How Green Is the New 2011 Ford Explorer? I Called Them and Asked

Yea so I spent a good part of my time today helping out my husband after he rear ended a lady at the intersection of Orange and Michigan.  Ooh how fun and inexpensive this was and will be!  Today in sunny O-Town it felt as if it was 120 degrees in the shade and I was not too happy to be dealing with my hubby's latest driving incident.  This accident is a follow up to a $300 speeding ticket he earned last week. Can you say aggressive driver?  I think I can!

Anyway, if you look closely at the picture of his car being loaded onto the wrecker, you can see that it is a gas guzzling 2007 Ford Expedition that he was driving.  We have had about 7 Ford cars and trucks over the last 17 years and we have loved every single gas guzzling one.  We love to buy American and you have to admire a company that doesn't take a hand out and can make a profit without taxpayer money right?  Well there has been a lot of chatter today about the new 2011 Ford Explorer and how green it is and obviously I have been interested as I would love to buy an Eco-Ford that will work for my big family.  I have owned an Explorer in the past and  I wondered if the 2011 Ford Explorer green chatter was just greenwashing or fact so I called Ford to get the scoop.

We all knew that the redesigned Ford Explorer was going to be smaller, lighter and get better fuel economy  when the guy with the bad haircut told us about that 2 years ago.  It was then that we were certain that we could no longer call the Explorer a gas guzzling truck.  Clearly this new Ford Explorer was going to be a crossover.  Additionally, here is what I found out about just how green the new 2011 Ford Explorer really is and isn't:

Photo courtesy of FORD

1. I cannot verify that the interior is made with low VOC's in mind.   If you or a member of your family has a child with asthma or other breathing related problems a better choice might be a Volvo where that new car smell is a thing of the past. After talking with Ford today, it seems that the design team totally spaced on creating an interior space that is free of respiratory or allergen irritants caused by VOC's. If someone knows of how Ford designed the interior space with low VOC's in mind, please let me know.  I know that Ford uses soybean oil in some interior foams on their other vehicles, but I could not verify with the Ford rep that it was used in the new Explorer until I searched it out myself in a press release.  According to Ford in the press release, "Soy foam has helped Ford reduce its annual petroleum oil usage by more than 3 million pounds, and is up to 24 percent more renewable than petroleum-based foam. The use of soy foam also has helped Ford reduce its carbon dioxide emissions by 11 million pounds as the biomaterial provides a 67 percent reduction in volatile organic compounds emissions." It seems that for allergy sufferers though, only a standard air filtration system is included in the US even though Ford is the only car manufacturer in the world with the TUV-Certified allergy friendly interiors.  The Ford rep I spoke with could not tell me if it was used here in the US or even if it is an option on the new American sold model of the 2011 Ford Explorer. 
2. The new 2011 Ford Explorer utilizes EcoBoost.  Okay so this is an option and not a standard feature but EcoBoost uses gasoline turbocharged direct-injection technology for up to 20 percent better fuel economy and 15 percent fewer CO2 emissions.  This is good right and totally green for the peeps that can afford it.  You can check out Ford's totally dull and boring YouTube video on EcoBoost.



Ford Motor Co.

3. Another available feature on the newly redesigned 2011 Ford Explorer is the New MyFord Touch™ driver connect technology.  This is a really green feature as it gives real-time feedback on fuel efficiency performance that helps drivers to get the most miles per gallon.  Another thing I love about the MyFord Touch is the map-based navigation which offers an Eco-Route option.  This Eco-Route navigation will calculate the most fuel-efficient route for the driver and provides fuel economy gains of up to 15 percent.  Totally green and once again it is too bad it is not offered as a standard feature on the new 2011 Ford Explorer. 

I am not bashing Ford.  I obviously really like the company since I have been brand loyal until I purchased my gas sucking Suburban 5 years ago (On-Star won me over) and my husband would never drive anything but a Ford.  I think they are truly committed to delivering a product which will leave less of an impact on our planet and put less of a dent in your wallet when you fill up the tank.  I think they are on the right track and did a fine job in reinventing the 2011 Ford Explorer.  It just seems like once again, as it is with so many other things from organics to solar power, you gotta have the green to get green. 

Ford folks if you are stopping by, please leave a comment and let us know about the interior VOC's...

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