All of this helped make the Ford Explorer not only the sales champ of its class but also
one of America's most popular vehicles. Though not always the best SUV for design,
performance or other qualities, Explorer regularly finished among the top-10 sellers
through 2000 -- and was often in the top five. Needless to say, the Explorer became
as vital to Ford Motor Company's bottom line as the full-size F-Series pickup truck line
(America's top-selling vehicle of any kind since 1980).
But nothing lasts forever, and the Explorer has lately lost much of its sales luster in a
market where truck-type SUVs are increasingly seen as anti-social against the backdrop
of global warming, record gas prices, concerns about future energy supplies, and other
troubling global realities. The sharp drop in Explorer sales is one reason Ford Motor
Company continues to post huge losses in the North American market -- a record $12.8
billion in calendar 2006 alone -- and is now fighting for its very survival.
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