In 2008, Ford Motor Company boldly pronounced that, unlike its competitors General Motors and Chrysler, it was in a position to weather the entirety of 2009, whether or not they received a bridge loan from the federal government. It’s true that the company is considerably more robust financially than its Detroit brethren, attributable partly to the fact that Ford has been willing to boldly experiment in design over the last decade. Further evidence of that willingness is the 2009 Flex, a minivan that manages to actually achieve the nearly impossible in that woebegone genre, style and substance.

Any driver who has had to endure even a few moments behind the wheel of a typical minivan will attest that the overwhelming majority of such cars/trucks have all the lumbering qualities of the dump truck, the acceleration of a rickshaw and the sex appeal of an aging pope. The Flex is squarely aimed at decrying all three characteristics. First of all, it manages to seat seven passengers on the same chassis that houses the present-day Taurus X...no mean feat. It also achieves decent acceleration from its 3.5-liter V6, while attaining a full 24 miles per gallon on the highway.

The “Flex” moniker comes from the versatility of layout that the interior features, in which seats can be installed and removed with relative ease, and the middle row of seats can slide back to make room for an optional refrigerator. An integrated audio/telephone system also automatically receives calls as it shuts down the stereo, a particularly nifty feature given the fact that an increasing number of municipalities are forbidding the use of conventional cell phones entirely while driving.

Ford hopes for nothing less than the flex will reinvent the minivan genre. At a time when producing the unexpected may be the only hope Detroit has, at least their corporate hearts are in an innovative place. Prices start at $28,000.