Here are 4 Eddie Bauer Fords You Probably Didn’t Know About – Jalopnik

Eddie Bauer is closing all of its stores in North America and is expected to file for bankruptcy because people just don’t buy Eddie Bauer clothes anymore. However, this shouldn’t really be a surprise. If you ask the average person what Eddie Bauer is, they’ll probably say it’s some sort of Ford version – and in many ways they were right.

Starting in the mid-1980s and really taking off in the 1990s, Eddie Bauer Fords were absolutely everywhere. You could immediately tell whose parents made a little more money than yours when they drove to the school in a Ford with that now iconic beige-gold cladding around the wheel arches.

The first car to get the Eddie Bauer treatment was the ’84 Bronco, and the partnership took off quite a bit. As I said, it – like the Eddie Bauer brand – really took off in the 1990s, but unfortunately started to decline as we got further and further into the 2000s. The partnership officially ended in 2010, with the Explorer and Expedition being the last gasp of the outdoors-yet-luxurious partnership.

Like me, I’m sure these two vehicles (and an Excursion or F-150) are the first that come to mind when you think of Eddie Bauer Fords, but did you know that the two companies actually collaborated on eight different vehicles? Wild, I know – and that’s why we decided to take a walk down foggy memory lane and check out some of the lesser known Eddie Bauer Fords, because this is Jalopnik after all and we can’t just be normal about everything.

On the outside, the original Eddie Bauer Ford set the tone – the two-tone one. From the very beginning, it came with that beige lower trim to distinguish it from other Bronco IIs. Apparently it’s ‘Sandlewood’, which sounds a lot nicer than beige-ish, but that’s neither here nor there. It also came with some unique exterior color options such as Scarlet Red Hagertyas well as 15-inch alloy wheels.

In the all-brown interior, drivers got a leather-wrapped steering wheel, some very funky cloth seats (with air pump in the lumbar) and a unique two-piece luggage set that was apparently “shipped directly from Eddie Bauer.” That’s class.

Under the hood, buyers were treated to the mighty Ford Cologne V6 (early cars were 2.8 and later 2.9), and they were mated to a five-speed manual transmission. If you were so inclined, a four-speed automatic was an option. Of course, the power can be sent to the rear or to all four wheels.

What a machine. This is Genesis, and it was unfortunately overshadowed by what came later.

That’s right, Ford made an Eddie Bauer minivan, and none exist today. If I’m not mistaken, though, this is the very first luxury minivan, so cars like the Chrysler Pacifica Pinnacle and Mercedes-Benz R-Class can trace their roots back to this beast.

Positioned above the Aerostar

It originally came with cloth interior seats, but later in production leather became an option. It is an Eddie Bauer after all. There was apparently a nice option that allowed the second- and third-row bench seats to fold flat into a large bed area in the rear half of the interior, but most Aerostar Eddie Bauer buyers probably skipped that in favor of optional second-row captain’s chairs, as shown in this image. sickly Aerostar Wagon brochure from 1988 I found online.

The van came standard with an enlarged 4.0-liter Cologne V6, delivering a whopping 160 horsepower, and buyers could choose between rear-wheel drive or all-wheel drive. Unfortunately, the flame was extinguished in 1994.

As far as I know, this was the shortest-lived Ford of the Eddie Bauer edition, lasting only two model years, and perhaps the most called-up ever. The Taurus X of course became a renamed Ford Freestyle. At the time it was a bit funky, but it never really found its place in the market. The fact that Ford even bothered to make an Eddie Bauer edition is wild to me, but it did, so here we are.

As far as I know, the only changes Eddie Bauer received from the SEL were color-matched door handles and a different colored lower panel. However, there were now two (still very beige) options: Arizona Beige Metallic and Ingot Silver Metallic. The thing is, these cars were harder to spot because the SEL also had a contrasting lower fascia – just not in beige. Another thing this particular Eddie Bauer took issue with was the fact that it wasn’t the top trim, but the Limited. This wasn’t unique to the Taurus X, as other Ford models had the same lineup, but we’re not talking about those cars now.

At least it fit between the SEL and Limited, which wasn’t a very wide space. On the inside, buyers got an AM/FM stereo with a single-disc CD/MP3 player and an auxiliary jack that could be connected to Ford’s Sync system, two-tone leather seats in the first and second rows (third-row passengers had to suffer through vinyl), and heated front seats.

Under the hood of every Taurus Buyers could choose from front-wheel drive or all-wheel drive.

I really can’t believe the American auto industry nearly collapsed at the end of the aughts.

I was going to break it off here, but during my research I discovered two more oddities: a pair of editions of Japanese Domestic Market Explorer Eddie Bauer. Of course, these cars were incredibly common here in the US, but the same cannot be said for Japan. I mean, the Explorer was an extremely rare car in the country, so the Eddie Bauer edition must have been a pretty special vehicle. I love the fact that three generations of Explorer Eddie Bauers – the second, third and fourth – were officially sold in Japan.

There are currently five Explorer Eddie Bauers built between 2000 and 2007 for sale GooNet, a Japanese vehicle sales website. Most are equipped with the modular V8, but some of the 2000 Explorers have a 4.0-liter V6. I also find that the most interesting. One because my dad had a 1999 Explorer when I was a kid, and two because it’s right hand drive. For a while, Ford actually built RHD Explorers and didn’t stop until the third generation. Look, it even has a console-mounted shifter! That’s something we never got in America.

What a strange and wonderful car world we live in.