Ford Motor Co. sent representatives to Regan Ford in Haverhill Aug. 7 to help officially launch the car maker's new Flex crossover utility vehicle. The technical and marketing experts from Ford conducted training sessions for Regan personnel during business hours. Later, from 6 to 7:30 p.m., the Flex team welcomed Regan customers and guests to a public launch party for the vehicle.

Ford began selling the new model this month. Flex is a crossover sport utility vehicle, with a tall, spacious, wagon body on an automobile platform. That distinguishes it from traditional SUVs, which are built on pickup truck platforms. The Flex seats seven people, and uses a 262-horsepower, 3.5-liter V6 engine and six-speed automatic transmission. Its EPA fuel-economy rating is 17 miles per gallon in city driving, 24 mpg on the highway for front-wheel-drive versions. When equipped with optional, all-wheel drive, the crossover's fuel-use ratings drop to 16 mpg city, 22 mpg highway.

Flex starts at $28,995 for an SE version. A top-level Flex Limited lists at $35,800. All-wheel drive is available on Limited versions, and on the mid-level Flex SEL, at $33,165 before options. The all-wheel-drive option adds $1,850 to the sticker price.

Ann Regan, dealer principal of Regan Ford, expects the model to attract new customers to Ford, much as the Ford Explorer did when it introduced the SUV concept to so many Americans about two decades ago. Through much of the SUV heyday in the 1990s, Explorer was the top-selling sport utility.

"I have the same feeling I had many years ago when the Ford Explorer came out," she said. "We got a lot of the Jeep and Volvo owners then, and a lot of people who had been driving foreign products. I see that happening with the Flex: new customers coming into our showroom."

The first two models sold by the Haverhill dealership demonstrate the wide-ranging appeal of the Flex, Regan said. One sold to a couple in their mid-20s, who wanted a spacious, versatile vehicle to carry kayaks and accompany them on outdoor adventures.

"That was more of a lifestyle choice," she said. But the other model went to a growing family that needs the crossover's seven-passenger capacity. Inside, Flex provides spacious seating, with abundant head room and leg room, Regan said.

"It's amazing what they've done with the space," she said.

Gas prices drop again

For the fourth straight week, pump prices fell in both Massachusetts and New Hampshire last week. In both states, the average price for self-service regular gas stood below $3.80 per gallon as of Wednesday, according to the auto club AAA. The U.S. national average also fell to a comparable level last week, AAA announced.

Massachusetts motorists paid an average of $3.782 per gallon for self-service unleaded regular on Wednesday, AAA figures showed. That was 10 cents lower than the statewide average of $3.884 recorded seven days earlier. But Wednesday's price remained $1.00 higher than the statewide average on the same day last year, which AAA put at $2.778 per gallon.

In New Hampshire, the seven-day drop totaled about 8 cents per gallon, with self-service unleaded regular reaching $3.786 on Wednesday, compared to $3.868 one week earlier. Wednesday's average was $1.03 higher than the Granite State average one year earlier, which was $2.754, according to AAA.

The U.S. national average fell by 71/2 cents per gallon last week. AAA reported a $3.787 coast-to-coast average on Wednesday, compared to $3.862 one week earlier. Wednesday's U.S. average was $1.02 higher than the national average on same day of 2007, which was $2.767, the auto club reported.