THE KING IS DEAD; but Ford's Explorer gets another shot.(Auto File)

For 15 straight years the Ford Explorer was the shining example of sport/utility vehicles sold in the United States-and the target the competition had in its cross-hairs. Since the Ford's introduction in 1990, its sales routinely eclipsed 400,000 units annually, and Explorer is the all-time best-selling SUV, with more than 5.5 million sales.

But just 239,788 Explorers were sold in 2005 (the upstart Chevrolet TrailBlazer beat it by about 5000 sales). There are numerous reasons for the Explorer's declining sales numbers, including leftover feelings from the Firestone tire fiasco, ...

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