"Urban automotive enthusiasts?" says Newport Nancy with an air of confusion in her voice. "Hell, I'd drive that."
And just like that it occurred to us that in addition to the urban automotive enthusiasts that Ford plans to reach with the 2008 Ford Expedition Funkmaster Flex Edition, there's likely another undiscovered market for just such a vehicle: the women of Orange County, California.
You see, the OC just happens to be fraught with soccer moms in SUVs that sport much larger wheels and far lower ride heights than this Expedition — they love this stuff. And they don't know who Flex is. Turns out he is Aston George Taylor Jr., a New York City DJ whose hip-hop radio program commands a 10 percent share in his market, and this is his signature-edition SUV.
But the OC just isn't very urban, and between our persistent whiteness and the not-so-urban way we live, think and dress, we realized that it wasn't going to be easy to road test this exercise in Ford marketing in the way the Funkmaster might approve. So we did our best to fit in with this SUV's theme while testing its merits with an unlikely audience.
So, for authenticity's sake, we put ourselves on a musical diet consisting exclusively of rap, R&B and hip-hop during the entire evaluation. Not a single note of Pearl Jam or Johnny Cash seeped from the Expedition's Funkified woofer during the two weeks it was in our possession. We promise.
Get Funky
It's hard to miss the 2008 Ford Expedition Funkmaster Flex's two-tone black and Colorado Red paint with contrasting orange pinstripes. Observant urbanites will notice the Expedition's subtle 3dCarbon body kit, which includes a unique front and rear fascia and rocker-sill skirts. The theme continues with chrome Funkmaster Flex badges on the fenders and a body-color cover for the trailer hitch.
But the chrome-clad 20-inch wheels hardly raise an eyebrow in an age when every donk, box, bubble and OC soccer mom is rolling on 24s. Speaking of donks, we did manage to raise the blood pressure of at least one driver. "We do it for decorations, that's it and that's all," said the confused owner of the bizarre, high-riding '78 Caprice, who, despite our best effort to look the part, didn't miss the cultural contradiction between this Expedition and its driver when we stopped to chat.
All Funked Up
Inside the voluminous cabin, the changes to the Expedition are few but obvious. There's black leather upholstery of the same variety available in the Expedition Limited. What the Limited won't give you, however, are this edition's Colorado Red stitching and embroidered FMF logos on the headrests of the seats. More FMF logos are emblazoned on the floor mats. The center console, shift knob and stereo trim glow in a hue of Colorado Red that can be seen from outer space.
Ford tells us it plans to build 650 FMF Expeditions this year. So it's good there's a numbered plaque on the center console that tells you exactly how rare your Expedition is. Ensuring a high yield at the Barrett-Jackson auction a decade from now, this test truck's plaque reads "005."
There's premium audio, too — Ford's seven-speaker, 340-watt Audiophile system, to be precise — which to our untrained ears sounded only OK. But come on. This is, after all, the Funkmaster Flex Edition. Shouldn't it have some aural authority when the knob is cranked? We fully expected a painful, ear-bleeding, spouse-enraging performance and were rewarded only with the shallow thrum of a single subwoofer. It's barely got the power to upset the neighbors. At midnight. In the OC. Sheesh.
We'd bet that if the Funkmaster really had his way, there'd be a better showing in the audio department. Come to think of it, he'd likely do better than 20-inch wheels, too.
Funky Performance
Otherwise, this is just another short-wheelbase Expedition. And it drives like one — steering that's fairly vague, brakes that don't deliver much feedback through the pedal and a turning radius that's stupidly huge. But we like this SUV's independent rear suspension, which affords both more space in the third row and, just as important, better handling — in both urban and not-so-urban environs.
There's a big 300-horsepower 5.4-liter V8 linked to a six-speed automatic transmission for motivation. The 60-mph mark arrives in 8.7 seconds. The quarter-mile disappears behind you in 16.7 seconds at 83.1 mph, less than half a second slower than we recorded in the wrap-up test of our long-term Chevrolet Tahoe, which featured Chevy's 5.3-liter V8.
Our test truck slips through the slalom cones at 55.8 mph and circles the skid pad at 0.68g — numbers that are almost identical to the last three examples of the Chevy Tahoe that we've tested.
From 60 mph the FMF Edition stops in 136 feet, which is exactly average for a large SUV.
Living With the Funk
What we have here, essentially, is a Ford Expedition with two-tone paint, a body kit and some brightly painted interior bits. That's it. Whether this is good or bad probably depends on where you live and whether your bank account is filled with checks from Def Jam records.
