“新甲壳虫之父”汽车设计杰作回顾

2005款福特Freestyle

    Freestyle基于沃尔沃（Volvo）的平台生产出来时，酷越车才刚开始流行，但梅斯错过了这个市场。对绝大多数购买者来说，作为开路先锋的Freestyle太像一辆旅行车，而SUV的元素太少。他们想要的是更高的驾驶坐姿，更粗犷的外观。2004年，Freestyle首次推出，此后2008款更名为“金牛X”（Taurus X），但2009年就停产了。2012年接受《汽车新闻》（Automotive News）采访时，梅斯承认这是他的一大败笔。他说：“我没认为‘五百’（Five Hundred，金牛车的改称——译注）或Freestyle是我在福特最辉煌的代表作之一。”

2005 Ford Freestyle

    Crossovers were just catching on when the Freestyle was engineered from a Volvo platform, but Mays missed the market. The ground-hugging Freestyle had too much station wagon in it and too little SUV for most buyers, who wanted a higher seating position and a more rugged exterior. Introduced in 2004, the Freestyle was renamed the Taurus X for the 2008 model year but was discontinued in 2009. In a 2012 interview with Automotive News, Mays acknowledged the missteps. "I don't think the Five Hundred (see next slide) or Freestyle was one of my brighter moments in Ford," he said.