As car journalists, it’s sort of our job to know everything we can about every car currently on sale right now and hopefully, at least a thing or two about the cars we’ve lost along the way. Still, every once in a while a car surprises you, not by its performance or anything, but because its automaker is still selling them. Did you know that the Ford Edge is still out there? It’s the same deal with the Chevrolet Malibu!
Today, Thomas wrote about the Dodge Durango SRT Hellcat Hammerhead Edition, which looks like a rental car. Our readers had some hilarious reactions. Let’s start with Jack Trade:
What I’m most surprised by is…Dodge is still making the Durango?! This is right up there with my surprise over the Malibu.
Admittedly, I hope the Chevrolet Express and the GMC Savana never die. I want those vans to be on sale when I’m 80 years old and I hope they look exactly the same then as they do now. Oh and there’s Bobfish, who gets a nod for using one of my favorite references:
Dodge Durango Hellcat Hammerhead Thundercougarfalconbird.
Also, Stellantis products are sort of hilarious, from the Dodge Durango and the Alfa Romeo Tonale to the Ram TRX and the Jeep Wrangler 392. Col Lingus says:
“I’ll take dumb ass ways to spend my money for 400 Alex.”
But TXJeepGuy doesn’t hold back:
what is anything at a Stellantis store?
Speaking of Stellantis brands, today we also heard about the SM Tribute, and Ranwhenparked has had it with these silly brands:
It should be a Citroen, DS is a bullshit brand that shouldn’t have ever existed in the first place.
Like Ram
Earlier today, Adrian wrote about the Pontiac Turbo Grand Prix by ASC/McLaren. While Adrian gushed over the car I laughed because it’s actually been for sale in the UK for about a year. I featured it on a MMM back in December! It was £12,500 back then and is £9,995 now, so I take it there aren’t many rad-era Pontiac fans in the UK.
Anyway, Canopysaurus laid down a comment that gets you when you think about it:
A hundred and thirty-seven buttons? This would’ve been a nightmare for a blind person to drive.
Finally, let’s stop at my piece about the so-called quad bike with a 1,200 HP V12 and a 250 mph top speed. Everything about it is simultaneously insulting and tantalizing. Bjorn A. Payne Diaz nails the feeling so perfectly:
I can’t tell if I’m mad or happy this exists.
Have a great evening, everyone!
The other day there was a police report that stated a 2019 Chevy HHR was rear ended.
I immediately thought they made a mistake. Then I remembered the Malibu … and had to look it up to make sure it didn’t exist in 2019.
Earlier this year, I found out that the Volvo V90 is still in production and sold in the US, though only the Cross Country version as far as I can tell. There are rumors going back several years about it being on the chopping block.
Special congrats to Bjorn for the Car Talk inspired username.
The last Ford Edge was built a few months ago- The plant that built them in Ontario is shut down and being retooled to crank out Super Duty pickups.
Don’t understand this one, it is all of the car features in the SUV crossover style people say they need. But it dies of death because it isn’t more like a minivan or more like a dune buggy.
Might have to do with most people not knowing the Edge ever existed at all. When thinking of Ford’s SUV/crossover lineup, it goes: Escape->Explorer->Expedition. The Edge is one of those “oh yeah, I guess they make that too.” A failure of Ford marketing.
Indeed, because it’s just about always been a competent, well-sized, fairly priced, and effective tool for what it is for its entire existence. Escape/Bronco Sport are a smidge too small, and Explorer too big. Edge is a “just right” size for folks who have older kids or who carry other adults in the second row and don’t need a third row.
Not sure if it’ll be replaced with a China-built version like it’s Nautilus sibling, but since Ford is having to backpedal on its EV plans (as with about every other non-all EV brand) there’s hope.
The Edge had a huge marketing blitz when it was new and they’ve sold something like 2 million of them over the course of its 16 model years without a lot of fluctuation, steadily in six-figure range. It only dipped below that (to ~80k) for three of those. Small in comparison to the 200k+ Explorers or the 300k+ Escapes they used to do, but the Edge never seemed to be adversely affected by the redesigns of those models either.
So I don’t think it was lack of awareness, which could be said for something like either gen of Toyota Venza. Seems like it was more about plant capacity and manufacturing.
I’ll admit to not remembering the marketing from the initial release, though it may be regional as Squirrelmaster said.
You’re dead-on with plant capacity and manufacturing being the real reason. I assumed the latest Edge in the US was on the C2 platform with the Bronco Sport and Maverick, instead it was the last vehicle made on the CD4 platform. Makes sense they’re converting the Oakville Assembly to something else. I just wish it wasn’t more Super Dutys instead of Mavericks.
I think the lack of awareness is regional. A family member in Texas bought a new Edge-sized CUV a few years ago and was genuinely confused when I suggested she look at the Edge, as she thought it died after the first generation.
Conversely, a family member in Minnesota bought a Highlander two years ago because she didn’t want an Edge like all of her neighbors.
The Edge sells pretty well here in Colorado, though not nearly as well now as it did a few years ago. But to your point, Ford markets the Explorer and Bronco Sport much harder here than they do the Edge and Escape.
