wtf is up with the ford explorer's door

Those of you who I talked to in Seattle recall how I was bitching about the Ford Explorer that Avis tried to rent me (that I rejected after noticing that there was a warning that the battery charger (aka alternator) wasn't working).

Basically, I had just flown in to Seatac Airport and I wanted to get some rest for my interviews the following morning. Admittedly, I was a bit out of it. I was already disappointed by how I was assigned a ginormous SUV, but I just wanted to get to the hotel. When I got in, I was surprised by how comfy the seats were, and also by how terrible the visibility was. The height of the exaggerated "masculine" hood mass made it impossible to know where the front of the car stopped. The rear view was impeded by the rear headrests so much I thought of going through the trouble of removing them so I wouldn't kill myself while changing lanes. er... I mean kill other people while changing lanes.

Then there was the mechanical problem. I inserted the key and was greeted by a message telling me that this brand-spanking new car already had a mechanical issue with the alternator. WTF? I've had my 1993 Honda since 2001 and I haven't had an issue with my alternator. Why does Ford's have to break within a year? Oh... and my dad's '89 Acura's alternator finally went last summer.

Basically, the Ford Explorer seems like it was designed to be a comfy, spacious lounge, and the whole "car" concept came as an afterthought. No sport, no utility, barely a vehicle.

At this point, I had enough and decided to get another car. I reached for the door handle...

? ? ?

I couldn't find it. I kept searching. Oh... there's a shiny thing. Maybe I can grab that. No dice. There's this handle. It looks like an "oh shit" bar that was put in a weird place. Nothing. Thankfully the window was open, so I reached out and opened the door using the outside door handle. I sure as hell hope that isn't how it's supposed to work.

After getting out I took a closer look. I don't like being baffled by things like this. In better lighting, I failed to figure it out, even after the closer inspection. I wanted to leave, so off I went.

Today for some reason I felt inspired to solve this mystery, so I looked up some photos of the Ford Explorer's door to see if I happened to miss something due to my tiredness and impatience at the time. Sadly, I'm still baffled.

Any ideas? Here are the photos: