For those who've been worried about Ford in recent years -- and that includes a lot of people -- there's scant evidence that the company is on the comeback road.

But while sales continue to drop, its quality control has improved to a point that it now leads not only the domestic industry, but many imports as well. And there's an ambitious, sensible plan in place to reduce dependency on trucks and bring more Ford imports from Europe to this country.

But no automaker can cut its way to fiscal health if its product lineup lacks excitement. Unfortunately, until about two years ago, that was the case with Ford -- except for the Mustang, Edge and Fusion.

But things could be looking up.

Exhibit No. 1 is the all new 2009 Ford Flex crossover. It looks, feels and acts differently from just about anything in its field. It's edgy, it's eye-catching, it's chock full of features. All of this comes at a steep price -- one of its few weak points.

Let's talk about style first. The Flex is low slung, square shouldered -- very much a 21st- century vehicle with clear station wagon heritage points. You can even order a white or silver roof, which recalls some of the two-toned station wagon Fords of the 1950s and '60s.

Inside, the name of the game is flexibility with every passenger seat folding down to create a flat load floor -- you could probably sleep inside this car quite comfortably if you have an air mattress. And you get the same seat design whether you pick the basic or top line Limited model, with the only differences being the grade of cloth or leather. There's no ugly, plain design for entry-level folks.

There are nice brushed aluminum and wood finishes and a gap-free interior construction. The dashboard, with its hood over a simple round gauge arrangement, also recalls Fords of the past.

Only a few things bothered me about the Flex. First, it has a large turning radius, making it harder to maneuver than some of its competitors, as well as harder to park, even with a parking assist system.

I also was bothered by some of the roughness that I found in its transmission system. There also was a general tendency to be noisier than other products -- a characteristic it shares with many Fords.

There also was an unpleasant burning smell whenever I turned off the car -- I'm not sure where that came from. I would caution, however, that my tester was a pre-production model.

Now then, about that price.

The Flex starts at just under $29,000 for the base model. Standard equipment includes a 3.5-liter, 262-horsepower V-6 (rated at 17 mpg in the city and 24 on the highway with front-wheel drive and 16/22 for all-wheel drive) with six-speed automatic, power equipment, auxiliary audio input jack, plenty of cup holders and storage nooks, air conditioning, tilt adjustable steering wheel and AM/FM stereo/CD/MP3 system.

If you want the glitzier equipment, such as DVD entertainment system, a panoramic sunroof, a cooler located between the second-row seats, and a navigation system, you're looking at almost $44,000.

That's a luxury car in my book.

Many working families that could use a car like the Flex will be hard pressed to spend $40,000 or so on a car. (Although, to be fair, the same criticism applies to Chevy's new Traverse, the Honda Odyssey, Toyota Sienna and Volkswagen Tiguan and Jetta).

But those objections aside, the Flex is quite a departure from some of the fare that has come from Ford in recent years -- and it's a welcome addition to the crossover market.