bzcat

The Prius wagon with 3rd row of seats will look very similar to JDM Toyota Wish. Prius is based on the Wish/Avensis/Scion tC platform and the new large Prius wagon is basically a Wish with Prius nose and the hybrid drivetrain.

This isn't a surprise. Fiat was planning to import their Ducato van to sell at RAM dealers all along. It was in their presentation to the Federal Govt. It will be imported CKD like the Sprinter and assembled somewhere in the NAFTA zone.

Triton V10 is also available in NABI transit buses with gasoline hybrid powertrain. I believe they use the 3V version. It has a long life ahead... http://www.cptdb.ca/wiki/index.php?title=North_American_Bus_Industries_42-BRT Here is a good photo of the engine

Transit Connect already has Ford Work Solutions in the US which is apparently a popular option. I wouldn't doubt MyFordTouch being integrated with Ford Work Solutions in the next update for Transit Connect. You figure MyFordTouch must be in F-150 soon so that means it will somehow work with Ford Work Solutions.

I'm surprised by the 2.5 base engine. I was expecting the 2.0DI from Focus. This raises a couple of thoughts. The 2.5 is US-only engine so I'm guessing Ford has decided to build the C-Max here in the US as opposed to importing it from Spain. It just wouldn't be cost effective I think to ship the 2.5 from Cleveland (I think that's where the 2.5 Duratec is made) to Spain and ship it back again in the C-Max. If this van is going to be made in the US, Louisville is the obvious choice, and that puts the 2.5 choice in a more clear context. I'm sure the next Escape will have identical drivetrain options: 2.5 I4 + 1.6 Ecoboost

I hope Ford will make the 2.0T the "base" engine. I'm really interested in getting the 2.0T Edge to replace my Escape but I don't feel like I should pay extra over the V6 to get less power... Lol... maybe just me. Audi lowered the MSRP on the 2.0T Q5 when they introduced it a year after the 3.2 V6 went on sale. And in Audi's case, the 2.0T is actually more powerful (more torque) but Audi still decided to make the smaller engine cheaper. Ford should do the same.

I hope this one is better looking and more functional than the original European Ford Fusion.

Ok, you are going around in circles. Ford could not arrange for domestic (and by that I mean NAFTA region) assembly because the projected demand for such a truck does exists to support investment in an all new assembly line. The cost to refurbish Twin City will make this truck too expensive and there are no other plants in NAFTA region that can accommodate T6, which is completely different than any other cars/trucks made here. The only way Ford could sell this truck at a reasonable profit is to import it at low volume. But imported trucks are subject to 25% import tariff also known as the chicken tax. The only countries that are currently exempt from chicken tax are Canada, Mexico, and Australia (and presumably, Korea soon). Do you get the problem now??? It is ALL about the import tariffs. Without chicken tax, Ford can easily import this truck from Thailand and sell it next to F-150 for those few people that want a smaller Ford truck. And this is why I say Canada stands a good chance to see this truck once Ford gets production up to speed, because Canada does have punitive import tariff on trucks.

Meh, I predict the exact opposite. If Ford keeps Escape styling as "traditional" trucky SUV, it will be cast into an increasingly irrelevant market niche currently occupied by Nissan Xterra and Dodge Nitro/Jeep Liberty and lose sales. Escape needs to look the part of a contemporary CUV to compete with CR-V, RAV4, Tuscon, Equinox etc. That's where the sales are growing and buyers are going to expect Escape to look like those competitors. A "traditional" SUV redo on the Escape is a mistake. I'm saying this as an original Mk1 2001 Escape owner... If I'm going to replace it right now, it won't be a "trucky" Escape.

It can't make it to the US because of chicken tax, not because competition with F-150. Canada has no 25% import tariff on trucks.

I'm sure it will be bigger.

There is no FTA between US and Argentina where the T6 are made. There is also no FTA between US and South Africa. Ford was banking on the US-Thailand FTA to allow the Ranger to be imported but military coup and subsequent political unrest scuttled the deal. Canada will probably get the T6 once production is up to speed in Thailand (or Argentina).