We found it both amusing and entertaining — as did most everyone else in Orange County. Accordingly, we were right at home in suburban haunts like Ladera Ranch and Rancho Santa Margarita where even the soccer moms loved the Funk. "It's so, so...red," said one such female non-urban automotive enthusiast. That's right, baby. And black.
Others appreciated the fact that there's a full array of functionality to this special edition, the same thing you'll find in every Expedition. Its third-row seats can comfortably accommodate full-size adults, and they fold flat for cargo at the touch of a button. Even the optional second-row captain chairs fold up, providing a flat-floored cargo area that offered sufficient room for our pregnant wife to simultaneously stuff a dresser and an all-organic crib mattress — a load so domestic and suburban that we suspect the Funkmaster might never have considered it.
Imagine, style and function.
Funky Value
Standard equipment for this 2008 Ford Expedition Funkmaster Flex Edition includes the 60/40-split power-fold third-row seat and heated and cooled front seats — all of which can be had on the Expedition Limited.
Major options on our four-wheel-drive truck (4x2 models of this special edition are also available) were the $1,995 navigation system, $1,295 rear-seat entertainment system, $995 power moonroof and $795 second-row captain's chairs. In addition to the $995 Colorado Red paint, the FMF package adds $5,895 in prep and hardware, bringing our test truck's MSRP to $55,895 including delivery.
Initially, that seemed like a lot of green for not a lot of funk. Until, that is, we drove this SUV for a few weeks. Sure, it's silly. And expensive. So is life in the OC. But look how happy everybody is. This ridiculous SUV from the "evangelist of hip-hop car culture" (in the words of The New York Times) is just the thing for both the urban wannabe and the soccer mom.
The dissenters will call us crazy. And they're right. All the same arguments against any large SUV still exist. Most people can get by with something smaller and more efficient. But subtlety and restraint aren't the ways of the urban enthusiast. Or the OC soccer mom.
Hear that, Ford? There's twice the revenue in this deal if it's done right. We say slap a different badge on its flanks and market it between San Diego and Los Angeles counties at select dealerships. It'll sell, well, like a chrome-wheeled SUV in the OC.
Not a bad idea, eh? And we won't even send you a bill for our advice.
The manufacturer provided Edmunds this vehicle for the purposes of evaluation.
And just like that it occurred to us that in addition to the urban automotive enthusiasts that Ford plans to reach with the 2008 Ford Expedition Funkmaster Flex Edition, there's likely another undiscovered market for just such a vehicle: the women of Orange County, California.
You see, the OC just happens to be fraught with soccer moms in SUVs that sport much larger wheels and far lower ride heights than this Expedition — they love this stuff. And they don't know who Flex is. Turns out he is Aston George Taylor Jr., a New York City DJ whose hip-hop radio program commands a 10 percent share in his market, and this is his signature-edition SUV.
But the OC just isn't very urban, and between our persistent whiteness and the not-so-urban way we live, think and dress, we realized that it wasn't going to be easy to road test this exercise in Ford marketing in the way the Funkmaster might approve. So we did our best to fit in with this SUV's theme while testing its merits with an unlikely audience.
So, for authenticity's sake, we put ourselves on a musical diet consisting exclusively of rap, R&B and hip-hop during the entire evaluation. Not a single note of Pearl Jam or Johnny Cash seeped from the Expedition's Funkified woofer during the two weeks it was in our possession. We promise.
Get Funky
It's hard to miss the 2008 Ford Expedition Funkmaster Flex's two-tone black and Colorado Red paint with contrasting orange pinstripes. Observant urbanites will notice the Expedition's subtle 3dCarbon body kit, which includes a unique front and rear fascia and rocker-sill skirts. The theme continues with chrome Funkmaster Flex badges on the fenders and a body-color cover for the trailer hitch.
But the chrome-clad 20-inch wheels hardly raise an eyebrow in an age when every donk, box, bubble and OC soccer mom is rolling on 24s. Speaking of donks, we did manage to raise the blood pressure of at least one driver. "We do it for decorations, that's it and that's all," said the confused owner of the bizarre, high-riding '78 Caprice, who, despite our best effort to look the part, didn't miss the cultural contradiction between this Expedition and its driver when we stopped to chat.
All Funked Up
Inside the voluminous cabin, the changes to the Expedition are few but obvious. There's black leather upholstery of the same variety available in the Expedition Limited. What the Limited won't give you, however, are this edition's Colorado Red stitching and embroidered FMF logos on the headrests of the seats. More FMF logos are emblazoned on the floor mats. The center console, shift knob and stereo trim glow in a hue of Colorado Red that can be seen from outer space.
