Yahoo Autos Junkyard Gem: 1991 Ford Explorer Sport 2-Door 4x4
The idea of trucks shoving station wagons and even big sedans off showroom floors seemed far-fetched as the 1980s dawned. Then a bunch of Renault engineers descended on Kenosha and the XJ Jeep Cherokee appeared a few years later, for the 1984 model year. At that point, the idea of a truck comfortable enough to be used as a regular suburban commuter while looking adventurous made sense to American vehicle shoppers; today, the overwhelming majority of new vehicles sold on our shores are trucks or at least look like trucks. Ford took the next great stride in the truck-ization of our roads in 1990, when the first 1991 Explorers appeared in showrooms. Here's one of those first-year trucks, found in a Denver-area self-service car graveyard.
The Explorer name wasn't new to Ford at that time; Ford truck shoppers could get Explorer option packages starting in the late 1960s. At first it was just F-100 pickups but after a while there were Explorer Rancheros and even Bronco Explorers. As we can see from the dealer sticker, this truck was sold new at Fordland in Lakewood (which is now Larry H Miller Ford). That's about 13 miles from its final parking spot just south of the Denver city limits.
The Explorer SUV has always been available as a four-door (Ford called these trucks "2-Door" or "4-Door" in 1991, so that's the terminology I'm using here), while new two-door models remained available through 2003. The MSRP on this truck was $16,715, while the cheapest four-door '91 Explorer with four-wheel-drive started at $17,694 (that's about $36,855 and $39,015 in 2023 dollars).
