jpd80 Posted December 9, 2011 Share Posted December 9, 2011 And on the Escape, well I wasn't so impressed with the outgoing style. It's just the new style proportions are out of whack, most notably the front end (hood forward) compared to the cabin area. While I dislike many other areas of the upcoming Escape, the simplicity of the outgoing Escape design compared to the over the top attempt and CRV resemblance that I dislike about the new Escape. Clearly, Ford is making major changes to some of it key products that will polarize existing and potential customers. You get that when globalization takes hold and regional styled and developed vehicles are replaced by global products. It's going to be a mixed bag of increased efficiency, new styling and features, changes to the way we see Ford and how others see us. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NLPRacing Posted December 9, 2011 Share Posted December 9, 2011 The fact that they are consolidating E350/E450, F53/F59 and F650/F750 production to one plant makes me believe their will be a new cab developed to be used on all the Class 3, 4, 5, 6 & 7 Cab/Chassis trucks (similar to GM's old Kodiak medium duty trucks). And I wouldn't be surprised if it were based on the new Transit (or "T-Series"). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichardJensen Posted December 9, 2011 Share Posted December 9, 2011 (edited) Some of that cab may be shared with the Transit (dashboard/pedals/wiring), but not much of it. Edited December 9, 2011 by RichardJensen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Biker16 Posted December 9, 2011 Share Posted December 9, 2011 Some of that cab may be shared with the Transit (dashboard/pedals/wiring), but not much of it. and you know this how? The economies of scale will be with the T series not the disco E-Series. how would it be easier to fit the E-series cab to an all new frame, than to fit the T-series Cab to an all new frame. as You have stated before the body builders are very reluctant to change, Ford's magic sauce is the New Small Diesel for those that cube out before the reach payload limits and the ginormous Diesel 6.8l V8 for those that need to carry the heaviest load. If you are going to change the world you don't do it in a 30 year old suit. If ford looks to build a all new medium duty truck, why not go all new? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichardJensen Posted December 9, 2011 Share Posted December 9, 2011 an all new frame New cab. New frame. What is so hard to figure out? The E-Series cab is compromised for medium duty work. Now that Ford no longer has to support wagons, they can tailor a medium duty cab for medium duty work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theoldwizard Posted December 9, 2011 Share Posted December 9, 2011 My guess - 3.7L, 3.5L GTDI, 3.2L I5 Puma Diesel, 6R80. Late 2013CY launch probably towards fall. Fixed it for you ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theoldwizard Posted December 9, 2011 Share Posted December 9, 2011 (edited) The whole E-series linup will be gone by 2015. The plans I saw showed E-series 350/450 cutaway/stripped chassis going on through 2017MY. Edited December 9, 2011 by theoldwizard Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
7Mary3 Posted December 9, 2011 Share Posted December 9, 2011 New cab. New frame. What is so hard to figure out? The E-Series cab is compromised for medium duty work. Now that Ford no longer has to support wagons, they can tailor a medium duty cab for medium duty work. Yes, but why would Ford want to tool up a new exclusive cab just for a vehicle line that this year will be lucky to break 8,000 units total sales? Not to mention it is a highly competitive cost sensitive market. My feeling is (FWIW) is Ford is going to take a new approach to medium duty, offering a very price competitive truck tailored to a few specific markets. I think they will be economizing wherever possible, and thus a cab based on the Transit front end might make sense. I am thinking about a truck of less than 26,000#'s GVW, 6.7L Powerstroke diesel or V-10 gasoline, Torq-Shift transmission, and hydraulic brakes. Offer a bunch of different wheelbases, Pro-Loader low frame option, and call it a day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theoldwizard Posted December 9, 2011 Share Posted December 9, 2011 They will have to build the next TC here. Why? The next TC for Europe is being built in Spain. True. IF the TC comes to this side of the Atlantic, I would bet it gets built in Mexico ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichardJensen Posted December 9, 2011 Share Posted December 9, 2011 why not go all new? You're hilarious, Mr. "2008 was when the SUV boom ended." I'm not even going to tell you why you're wrong. Suffice to say that going from sharing sheetmetal with E-Series wagons to sharing sheet metal with Transit wagons solves no problems. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theoldwizard Posted December 9, 2011 Share Posted December 9, 2011 (edited) I sure hope more of the future design language comes from NA. Personally, I don't have much issue as to where the platform is designed, except for maybe the F-Series. But the style and design of the body, I sure hope eventually gets a more American theme and look to it. IMHO, engineering cost more in the US than in UK or AU. You will continue to see in vehicles engineered outside of the US for the above reason. The exception is F-Series. Big pickup trucks with lots of fancy interiors are "strictly American". Edited December 9, 2011 by theoldwizard Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theoldwizard Posted December 9, 2011 Share Posted December 9, 2011 The wagons are going away because the Transit really does provide a better passenger hauling option than the E-Series wagons. There will be no passenger version of the Transit (called Toureno in the EU) built in the US at Job #1. