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Spied: Ford Explorer Sport Trac facelift

06/08/2007, 10:39 AM

By Nick

Ford is moving quickly to update its entire lineup with fresh designs, and it appears the Explorer Sport Trac is no exception. Judging by a prototype spy photographers spotted running the streets of Detroit, Ford may stop short of delivering a “bold” new look, but a modest facelift appears to be in store.

The headlights appear unchanged, but a new grille is definitely in the works. Close-up shots reveal a mesh grille replacing the horizontal chrome bar grille on today’s model. It’s tough to tell through the camouflage, but it appears that Ford may be toning down the VW-esque chrome grille treatment in favor of something more sporting. The front bumper also appears to be lower, adding a bit more aggression.

The rear bumper is also camo-covered, so a styling change is surely in store. The exhaust has also been rerouted, with the twin chrome exhaust tips exiting now exiting straight back, instead of angling out on the left side. The changes aren’t drastic, as one would expect on a typical mid-cycle facelift–especially from a financially-strapped automaker such as Ford.

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06/08, 10:45 AM

posted by:

alex_orlando

what!? no 3 bar grille? the humanity…

06/08, 11:00 AM

posted by:

Bostonman

didn’t this truck just come out last year??

06/08, 11:15 AM

posted by:

Egbert Souse

they need to stop working on their trucks and work on building some decent cars, you know, things that people want

06/08, 11:22 AM

posted by:

alex_orlando

What? Egbert…Ford is sooo working on new and amazing cars…haven’t you seen the new Focus? thats what the 18-25 year olds want…an 8 year old car with the worlds wierdest/tackiest fender vents ever.

06/08, 11:27 AM

posted by:

gbb

Holy ****! They actually left off the horrible looking roof rack! Give that designer a rai$e and put him on all their other truck/SUV/CUV projects. I hate roof racks.

06/08, 11:30 AM

posted by:

2008PowerStrokeF450Lariat

i rented one of these on my vegas trip and took it off-roading, this thing has a strong but efficent v8 and it looked pretty good too, lets hope the restyling makes it an even better looker…o, by the way, ford is building GREAT CARS TOO!!! look at the upcoming fiesta, the new euro focus were getting in 3-4 years, so just give it some time.

06/08, 11:40 AM

posted by:

alex_orlando

Hopefully Ford will bring the Fiesta over with the Diesel engine option. I have heard Europe may be getting a diesel hybrid version of the fiesta…grrr.

06/08, 11:54 AM

posted by:

bousbous55

NEXT !

06/08, 12:59 PM

posted by:

jonnycat

The headlights look a bit slimmer, but I could be wrong. This has got to be one of the mildest updates ever. Less Chrome, whoopee

06/08, 1:17 PM

posted by:

Egbert Souse

3-4 years?? They’re losing billions!!!

06/08, 1:31 PM

posted by:

Brendino

C’mon guys, it’s good that they’re looking to keep their lineup fresh, because that’s something that they’ve always failed to do in the past.

I wonder if any changes here will go over to the Explorer though…

06/08, 1:34 PM

posted by:

Aston Martin

MORE BLOODY PICKUPS!!! MORE BLOODY PICKUPS!!! MORE BLOODY PICKUPS!!! MORE BLOODY PICKUPS!!! MORE BLOODY PICKUPS!!! MORE BLOODY PICKUPS!!! MORE BLOODY PICKUPS!!! MORE BLOODY PICKUPS!!! MORE BLOODY PICKUPS!!! MORE BLOODY PICKUPS!!! MORE BLOODY PICKUPS!!! MORE BLOODY PICKUPS!!! Doesn’t Ford not understand that only the Deep South of America wants these things? No wonder they are failing. They should sell Jaguar and Land Rover, the two great British companies and leave them to do their stuff under British ownership.

06/08, 1:53 PM

posted by:

Madcapp

I’m shocked, shocked to find there’s gambling going on in here.