I'm sure Ford would love to sell this truck here but the chicken tax on imported trucks makes this very difficult. It's ironic too... because chicken tax was originally supposed to protect Ford's truck sales but it is now the biggest stumbling block for Ford's global truck production plan. Ford can probably sell a decent amount of T6 Ranger if it can somehow import it from Thailand without the chicken tax; but it can't... so unless all the people who say they will buy a new Ranger is welling to pay more for a T6 than F-150, this is not going to happen. Ford also won't be able to sell enough T6 Ranger in US to warrant investment in a new factory and assembly line in North America. I can point this out 100 times but the Ranger mafia simply would not accept reality. The Ranger mafia is starting to make the Panther mafia look like a rational bunch. :D

So no confirmation or speculation on 3.7V6 in the PU? I still think it was a typo or mistake in the article. If they went through the trouble with an unique drivetrain on the police version, they might as well do it for the civilian one.

Noticed that too. I think it is a mistake in the article. If Ford is really going to put the 3.7 in PI SUV, then I suppose Explorer will have it too. So far, there is no plan to do that.

XLT Premium? I think Ford missed an opportunity here. How about Transit Connect Lariat? Transit Connect King Ranch? :D

pics or it didn't happen :D

I think Motortrend forgot a few and count the hybrid and EV version into a separate model. I think Ford really mean 10 different body styles... EV and hybrids are powertrain choices not body styles. Here's my guess for the 10: 1. Focus hatch 2. Focus sedan 3. Focus wagon 4. C-Max 5. Grand C-Max 6. Escape 7. Kuga 8. Lincoln MKC (formerly Mercury Mariner) 9. Stillborn Mercury Tracer 10. Focus coupe-convertible/Capri (note that Mercury Tracer was part of the original plan - and was going to make LA Auto Show debut this month before Ford cut the cord)

Wow, the live remote unit has really been reduced in size significantly. I remember they used to be the size of a semi-truck, then a 3 axle truck, then a fullsize van... and now it fits in the back seat area of an Escape.

As an Escape owner, I really don't see what all you guys keep saying about Escape owner wanting a "trucky" looking SUV. The Escape styling issue is overblown on this forum in my opinon. Ford would still sell a boat load of Escape if it looked more like Kuga. The blocky look of current Escape is a legacy of Ford's decision to keep the glass portion of the greenhouse during the redesign in order to keep costs down. The "trucky" look = more sales argument doesn't hold much water when you look at how successful Ford has been with Edge. Ford need to modernize the Escape with the redesign and in my opinion, it would be a mistake to make it too butch like Nissan Xterra or Jeep Liberty. The fat end of the small SUV market is the tall wagon end and that's where Escape needs to be. And if Mulally is true to his words, the Lincoln MKC must have a completely different body.

Mercury sales in Canada wasn't all that great and some years back, Ford Canada offered LM Dealers the ability to sell Ford trucks after the Canada-only Mercury trucks line was eliminated. Very few LM dealer refused the chance to sell Ford trucks so they were all essentially F (trucks) + LM dealers. By 2000, it was clear that Ford Canada could covert all the LM dealers to F (cars&trucks) + L dealers without too much disruption so they went ahead and did it.

I'm fairly certain that Focus will end up with all 3... BEV, HEV, PHEV. We know Focus BEV is a done deal. Production will start in Michigan in a couple of months. The Gen 3 HEV and PHEV system are truly plug-n-play and will fit in any C2 vehicles. The HEV and PHEV Escape are probably a given but Ford will want to do a small car that can get Prius like MPG and so Focus will surely get the HEV version. And if you have HEV, the PHEV option is very simple to add.

After a slow start, it looks like Transit Connect has really found a groove. It is now selling at a pace that will greatly exceed Ford's initial sales forecast for a full year.

History would suggest that those Mercury buyers will go elsewhere as were the case for Oldsmobile, Plymouth, and Mercury Canada shutdowns. However, the Ford brand is growing and shooting up on people's consideration lists so the organic growth of Ford sales in the coming year may end up to offset Mercury's loss. The one key difference in Mercury's recent demise and Oldsmobile/Plymouth/Mercury Canada's executions is that Ford killed Mercury in the US market at a time of growing sales of its main brand. The other mercy killings were reactionary to falling sales and the resulting redundancy in sales channel.

Mulally's name gets mentioned quite often on aviation / airliner message boards. Most people now agree that Boeing made a big mistake to let him go. He would have made absolutely certain that 787 delivery was on time the way he whipped Ford in shape and delivered a new Taurus in less than 3 years.