Americans: the Ford Flex is dead, are you sad?

The Ford Flex is officially dead. The boxy estate/wagon/crossover/SUV thing is making way for a whole host of hybrid and fully-electric models that are about to appear in Ford’s lineup. In fact, the company reckons it’ll replace 75 per cent of its current portfolio by the end of next year. Basically, if you're a Ford car right now, you're more nervous than a turkey in December.

The Flex was always slightly divisive in the US, but there’s a lot to be said for standing out from the crowd. It arrived at the 2007 New York motor show featuring a whole host of retro styling cues first previewed on the 2005 Fairlane concept, and despite being a seven-seat minivan thing it was popular among some super hip folk at the time. Denied to us Brits, it's forbidden fruit. So even if it's rubbish, we want it.

Rapping men Nelly and the appropriately-named Funkmaster Flex opened the 2008 SEMA show by unveiling their own modified versions. They of course featured custom paint jobs, massive wheels and the best entertainment systems that the 2000s had to offer. What a time to be alive. 

The Flex was sold with a 3.5-litre V6 under the bonnet and the option of a 2.0-litre fridge in between the second row of seats – because ‘Murica – and during its 11 years on sale, more than 296,000 of the things were shifted.

It was never exported to the United Kingdom of Great Britlandshire, and for that we’re rather sad. Plus, Ford says its replacement will be the Mustang-inspired electric SUV. So tell us, Americans, are you also upset at the demise of the Flex?