06/08, 2:12 PM

posted by:

Elvio

FUNNY…ONLY CHANGING THE GRILL…..THEN CALL IT REFRESH.

06/08, 3:12 PM

posted by:

LP640

^ once again i agree with with aston martin. jaguar would do a trillion times better if ford didnt own them. take a look at the XK its good but not great and the facelifted XJ is just hideous. like someone mentioned earlier didnt this thing just come out last year or the year before?? why bother with the facelift at all???

06/08, 3:38 PM

posted by:

autonutt

Bostonman is correct.. the Sport Trac came out in early 2006 as a 2007 model.. entirely too soon for a refresh! Judging by the new exhaust, I’m thinking the updates will be a new powertrain, sportier grille and fender vents – the headlights look exactly like the current model. Maybe this is a SVT variant or something of the like, not a mid-cycle refresh?

06/08, 5:20 PM

posted by:

Rompn4x

“they need to stop working on their trucks and work on building some decent cars, you know, things that people want”

Didn’t Ford sell like 900,000 F150’s last year or some number close to that? I thought no one wanted trucks?

06/08, 5:35 PM

posted by:

CaptainObvious

I doubt the face lift is for the whole line-up of Sport Tracs. It’s probably a new trim level. I bet it’s the Adrenalin truck that SVT never released. I guess those guys hooting and hollering over a new Lightning can calm down now. So the arrow slowly climbs….

06/08, 5:36 PM

posted by:

LP640

__________well Rompn4x if ford are so good and evryone is in love with their pick ups then why is it that they are always in troube one way or another????

06/08, 5:56 PM

posted by:

CTS DRIVER

^ if they tried half as hard with the cars as they do with the trucks there wouldnt be a problem. whats the use of selling a gizallion trucks if you build a gazillion cars that dont sell.

06/08, 11:30 PM

posted by:

Elvio

^ People are changing. That’s one reason why the HYBIRD from Toyota has become the KING of the hill.

06/09, 1:15 AM

posted by:

Brendino

^ Hi, Bird!

06/09, 8:38 AM

posted by:

CaptainObvious

The Ford brand already has the sporty Harley Davidson crew cab. Give this truck the SVT Adrenalin treatment and rebadge it as a Lincoln. This could easily be the new Lincoln Mark LT. The “LT” badge doesn’t have to stand for luxury truck. This supercharged Sport Trac could be called the Lincoln Lightning(LT). It could easily be priced above 40 grand and would help to bring Lincoln out of the Dark Ages. It would be a smart move for FORD if they gave this truck to Lincoln.

06/09, 10:48 AM

posted by:

leozug

it looks like john goodman. those jowls. i hate you ford. you’re not even trying.

06/09, 12:30 PM

posted by:

2008PowerStrokeF450Lariat

FoMoCo needs to read some chapters from GM’s book and reinvigorte their WHOLE lineup. They need to do to Lincoln like they did to Cadillac and do mercury like they did to Buick. All of GM’s cars ride on the same platform but yet they all of thier own distinct features and looks. Unlike Ford, whose Mercury and Lincoln products look exactly the same, GM can make all their cars unique and that is where Ford is failing. Sadly, this mid-year recycle of the Sport Trac isn’t what Ford needs at this time. Don’t get me wrong, it rides nice, but what Ford really needs to focus on is building some B-segment cars like they do in Europe and the Asia. I hope the upcomimg Fiesta is the beginning of some great cars for the U.S. O, and Ford, please don’t forgot to bring some of your australian made cars to compete against GM’s new offerings in the coming years, Bring over the FPV vehicles like the F6 Typhoon, the GT, GT-P, cars like that. We need High-Performance cars too. Than Ford will see some big sale numbers!

