Talk:Ford Freestyle
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
[edit] Image
The image is not of a Ford Freestyle as it came to market.
It appears to be a concept drawing of what became the Ford Five Hundred, a related but different vehicle. Jeff Anonymous 13:45, 19 Apr 2005 (UTC)
- The first Freestyle image is a 2003 car show vehicle, that contained some design elements and hints at the final product (note the very similar front end). -- T-dot 21:14, 23 February 2006 (UTC)
[edit] Designations and Categorizations
It is a big over-stretch to suggest that the Freestyle must be a "car" and the Edge a "truck" (suv), because of what letters the respective names begin with. While it is true that Ford's naming philosophy has been to name cars with "F" and SUVs with "E", the advent of the Crossover Utility Vehicle has largely blurred the distinctions and clouded that philosophy. The Edge is a car-based Crossover, and so is the Freestyle and the Escape. The definition of a Crossover SUV includes such design elements as a car-based FWD chassis with AWD capability, and a car-like unibody construction - while most trucks are body on frame RWD platforms with AWD or 4WD capability. With the launching of The Way Forward, Ford is revolutionizing many aspects of the business, and throwing away many "traditional approaches", so do not place too much emphasis on traditional naming conventions and expectations. Furthermore, if the claim is valid that the "F" name designation always implies a "car" and "E" implies a truck - then we have a serious problem with the F150 and other F-series pickup trucks, never mind the Ranger, Mustang, GT, Taurus, Crown Victoria, etc.
Things are changing rapidly and unexpectedly at Ford Motor Company - and the renaming of the Lincoln Aviator Crossover as the MKX and the Zephyr as the MKZ are just small examples of the jolts to come. The Five Hundred and Freestyle were intentionally designed to be very conservative looking (boring to many observers). This decision was based on the rather conservative look of the previous - yet highly successful - Camry and Accord. Ford did not want to present a wild, contemporary look (eg: Chrysler 300) for fear it would look "dated" after only a couple of years. That decision has largely backfired - and the Five Hundred and Freestyle are both under a rapid facelift redesign now - to bring them in closer to the jazzy chrome grille look of the new Fusion, Explorer, and Expedition.
Just wanted to explain why I significantly edited the previous User updates - to bring the article more in line with Ford's new direction. -- T-dot 21:14, 23 February 2006 (UTC)
[edit] Second Generation Freestyle?
Could Ford's 2009 Fairlane CUV use the Freestyle name as the Freestyle moves to Oakville? -- Bull-Doser 18:42, 7 February 2007 (UTC)
