2011 Ford Flex goes Titanium

Taking a page from its SEMA playbook, Ford is rolling out a top-of-the-line, semi-blinged-out people hauler for 2011, the Flex Titanium.

It's dressed up for a night on the town, or a trip to soccer practice, and was devised by Ford product gurus who noticed most Flex customers tend to take high levels of content in their vehicles.

The Flex Titanium has a unique black chrome-finish grille with Flex badging on the edge of the hood--a cue straight from SEMA models in 2008 and 2009. There is a tuxedo-black two-tone roof, blacked-out treatments for the headlamps and tail lamps, and four choices of exterior colors.

The Titanium also has beltline moldings, fog-lamp bezels and a liftgate that's black chrome. It rides on 20-inch, 10-spoke polished aluminum wheels. Inside is charcoal-black leather and gray suede Alcantara inserts. HD radio and one-touch, power-folding third-row seats are among the electronic goodies.

The Titanium is based off the Limited model, which accounts for 40 percent of Flex sales. Customers also tend to add on even more extras, such as the vista roof and refrigerator options.

“With the Flex Titanium, we are responding to our customers with a vehicle that reflects the unique positioning of Flex in the marketplace,” Flex marketing manager Kate Pearce said in a statement.

By Greg Migliore