Ford tells us it plans to build 650 FMF Expeditions this year. So it's good there's a numbered plaque on the center console that tells you exactly how rare your Expedition is. Ensuring a high yield at the Barrett-Jackson auction a decade from now, this test truck's plaque reads "005."
There's premium audio, too — Ford's seven-speaker, 340-watt Audiophile system, to be precise — which to our untrained ears sounded only OK. But come on. This is, after all, the Funkmaster Flex Edition. Shouldn't it have some aural authority when the knob is cranked? We fully expected a painful, ear-bleeding, spouse-enraging performance and were rewarded only with the shallow thrum of a single subwoofer. It's barely got the power to upset the neighbors. At midnight. In the OC. Sheesh.
We'd bet that if the Funkmaster really had his way, there'd be a better showing in the audio department. Come to think of it, he'd likely do better than 20-inch wheels, too.
Funky Performance
Otherwise, this is just another short-wheelbase Expedition. And it drives like one — steering that's fairly vague, brakes that don't deliver much feedback through the pedal and a turning radius that's stupidly huge. But we like this SUV's independent rear suspension, which affords both more space in the third row and, just as important, better handling — in both urban and not-so-urban environs.
There's a big 300-horsepower 5.4-liter V8 linked to a six-speed automatic transmission for motivation. The 60-mph mark arrives in 8.7 seconds. The quarter-mile disappears behind you in 16.7 seconds at 83.1 mph, less than half a second slower than we recorded in the wrap-up test of our long-term Chevrolet Tahoe, which featured Chevy's 5.3-liter V8.
Our test truck slips through the slalom cones at 55.8 mph and circles the skid pad at 0.68g — numbers that are almost identical to the last three examples of the Chevy Tahoe that we've tested.
From 60 mph the FMF Edition stops in 136 feet, which is exactly average for a large SUV.
Living With the Funk
What we have here, essentially, is a Ford Expedition with two-tone paint, a body kit and some brightly painted interior bits. That's it. Whether this is good or bad probably depends on where you live and whether your bank account is filled with checks from Def Jam records.
We found it both amusing and entertaining — as did most everyone else in Orange County. Accordingly, we were right at home in suburban haunts like Ladera Ranch and Rancho Santa Margarita where even the soccer moms loved the Funk. "It's so, so...red," said one such female non-urban automotive enthusiast. That's right, baby. And black.
Others appreciated the fact that there's a full array of functionality to this special edition, the same thing you'll find in every Expedition. Its third-row seats can comfortably accommodate full-size adults, and they fold flat for cargo at the touch of a button. Even the optional second-row captain chairs fold up, providing a flat-floored cargo area that offered sufficient room for our pregnant wife to simultaneously stuff a dresser and an all-organic crib mattress — a load so domestic and suburban that we suspect the Funkmaster might never have considered it.
Imagine, style and function.
Funky Value
Standard equipment for this 2008 Ford Expedition Funkmaster Flex Edition includes the 60/40-split power-fold third-row seat and heated and cooled front seats — all of which can be had on the Expedition Limited.
Major options on our four-wheel-drive truck (4x2 models of this special edition are also available) were the $1,995 navigation system, $1,295 rear-seat entertainment system, $995 power moonroof and $795 second-row captain's chairs. In addition to the $995 Colorado Red paint, the FMF package adds $5,895 in prep and hardware, bringing our test truck's MSRP to $55,895 including delivery.
Initially, that seemed like a lot of green for not a lot of funk. Until, that is, we drove this SUV for a few weeks. Sure, it's silly. And expensive. So is life in the OC. But look how happy everybody is. This ridiculous SUV from the "evangelist of hip-hop car culture" (in the words of The New York Times) is just the thing for both the urban wannabe and the soccer mom.
The dissenters will call us crazy. And they're right. All the same arguments against any large SUV still exist. Most people can get by with something smaller and more efficient. But subtlety and restraint aren't the ways of the urban enthusiast. Or the OC soccer mom.
Hear that, Ford? There's twice the revenue in this deal if it's done right. We say slap a different badge on its flanks and market it between San Diego and Los Angeles counties at select dealerships. It'll sell, well, like a chrome-wheeled SUV in the OC.
Not a bad idea, eh? And we won't even send you a bill for our advice.
The manufacturer provided Edmunds this vehicle for the purposes of evaluation.
Add A Comment »