a really big boat to say the least. But I suppose that was part of its character. Kind of handled a bit like the old early 70s American cars...that's what its handling reminded me of. It wasn't really meant to take corners really well, but if you have a big family, it would've served as an ideal people mover.
Our police force have quite a number of them in their fleet, all of which are 6.8L V10s with RWD. I'm wondering what they've done about the suspension though. I noticed they actually sit lower than usual, so I'm only assuming they lowered them. Doesn't seem to be anything mentioned regarding the suspension on Ford's fleet website. I know the Crown Victoria P71 comes with a heavy duty suspension as standard, but its not listed there either. Maybe they just didn't mention it.

 

Yes...the basic problem is that the vehicle is simply too heavy, even unloaded, and the front and rear overhangs too long, for its underpinnings.........the suspension is undersprung on large bumps and overdamped on small ones.

It's not surprising that the Police in Kuwait can afford to run these things at 8-10 MPG. First of all, the country is awash in oil and cheap gas, and second, the Kuwati government...and the taxpayers.... probably pay the bill.
As a Kuwaiti cop, though, I would quit my job first before I tried to pursue anyone with a Excursion, even with a police package....IMO it is simply too risky at high speeds.

 

LOL! They actually have Crown Victorias and 540i's used for pursuits. Personally, I don't really see the point in SUVs being used in a police fleet unless it is to transport things.

 

SUV's are for those chases that are taken off the road