Ford Dumps Excursion

Motor,  Sep 2005  by Nash, Tom

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The Ford Motor Co. will halt production of the oversized Excursion sport/utility vehicle at the end of September. The final shutdown had been in the works for some time, though Ford didn't pin down the final date for the last Excursion to roll down the assembly line until recently. Ford officials have now set the last day of production for the Excursion at the Kentucky truck plant near Louisville for Sept. 30.

Sales of the Excursion actually peaked its first year in showrooms back in 2000 when Ford sold 50,786 of the giant SUVs. But sales have steadily declined since then. So far this year, Ford has sold 7572 Excursions through the end of June. In 2004, Ford sold just over 20,000 units.

Ford is reportedly looking at replacing the Excursion with a stretched version of the Expedition. Dubbed the Expedition Max, it would be about 16 in. longer than the standard Expedition and could go into production as an '07 model, only about six months after Chevrolet launches a new Suburban.

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