F250 Posted February 17, 2008 Share Posted February 17, 2008 (edited) Nice to see idiots haven't left the building yet...he's talking about fleet sales to Goverments, businesses, etc...not rental car fleets which Ford is getting away from.The Transit Connect has been in production in Europe for years now, all the bugs have been worked out of it... Most of the "kids" that drive Elements are 50-60 yrs old Hippies, the Transit connect is going to be focus mostly on contractor and Gov/Business Fleets, not personal usage Oh, name calling, I can do that too Jackass. The point is if the vehicle is so weak that Ford has to throw huge cash discounts on the hood at launch then we don't need it. In case you haven't been keeping up on current events Ford can't afford to play that game right now. Around here the kids I see in Elements look just like the ones in Scions, driving around th their "daddy bought it for me" cars. Since you admit these are not intended for personal use what exactly is the AMERICAN market for this Turkey car? Huh? Specify please. I mean someone mentioned they would be good for delivering flowers. Ok I'll buy that, call FTD and sell them 10,000 Transits. Now what? Carpenter, electrician, plumber, or U-haul's fleet...nope. Maybe Pizza delivery or something. You said government use, last time I checked the government wasn't real worried about the price of gas so a Crown Vic or full sized truck/van is what they prefer. How many business' are right now using fleets of mini-vans and are looking for a better cargo specific mini-van for their huge fleet? edit: I'll give you a clear example of the huge difference between the European market and the American market. For 31 years the F-Series has been America's best selling truck and for most of those years it's been America's best selling vehicle of any kind. But how many F-Series trucks are sold in Europe? See the vast difference in the two markets yet? Edited February 17, 2008 by F250 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NJSteve3 Posted February 17, 2008 Share Posted February 17, 2008 Actually I have an even better idea.The tried and true, tough little Ranger with a larger engine already beats the hell out of that Turkey car's fuel economy (4-cyl Ranger gets 21/26mpg) the Transit only gets 19/24mpg. And the Ranger is a full frame rear wheel drive truck! So just build a high top van body for the ranger platform and buyers will actually be getting a far more durable, capable and more fuel efficent vehicle with an available 4wd option. Wasn't that the Aerostar? Still a decent number of them on the road, considering how old they are..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stephenhawkings Posted February 17, 2008 Share Posted February 17, 2008 well the transit is scheduled to be built at avon, and they're going to start getting ready after the 2009 fseries launch. if you consider the new fuel economy standards that are coming into effect, a 2.0 liter engine makes much more sense than a 4.6 or 5.4 v8. either way killing the econoline is right up fords BOLD and INNOVATIVE moves alley, unfortunatley it is boldly stupid. but you don't have to worry you still have two years to get your conversion van, or motorhome chasis. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomServo92 Posted February 17, 2008 Share Posted February 17, 2008 (edited) either way killing the econoline is right up fords BOLD and INNOVATIVE moves alley, unfortunatley it is boldly stupid. Who said they're killing the Econoline? Edited February 17, 2008 by TomServo92 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmc523 Posted February 18, 2008 Share Posted February 18, 2008 (edited) Will Ford rename this van or will they stick with transit connect when it comes to the US market and will a Mercury version be offered? See PM. Transit Connect will likely stay, and a Mercury version isn't likely. Those are my assumptions. Edited February 18, 2008 by rmc523 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmc523 Posted February 18, 2008 Share Posted February 18, 2008 Well if you are wondering where this product will come from, you should first ask what product will leave to make room for the production of this fine eurovan.My guess is that the Econoline is now a dying breed, laughable you think? That's what I thought too! Especially when you consider trying to put a snow plow on the front of one of these things! HA that would be a site. my question is how many plumbers, armored car companies, and motorhome coach builders are going to make the switch? lets kill our third best selling vehicle and replace it with some euro-unibody-trashcompacted-vanwannabe! NOW THAT's INNOVATION, and BOLD too! BOLDly stupid, whats next stop making th F-150? First, welcome to BOF. And second, this is not replacing Econoline at all. It's a complement to the Econoline......it will sell alongside the Econoline as a fuel efficient alternative for delivery companies and the like. