Ford Explorer and Ford Workforce Being Bolstered; Edmunds.com Comments

Ford Explorer and Ford Workforce Being Bolstered; Edmunds.com Comments

SANTA MONICA, Calif. — January 26, 2010 — Ford has announced some compelling improvements to its 2011 Ford Explorer, which is captured in a spy photo at http://blogs.insideline.com/straightline/2009/10/spy-photos-2011-ford-explorer-spotted-in-dearborn.html.

"The Explorer used to be the best-selling SUV in the country, and one of the biggest sellers in Ford's line, but it is now a mere shadow of itself," noted Edmunds.com Senior Analyst Michelle Krebs, who analyzed the situation in more detail for AutoObserver.com. "Earlier this month we determined that the Ford Explorer was one of the losers of the last decade, but going forward it seems that the vehicle will be a very important part of Ford's stable again."

The Explorer's decline, which can be partially blamed on gas price spikes, inspired an article called "Fall of the Mighty Nameplates" which can be found at http://www.autoobserver.com/2008/10/fall-of-the-mighty-nameplates-chapter-1-ford-explorer.html.

Ford said it will build the new Explorer at its Chicago plant and add 1,200 jobs there.

"Perhaps the most promising element of the story is that an auto company is actually hiring people again," commented Edmunds.com Senior Analyst Jessica Caldwell. "This should boost consumer confidence in the Midwest to some degree, and that in itself is good for the economy at large."

Some Edmunds.com spokespeople are available for interviews in Edmunds.com's television studio in its Santa Monica, Calif. headquarters and in its Detroit-area satellite office.

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Edmunds.com, the premier online resource for automotive consumer information, launched in 1995 as the first automotive information Web site. Its most popular feature, the Edmunds.com True Market Value^®, is relied upon by millions of people seeking current transaction prices for new and used vehicles. Edmunds.com was named "Best Car Research Site" by Forbes ASAP, has been selected by consumers as the "Most Useful Web Site" according to every J.D. Power and Associates New Autoshopper.com Study(SM), was ranked first in the Survey of Car-Shopping Web Sites by The Wall Street Journal and was rated "#1" in Keynote's study of third-party automotive Web sites. Edmunds is headquartered in Santa Monica, California, and maintains a satellite office in suburban Detroit.