A Suggestion to Ford Motor Company
Don’t Let This Interior Color Sabotage Your Vehicle
Ford Motor Company
Customer Relationship Center
PO Box 6248
Dearborn, MI 48126
Subject: Urging an Interior Color Change on the Ford Explorer Base Trim
Dear Ford Team -
Yesterday while driving on I95 in Connecticut, I was passed by what appeared to be a Ford Explorer base model in black. It had an official plate on the back suggesting that it was part of a government fleet purchase, but it didn’t appear to be outfitted as a pursuit vehicle. This Explorer looked so good for what it was that it led me to research the Explorer in base trim further. I imagine that my reaction to this Explorer’s presence on the road is exactly what designers hope to achieve.
Before I go on, I should mention that I currently drive a 2021 Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo E 4WD, which is the least-outfitted Grand Cherokee 4WD that a consumer could buy that year. So I like base models. I like getting the size and many of the driving characteristics of a given vehicle without paying for all the extras.
Having now researched the current Ford Explorer, there’s just one area where the base model lacks, and in my mind, I find it so unsettling as to be a deal-breaker. I’m talking about the fact that the Ford Explorer in base trim is only offered in a ‘Sandstone’ light tan cloth interior. If you’ve not lived with a car with a light-colored cloth interior, consider that it’s by far the hardest to keep looking clean over time.
Contrast the Explorer’s Sandstone interior with my that of my 2021 Jeep Cherokee Laredo E. The Jeep has no-frills cloth seats too. But the seats, interior panels and headliner are all black. No gray or any other color. I find this to be much more desirable from the practical standpoint of hiding minor dirt or stains, as well as from an aesthetic standpoint. Black cloth is a huge and significant upgrade from tan in terms of overall desirability. But I doubt it’s much of a difference in manufacturing cost.
Maybe the Sandstone thing is by design. Maybe you don’t want people ordering or buying an Explorer in base trim unless they’re from Hertz or Enterprise, so you make the base model less desirable on purpose with your interior color choice. But if you didn’t intend to diminish the base model’s appearance and perceived value with this color choice, I urge you to make a change. Consider switching the Explorer base model’s interior to all black.
Given the economic uncertainty that the average family feels going into 2023, it might be time to make your base models as desirable as possible where it doesn’t add cost. Changing the Explorer base model’s interior color to black could be a step in that direction.
Thank you for your time and consideration.
Robert Parks
Milford, Connecticut
Sent via US Mail on Saturday, March 4th, 2023.