You learn something new every day: After decades of thinking that many of Ford‘s SUVs have names that start with the letters EX because they’re synonymous with adventure (Explorer, Expedition, Excursion), I recently discovered that the Expedition’s name has a connection to the United States Marine Corps. Coincidentally, I gained this knowledge on November 10th, the same day that this division of the U.S. armed forces celebrated its 250th anniversary.
Now a retired Major General in the Marine Corps Reserve, Leo V. Williams III graduated as part of the Naval Academy’s class of 1970, then served as an infantryman and artillery officer in the Marines until 1978. He also earned his master’s degree in business administration, which led to a job offer from Ford the same year. As a member of the truck operations product planning group, Williams worked with his fellow “concept developers for the F-150 pickups and new products like the Aerostar minivan and the first Ford Explorer SUV.” That led to an opportunity to name the SUV that followed the Explorer.
After the enormous success of the Explorer, The Blue Oval was keen on giving its larger sibling another name that started with the letters EX. At the time, Williams was a colonel in the Marine Corps Reserve. Given that the new vehicle was meant to be perceived as capable of going anywhere and doing anything, and that the Marines are an “expeditionary” force with those abilities, it seemed natural to Williams to name the vehicle Expedition. It also helped that Jeep was a big competitor at the time and drove Williams and his colleagues to show customers that they could get the same things Jeep offered in a Ford vehicle.
Williams wasn’t alone in favoring the name Expedition. He said, “At the time, Ross Roberts was the head of Ford Division, and Bob Rewey was the Executive Vice President of Marketing and Sales. I knew they were both Army veterans, and we would occasionally talk about our military experiences. When the suggestion came to them, they both smiled and said, ‘Yeah, this makes sense to us.’”
Next year marks another major milestone: the 30th anniversary of the Ford Expedition, which started production in 1996 for the 1997 model year.