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmc523 Posted February 18, 2008 Share Posted February 18, 2008 (edited) From their beginning those foreign companies were set up to import everything, only reciently have they been sourcing parts in this country. The fact is every time Ford has tried this in the past the result has been a disaster. So for a low production vehicle it will be economical to set up an entire port-of-entry system... just for 1 car. While Ford sits on excess, unutilized production capacity here in it's American plants. Ford is buying out workers and closing plants here in America while importing this car (I will not call it a truck) Or is this the beginning of the end of more American's jobs. Would you rather have Ford waste money on retro-fitting an entire plant devoted to the Transit Connect, and the TC flops, leaving Ford with another empty factory, along with wasted resources? This way, Ford will be able to 'test the waters' without major investment. If TC sales take off, then an American plant will be considered/opened, thus using some of the excess/unused US factory capacity. Edited February 18, 2008 by rmc523 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmc523 Posted February 18, 2008 Share Posted February 18, 2008 I hope you are correct, but Americans are slow to change their habits. Ford should give some big discounts to large fleets, just so that people see these on the road and start thinking of them as a viable option. They are quirky and cute enough to steal some sale from the Honda Element if marketed correctly. It would be difficult because the Element has one of the most loyal customer bases around. Element customers already TRUST Honda. I wonder how or if Ford will market this if it's going to be mainly a commercial type vehicle? They don't advertise the Econoline, so will they advertise this? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmc523 Posted February 18, 2008 Share Posted February 18, 2008 (edited) . Edited February 18, 2008 by rmc523 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmc523 Posted February 18, 2008 Share Posted February 18, 2008 well the transit is scheduled to be built at avon, and they're going to start getting ready after the 2009 fseries launch. if you consider the new fuel economy standards that are coming into effect, a 2.0 liter engine makes much more sense than a 4.6 or 5.4 v8. either way killing the econoline is right up fords BOLD and INNOVATIVE moves alley, unfortunatley it is boldly stupid. but you don't have to worry you still have two years to get your conversion van, or motorhome chasis. They're not killing Econoline in any sense. This vehicle will sell ALONGSIDE the Econoline. Who said they're killing the Econoline? they're not......stephenhawings seems to think so though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
F250 Posted February 19, 2008 Share Posted February 19, 2008 So fuel economy is everything right now even in the American truck market...right? Well Ford's Ranger is the highest rated gas mileage in the market so it's the best selling compact truck...right? Nope. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjsr Posted February 19, 2008 Share Posted February 19, 2008 If the architecture of the TC is C170 based, could there be the possibility of it being produced on a North American flexible Focus assembly line? Further, would some future version of the TC be based on a global Focus ? Finally, can you visualize an pickup TC to replace the Ranger for light commercial use. No 4WD option, just open cargo bed. Does anyone remember the original Econoline pickup or the Corvair pickup with the side gate? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stephenhawkings Posted February 19, 2008 Share Posted February 19, 2008 (edited) well unless you guys can figure out how to make the econoline and the transit at avon lake, maybe flexable manufacturing (HAHAHA) the eseries is dead. but maybe i am wrong, maybe they'll make the econloine in mexico, or transfre all the tooling to turkey and build it there. i know its unthinkable, but the reality is that the econoline is old, and a gas hog, and the pending regulations will make that thing hard to sell here in the good ole USA, if not illegal. but i could be wrong, i was wrong once before about black holes. i just hope my wheelchair will fit in the transit! Edited February 19, 2008 by stephenhawkings Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suv_guy_19 Posted February 19, 2008 Share Posted February 19, 2008 well unless you guys can figure out how to make the econoline and the transit at avon lake, maybe flexable manufacturing (HAHAHA)the eseries is dead. but maybe i am wrong, maybe they'll make the econloine in mexico, or transfre all the tooling to turkey and build it there. i know its unthinkable, but the reality is that the econoline is old, and a gas hog, and the pending regulations will make that thing hard to sell here in the good ole USA, if not illegal. but i could be wrong, i was wrong once before about black holes. i just hope my wheelchair will fit in the transit! Later that day, back in reality land...the E makes money, it does well, it was just significantly updated, it is getting work solutions and a new interior, and there is and will be a place for it for quite some time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deanh Posted February 19, 2008 Share Posted February 19, 2008 Later that day, back in reality land...the E makes money, it does well, it was just significantly updated, it is getting work solutions and a new interior, and there is and will be a place for it for quite some time. Econoline makes MASSIVE money, tooling has been paid of sinc BC, and how many upgrades?????? Bottom line, Econo going no-where, Transit would be a good stable mate where height is NOT an issue...just don't follow the econoline into a parking structure......funny 2 years ago I heard in For dmeeting the potential for a Hybrid van was being toyed with...makes PERFECt sense since most are stop and go delivery/ pickup.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmc523 Posted February 20, 2008 Share Posted February 20, 2008 funny 2 years ago I heard in For dmeeting the potential for a Hybrid van was being toyed with...makes PERFECt sense since most are stop and go delivery/ pickup.... That would be a good idea. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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