06/09, 1:42 PM

posted by:

Automan

I agree with PowerStroker! You need to bring the Aussie Falcon range over to the States! There great cars and rear wheel drive too!!! Ford US well, in fact ALL US automakers seem to have forgotten how to make good sized rear wheel drive cars since the early 70’s there’s nothing much worth hanging onto over there.
Yes i know they may have an image problem with the Falcon name! But for christ sake they now call there people mover thing a bloody Fairlane what a disgrace! The Fairlane was always a large luxury car And before that does anyone remember the Fairlane Thunderbolt a top drag car in it’s day.

06/09, 8:23 PM

posted by:

2008PowerStrokeF450Lariat

…O and please bring the Transit as well, I’ll need that afetr I retire from the Army for contracting use. Bringing the Transit would be a really “SMART MOVES” from Ford; especoally after seeing the redesigned 2008 Ford Econoline, it looks ok, but its better suited for my 2008 Super Duty, o, plus the economy of the Transits are great too. They are very popular for use in the military bases oversees because of the space that they have availible.

06/10, 1:24 AM

posted by:

Bryce

Brendino:
Ford restyles their trucks more frequently than any other make. It’s pretty plain to see.

autonutt: “Bostonman is correct.. the Sport Trac came out in early 2006 as a 2007 model..”
And I suppose the Ford Mustang wasn’t produced until just last year, too. autonutt, you’re about six years off in your guestimation. Got the right decade, though!

I doubt it is just an exterior refinement. Ford would redo the interior as an addition to the styling change.

06/10, 7:04 PM

posted by:

autonutt

I’m sorry Bryce.. please let me clarify for you and the other idiots that don’t realize that there have been 2 generations of Sport Trac, and about 7 generations of Mustang since the beginning of their production lives.. what I meant to say was that the SECOND-GENERATION Sport Trac has only been out since early 2006.

Oh wait Bryce, I guess you’re the ONLY idiot that didn’t realize that’s what I meant!

06/10, 7:06 PM

posted by:

2008PowerStrokeF450Lariat

you know what…i think they should just rename it the ford ranger and call it a day

06/10, 9:34 PM

posted by:

1966_GTO_

Anything that makes the SportTrac look more like the concept is a great move. The concept was so sleek and sporty, only to give way to a model that was not much improved from the previous.

06/10, 10:24 PM

posted by:

2008PowerStrokeF450Lariat

well, since when did the manufacturers listen to the consumer anyways, if they do, its VERY rare, so we wont have the cars we want, we’ll get what they think is best and saves them the most money and what they can pocket the most; remember, its all about them, not us so we wont get that badass adrenaline that we saw like 2 years ago in a motor trend, they just hardly never follow through; at least when its something exciting

06/11, 9:45 AM

posted by:

Bryce

autonutt,
You’re really stretching for an excuse there. But it’s okay. We all make mistakes.

2008PowerStrokeF450Lariat,
In some ways, the F-450 is an example of the manufacturer listening to the consumer. Ford is now marketing that truck to the mainstream Class 2 buyer. And I agree, to gearheads and auto enthusiasts it seems like the manufacturers stop short of delivering exciting new products. But we gotta realize, not everything that is cool as a concept will sell well. It’s the non-enthusiasts that the makers have to cater to most of the time.

06/11, 6:16 PM

posted by:

mujician

Show me a vehicle in ford’s lineup that hasn’t been replaced or refreshed in the last 3 years?? The ones that come to mined are going out the door, and already have replacements in the works. I think Ford is trying harder than any other manufacturer. Has anyone seen their quality reports for the past year. You could almost put them at the top. As far as design, they have a few vehicles that have one those awards as well.
It’s sad to me that you people can pick a manufacturer apart, and be totally wrong. As a matter of fact, the majority of what has been said is a bunch of b.s. being spewed out of a 14 year olds mouth.

06/11, 6:39 PM

posted by:

autonutt

Nope, Bryce, I’m not stretching at all.. you’re just a moron. Go (try to) sell your Chevys and stop pretending you know when the most recent Sport Trac was introduced.

 
 
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