2009 Ford Flex

What do you see when you look at the 2009 Ford Flex? A 4/3-scale Mini Clubman? An overinflated Scion xB? A long wagon? A low minivan? Ford wants you to see a 1986 Taurus, a 1965 Mustang, or a 1956 T-Bird. A design icon. Whether or not you can squint that hard, the new Flex will never sell in numbers like some of those earlier icons, but its sleek, striking design and execution seem likely to propel it to more auspicious sales than the last "game-changing" low-roof three-row Grand Tourer to come down the pike -- Chrysler's Pacifica.