This nameplate was introduced for the 2004 model year as Ford’s replacement for the Windstar minivan. It marked a fresh badge for the company’s front-wheel-drive family hauler, shared with the Mercury Monterey and aimed at the mainstream North American minivan market. The vehicle continued Ford’s traditional people-mover formula rather than moving to a crossover-style design, and it represented one of the last attempts by Ford to compete directly in the classic minivan segment.
The nameplate had a short, single production run. It remained on sale through the 2007 model year, after which Ford exited the segment and shifted its three-row passenger strategy toward crossovers and other utility vehicles. In retrospect, it is remembered as the final Ford-branded minivan of the modern era in the U.S. market, and as the terminal chapter of the Windstar-derived minivan line.