The 2009 Flex

As expected Fords upcoming Jumbo SUV Flex is starting to make impressions, some of them good and some bad.

At an estimated curb weight of 4,650 pounds, Ford says the Flex will accelerate to 60 mph in about 9 seconds. The company also claims that this is quicker than the Flex's competitors. It's not. In our testing, the GMC Acadia does the deed in 8.0 seconds. The 2008 Honda Pilot does it in 8.6.

Autoweek.

   

This is another porker crossover, where are the advantages of a unibody chassis?

And we're not yet sure what to make of the company's claim that the Flex has the same amount of body roll as a BMW 335i. It's clear that the company is presenting the Flex as a response to the image of the wallowing minivan. We'll wait until we actually get to drive one to make any remarks on that front....Autoweek

How is this going to convince the target market to buy the this thing?

Boes estimates that the Flex will get a class-competitive 23 mpg highway. It can tow up to 4,500 pounds....Autoweek

Not too good a showing for MPG, especially with gas approaching Four dollars per gallon, and what about city mileage?

But introducing a crazy, slab-sided non-minivan that shares its proportions with a coffin and is called the Flex? Now that is brash. And, all right, even bold. After spending a couple of days crawling around the Flex and considering it from all angles, we must say that we hope the thing pays off for the usually hide-bound crew from the Blue Oval...Autoweek

I hope it pays off as well, The Flex may not be the prettiest, but if it's well executed and serves it's target market well, it could still sell in the numbers that Ford is looking for,and needs badly.

Ford can't be blamed for really trying to stand out, with the company trying to reinvigorate itself, you have to aim high and loud so that you can be seen and heard.

As I've posted earlier, the Flex will absolutely polarize most who come across it, Dearborn seems to be determined not to make the same mistakes that it did with the 500 and the Freestyle.

Appearance is really subjective thing, and the Flex may be just what a lot of people are looking for Stylistically speaking, but gas mileage is something that most people are in agreement on.

One thing that could help Ford drive sales is a vehicle line up with outstanding gas mileage, throw in good looks and great utility and this is something that never goes away no matter what the economic environment.

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