Perhaps a better name would be the Fix.

March 23, 2007

Ford to call new vehicle the Flex

The automaker will debut its full-size crossover in early April at the New York auto show.

Bryce G. Hoffman / The Detroit News

The last big secret surrounding Ford Motor Co.'s new full-size crossover is out: It will be called the Flex.

As The Detroit News first reported last June, Ford's new "people mover" will be based on the Fairlane concept unveiled at the Detroit auto show in 2005. The production version is slated to make its debut April 4 at the New York auto show.

Ford would not officially confirm the debut, but Ford spokeswoman Sara Tatchio did say the company "will have some great news in New York."

While the company officially announced plans to build the new vehicle in September, the name has remained a mystery -- and the subject of much internal debate. Fairlane is an appellation long associated with Ford, but has been traditionally associated with sedans. The new name was first reported Thursday by Dow Jones Newswires.

Analyst Erich Merkle of IRN Inc. in Grand Rapids said he was not wowed by the new name, but said Ford made the right decision in abandoning the Fairlane moniker.

"It would really deviate from the history of the Fairlane," Merkle said, adding that Ford desperately needs a vehicle like the Flex in its fleet.

"I've heard better names. But I don't think a name like Flex is going to make or break the vehicle. The vehicle has to stand on its own merit.

"And it is going to look different than anything Ford has put out there in recent memory. If they deliver on the interior, I think they're going to have a winner."

Like the Fairlane concept, the Flex features a distinctive boxy design, three rows of seating and five doors.

However, the prototype's double-dutch side doors have been replaced by a more conventional five-door layout.

The Flex will be assembled at Ford's Oakville, Ontario, plant.

That is only fitting. Oakville already produces the automaker's mid-size crossovers -- the Ford Edge and Lincoln MKX.

But Oakville also was home to the last generation of Ford minivans, which the Flex is designed to replace.

Ford halted production of its Freestar and Mercury Monterey minivans last year. Sales had been sinking fast in the face of stiff competition from rivals like DaimlerChrysler AG, whose Chrysler Group has long been regarded as the segment's leader, as well as Japanese manufacturers Toyota Motor Corp. and Honda Motor Co.

Ford's minivan sales dropped from more than 250,000 units in 2000 to fewer than 85,000 units in 2005.

But even the companies are competing for slices of a diminishing pie.

The minivan market is becoming a victim of the same demographics that created it.

Minivans were the baby boomer generation's answer to station wagons, offering more convenience and snazzier styling than the wood-paneled behemoths they had grown up with and were anxious to avoid.

But the Boomers' children have grown up, have families of their own and are looking for something different.

Most analysts have praised Ford's decision to abandon the minivan segment and say the crossover segment represents a much more promising growth opportunity.

Ford sources said design chief J Mays first conceived of the concept after a meeting with fashion designer Ralph Lauren four years ago.

Ford's Lincoln brand will offer its own full-size crossover based on the same platform, but the curvy luxury model bears little resemblance to the Ford's angular design.

The new crossover is based on the same platform as the Ford Five Hundred -- now renamed the Ford Taurus. Like the new 2008 Taurus, the Flex will feature elements of Ford's new design language like a big, chrome three-bar grille and prominent Blue Oval badge.

Ford plans to produce about 100,000 Flexes annually.