Ford Excursion, Luxury Edition

Overview
Introduced in 1999 as a 2000 model year, the Excursion was immediately criticized for being too large to fit in most home garages and its poor fuel economy (around 12-14 mpg highway and 8-10 mpg city) relative to the Chevrolet Suburban and GMC Yukon XL, its chief competitors. Shortly before launch, the Sierra Club awarded the Excursion an "Exxon Valdez" award for this reason, in reference to the ill-fated oil tanker. Sales were initially good, but slowed as gasoline prices rose. Industry insiders expected Ford to stop producing the Excursion, but sales continued through the 2005 model year, for which it received a minor facelift, and production of the Excursion ended in September 2005.
Ford needed to free up capacity at the Louisville plant that produces the Super Duty pickup trucks. A more fuel efficient, extended-length Expedition, named the Expedition EL (Max in Canada and Mexico), has replaced the Excursion in the company's lineup for the 2007 model year.