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theoldwizard Posted December 9, 2011 Share Posted December 9, 2011 havent we been over this a number of times, or am I just having deja vu...oh theres also STRONG rumours of a certain 5 cylinder DIESEL.... . Highly probable ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theoldwizard Posted December 9, 2011 Share Posted December 9, 2011 deans wish list....8-12 passenger in two lengths, AWD and...............diesel.....niche yes, profitable...absolutely ( at least from a dealer standpoint ) Not likely. Not likely. Not likely. Highly likely. All possible after Job #1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichardJensen Posted December 9, 2011 Share Posted December 9, 2011 (edited) Yes, but why would Ford want to tool up a new exclusive cab just for a vehicle line that this year will be lucky to break 8,000 units total sales? Am I posting in Esperanto? You would replace the E-Series cab/chassis/cutaway and blue diamond trucks with a new product range that would be tailored for the medium duty market. If 40% of all E-Series volume is medium duty cab/chassis/cutaway stuff, it adds a significant amount of volume to that 8k total sales. I've seen that figure quoted somewhere. But even @ 10%, that is more than double the number of blue diamond sales. Edited December 9, 2011 by RichardJensen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichardJensen Posted December 9, 2011 Share Posted December 9, 2011 There will be no passenger version of the Transit (called Toureno in the EU) built in the US at Job #1. Source? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theoldwizard Posted December 9, 2011 Share Posted December 9, 2011 I am SOLD on diesels in vehicles that tow or can be burdened with heavy payloads....diesels come into their own when under load.... So is Ford management. For vehicles that only intermittently see heavy loads (F150), EcoBoost is the answer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Noah Harbinger Posted December 9, 2011 Share Posted December 9, 2011 The old "70's Love Van" needs to go to pasture. Besides, the Transit's got enough room activities that require more vertical clearance. right? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theoldwizard Posted December 9, 2011 Share Posted December 9, 2011 Doubt it. Where I am, diesel fuel runs 10-15% MORE than gasoline, ... More like 20-25% higher in SE MI. ... and the added cost of purchase is starting to have a NEGATIVE effect on diesel sales. Not to mention the added repair and maintenance costs with these new generation diesels. Direct injection gasoline, Ecoboost, CNG/LNG for commercial vehicles. Unless things change, diesel is on the way out. You will NOT see EcoBoost in any US Ford vehicle that is primarily used for commercial application (Super Duty, Transit, E-Series, Transit Connect). Ford believes that EcoBoost is too expensive for commercial applications and the fuel economy benefits go away under heavy load. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theoldwizard Posted December 9, 2011 Share Posted December 9, 2011 (edited) IIRC, the 6.8 V10 is being kept because of an agreement with the CAW to keep it until 2014. The 6.8L V10 lives on beyond 2014MY for 2 reasons. It is cheap to build It makes a lot of torque. Plus Ford and the aftermarket have already figured out how to do the CNG conversion on the V10. Edited December 9, 2011 by theoldwizard Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deanh Posted December 9, 2011 Share Posted December 9, 2011 Fixed it for you ! my thoughts exactly...eco 3.5 would be overkill....course maybe if theres such a thing as the Transit ST.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theoldwizard Posted December 9, 2011 Share Posted December 9, 2011 IMHO, there are 2 major reasons why E-Series 350/450 cutaway/stripped chassis will carry on for some time. Ambulance builders, mini-bus builder, RV builders have large investments in their tooling. It will take time for them to tool up changes for a different chassis. The high end of the Transit does not have same GVW or GCVW capacity of the E-Series. The current engine bay on the Transit probably will not accommodate a V8. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpd80 Posted December 9, 2011 Share Posted December 9, 2011 (edited) my thoughts exactly...eco 3.5 would be overkill....course maybe if theres such a thing as the Transit ST.... In any case, the 3.2 I-5 diesel makes 350 lb ft and probably kills the EB on fuel economy.... With a diesel, you're talking around 30% increase in fuel efficiency over something like the old 5.4 V8 Edited December 9, 2011 by jpd80 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theoldwizard Posted December 9, 2011 Share Posted December 9, 2011 (edited) Source? The engineers I have talked to at Ford. Admittedly, none of them are in Product Planning and adding additional "variation on the theme" are still possible, even at this late date. Personally, I would love to see an FWD/AWD, low or medium roof, short or medium length passenger van ! Edited December 10, 2011 by theoldwizard Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deanh Posted December 10, 2011 Share Posted December 10, 2011 So is Ford management. For vehicles that only intermittently see heavy loads (F150), EcoBoost is the answer. FINALLY!....i think you and i have been harping about this since day one....I would also speculate that one federalized the diesel may be seen in some other Ford products....which begs this question, what ahappened to the 4.4? bummer! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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