It’s really just the dissolution of the 5-seat, “midsize” crossover segment, in general, especially as the compact-class ones get so large.. The Blazer, Passport and Murano are probably in the same boat. Others, like the Santa Fe and Sorento, have had to morph into 5+2-seaters and gain a lot more style, in order to sell. And Toyota’s latest entrant, the Crown Signia, is an entry-level-lux car by any standard, with a higher actual transaction price than these other vehicles.
But, I’d say an Edge still represents a nice upgrade over an Escape or Bronco in terms of drivability, especially one with the 1.5T 3-cylinder. I was saddled with a 2024 Escape ST-Line as a rental in Houston, and it was the most miserable experience I’ve had in a car in a long time. I cannot believe people actually buy those. I convinced Avis to swap it for an IONIQ 5 AWD rental with 250 miles on the ODO, which was lovely by comparison.
The Edge was replaced by the Mach E
Can you get a Mach E Cheese edition?
Not yet, but I could see this happening for a Kraft promo vehicle.
Indeed. That said, there are tons of them languishing on lots.
When are we getting the next Mercedes Marketplace Madness?
I work at a chevy dealer and every time we get a new Malibu I’m surprised. I swear every year for the passed few years I’ve read next year is the last year or they will be Canada only.
Me finding out that Ford still made the Fiesta in 2019 and didn’t kill it along with the Focus in 2018 is what set off the chain of events that led to me buying mine.
Fiesta’s a good car. Just avoid the automatic (DCT) equipped models.
Oh I know, I avoided that altogether by buying an ST
Okay, topshot related, I DID actually know Ford is still making the Edge!
I’m considering one for my mom who wants an “age appropriate” (her words) small-ish crossover that’s competent but not flashy. Matt’s mention of it the other week in one his pieces returned it to the front of my mind.
They are high on the list to replace my wife’s aging Forester. Price is decent, the new ones are apparently pretty reliable. Ford tends to make enough improvements over the life of a product that they end up pretty durable. Little more room but not too huge. My wife’s main sticking point is that shes never thought of herself as a “ford person”.
I had a brand new Edge as a loaner car (base model, 2.0 turbo) while my Maverick was at the dealer for recalls and warranty work. It was…okay? The biggest issue I had with it was that it felt too sluggish in normal mode, and too annoying in sport mode. Couldn’t find a mode that made the car feel good to me. Also, the transmission was so confused and would often hunt gears as I was driving. Interior was nice enough, and the infotainment screen was HUGE! Honestly, I would recommend the Honda CRV Hybrid or Passport over an Edge.
Edges are best with V6s. The I4s seem a bit overwhelmed, especially considering it’s a Focus/Escape engine. And I say that with full awareness that 2.0L turbocharged I4s are becoming ubiquitous (thanks, Europe) and propel things even as large as the Volvo XC90 and such. I’d take an understressed naturally aspirated engine with more cylinders than one that – while capable and powerful – is one turbo failure or GDI fault away from being an expensive repair bill.
That’s not to say I’m against turbo engines; I’ve owned two and enjoyed them immensely. These modern versions on the 2.0L setup just seem built to last just through the OEM warranty periods and no longer. I can’t think of a single brand that hasn’t had some sort of significant issue with these new crop of turbocharged GDI 2.0L and smaller engines at some point.
In my area with various incentives and friends in high places at Ford (we have multiple neighbours who work at Ford Corporate in Oakville) the Edge would be substantially less expensive than the Hondas. As in 10s to 20s of thousands less than the Edge.
Sluggish? Our family cars are currently a 2012 Soul and Forester. We are used to sluggish. My Mustang GT is the fast car in the driveway.
It was the throttle mapping. It was too much throttle input in normal mode, and the car became too jumpy in sport. Never really found the goldilocks mode.
I get it, and I have owned a Ford. If anyone asks, I am a Nissan guy, even though I have driven an ’86 F-150 for a few years, a bug-eyed rex, and… hmmm… oh yeah, the Ford-era Mazda3.
I think of it like sports teams. For some reason, your dad was a fan of the Redskins (now Commnaders) because they were good for a long time, but haven’t been relevant in 30 years. You take up his mantle and allow that to determine your mood for 16 weeks a year. (The royal ‘you’, of course). Because ‘our family is a Commanders family!’ That is where I am with Nissan. The only things I would consider (not buy, likely, but consider) from their lineup is the Z, the New Armada, and a Frontier with either the 4.0 or the 3.8 without the new body/interior.
If I had to go look at, say, a Chevy Colorado, I would feel really uncomfortable.
Maybe entice her with a Lincoln MKX/Nautilus. Same mechanicals, snazzier visuals.
Edge is very much a “Goldilocks” car. Not too big, not too small, decently roomy with good ingress/egress for both rows. Much like what made the Lexus RX and Nissan Murano so successful, the “mid-size” two-row class is very effective. And I say that as a “three-peat” CX-5 owner (wife’s car) and currently with a first-generation XC90 as my daily driver (and recently added a 22-yo RAV4 to get up to snuff for my young nephew to buy as a first car).
Congrats to all winners, especially TXJeepGuy who had my personal favorite today. Got em!