2011 Ford Explorer Found Hiding Behind Marketing Team Boss

Ladies and gents, we present to you Amy Marentic, FoMoCo's car, crossover and SUV marketing manager. And oh, the vehicle stalking her is the forthcoming, 2011 Ford Explorer. The Dearborn automaker released this new teaser photo as Marentic was recently interviewed by Reuters on the 2011 Explorer, which is expected to be officially revealed in July.

In that interview, she talked about what led the company to "reinvent" the Explorer and how Ford will try to win back customer loyalty.

"Right now six out of 10 who own an Explorer defect to another brand," said Marentic. "We want to switch that around and keep all of those customers like we used to in the early to mid-1990s."

To achieve this, Ford says that the new Explorer will retain many of the capabilities of a traditional SUV, with three rows of seats for up to seven adults, and the ability to tow a 19-foot boat, adding to the equation an improved ride, sharper handling and at least a 25 percent improvement in fuel economy over the current Explorer's 14 mpg city and 20 mpg highway numbers.

We remind you that the new Explorer ditches the current model's body-on-frame platform for a lighter unibody structure based on the Ford Flex crossover while other changes include the introduction of the company's new 3.5-liter V6 engine in both naturally aspirated and twin-turbocharged versions, as well as a new 2.0-liter Ecoboost turbocharged four-pot.

Source: Ford & Reuters