Taking a page from Mini Cooper and their Mini Motoring Graphics kits, Ford Motor Company announced a similar product for their 2009 Ford Flex.
We've installed a sneak-peek sample on our 2009 Ford Flex long-term test car. The Country Squire Graphics Package, as it's formally called, will be available as a dealer accessory at the beginning of June.
Richard Duschene, senior product planner and strategist for Ford's car division, explained it this way:
"Troubled times call for a back-to-basics approach. We've studied what worked for us in the past, back in the pre-SUV days. What we found was the pinnacle of our popularity among families and the middle class occurred when we were making a lot of station wagons, particularly Country Squire station wagons."
"We thought for awhile that we could sell the Flex as a crossover, whatever that is. But our customers have been telling us that we're not fooling anyone. The Flex isn't a minivan, and it isn't an SUV. What's left, then, is station wagon. And that's OK."
"It's so OK, in fact, that we decided to go all-in and put the Flex 'back in the crate', if you will. If customer response is as strong as we think it's going to be, you might see the Country Squire come back as a factory-installed production option."
"Frankly, that thought gives a lot of folks here at Ford a woodie."
Dan Edmunds, Director of Vehicle Testing @ 21,824 miles
smilez says:
09:08 AM, 04/ 1/09
Concept - Awesome
Execution - Absolutely awful.
IMO
cruiserhead1 says:
09:12 AM, 04/ 1/09
april fools! well played.
but the woody flex isn't a bad idea! Put a surfboard on the roof and it's Calif Summer
foxtrot685 says:
09:19 AM, 04/ 1/09
it actually looks better here than it did on the pt cruisers
compliance says:
09:20 AM, 04/ 1/09
April fools day is the worst internet day of the year. I should seriously not even sign on.
karjunkie says:
09:28 AM, 04/ 1/09
BOY! is that UGLY!!!!! It may be April's fool, but I am willing to bet you will end up having someone actually do this! Bad taste knows no limits...........
audisport says:
09:32 AM, 04/ 1/09
You know what's funny?! Some damn company will come out with the woodie graphics for the Flex, you can count on it. I have seen woodie Jeep Liberty's, G Cherokees, Chevy HHR's. Seriously? Hideous. Worse yet are vinyl tops on brand new Cadillacs and 300's. We get a ton of those here in the D.
altimadude00 says:
09:47 AM, 04/ 1/09
Audisport--You haven't seen bad taste until you've seen a vinyl top on a Camry, Avalon, and Altima all in one day.
I should stab my eyes out.
jdub53084 says:
09:59 AM, 04/ 1/09
Good one. Unfortunately, I have seen one in Michigan with Wood sides. Scary
makabe says:
10:05 AM, 04/ 1/09
Worst. Photoshop. Ever.
jkavanagh says:
10:37 AM, 04/ 1/09
Except. It's. Not. Photoshopped.
TPAWRX says:
10:37 AM, 04/ 1/09
Wow these designers and car engineers really don't know what there customers want.
I hope this is an April fools joke. The flex looks even uglier than it did before.
carguy622 says:
10:42 AM, 04/ 1/09
On another note... I saw my first Flex yesterday that wasn't on a dealers lot.
anilpunjabi says:
10:52 AM, 04/ 1/09
ok you guys did this woodie joke for april fools last year - be original :)
audisport says:
11:27 AM, 04/ 1/09
jkavanagh: so my eyes don't deceive me. That is real? Seriously?
smilez says:
11:45 AM, 04/ 1/09
You know the really good looking thing about that picture?
The wood panneling on the sides, the brushed aluminum in the back, and the chrome on the front.
Add Autoanything.com's 3M yellow carbon fiber stick-em to the roof and you've got a real winner.
bloodyr says:
12:16 PM, 04/ 1/09
Looks like the Griswold family cruiser from Vacation! Just need to paint it green and add 8 headlights to the front to complete the transformation. :)
redliner says:
12:17 PM, 04/ 1/09
If anyone needs me, I'll be in the break room cleaning vomit off my keyboard...
roar02ram says:
12:29 PM, 04/ 1/09
Well at least they're willing to call it a wagon.
huyracing says:
12:39 PM, 04/ 1/09
lol it looks like a POS dodge caravan.
greenpony says:
12:45 PM, 04/ 1/09
Looks like my parents' old Chrysler minivan, replete with fading paint and fake (what is that, wood?) paneling.
felonious says:
02:24 PM, 04/ 1/09
Well done, IL. :)
adavis2493 says:
02:29 PM, 04/ 1/09
You might as well call this a Pt Cruiser Now....
greenpony says:
04:08 PM, 04/ 1/09
Nice graphics job, by the way. Is that washable paint, I hope? I especially like the "I haven't finished my wax job" look to all the upper surfaces. Did you paint both sides? How long did it take?
redwoodaggie says:
06:52 AM, 04/ 2/09
I'm having '80s flashbacks. Aieeeeeeeeeeeeee!