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Archive for the 'van' Category

Feb

Chicago Preview: Ford Transit Connect Electric and CNG-powered taxi van

Categories: Electric, Future Vehicles, Green, Quality, Transit Connect, ford, fuel efficiency, production line and van
Tags: ford, van, cargo, fuel efficiency, Transit Connect, Electric

Ford’s electric vehicle (EV) naming scheme is becoming clear: add the word “electric” to a vehicle’s standard name and presto, you’ve got the name of your new EV. Example Number One: the Ford Focus Electric. Example Number Two: the Ford Transit Connect Electric, which will get its official North American debut at the Chicago Auto Show this week. The 2011 Transit Connect Electric will go on sale into production later this year and will offer a range of 80 miles per charge and a top speed of 75 miles per hour. The van’s 28 kWh battery recharges in six to eight hours.

Businesses that like the style and practicality of the the Transit Connect but don’t necessarily think a plug is the way to go can choose a Transit Connect version that is powered by Ford’s engine prep packages that burn compressed natural gas (CNG) or propane (LPG, or liquefied petroleum gas). This model, too, will arrive later this year.

Continue reading ‘Chicago Preview: Ford Transit Connect Electric and CNG-powered taxi van’

Feb

Ford Unveils Transit Connect Electric Cargo Van, Will Enter Production This Year

By Ron Olson Leave a Comment

Categories: Electric, Future Vehicles, Transit Connect, ford, fuel efficiency, production line, technology and van
Tags: ford, fuel efficiency, Transit Connect, Electric, Cargo van, Force Drive

The Ford Motor company has just unveiled its first commercial electric vehicle. The Transit Connect Electric Cargo van will go into production in late 2010.

It is a small van weighing in at 3948 pounds with a wheelbase of 114.6 inches and a length of 1806. inches. It can hold from two to five passengers and a 1000 pound payload.

It is a pure electric vehicle utilizing a Siemens 3 phase AC induction motor and single speed transmission that offers 235 Nm of torque and a top speed of 75 mph on flat ground and 60 mph up 3 percent grade. It will do 0 to 60 in 12 seconds based on curb weight and 15 seconds based on gross vehicle weight rating.

Power comes from a liquid-cooled 28 kwh Johnson Controls-Saft lithium-ion pack that can be recharged in 6 to 8 hours at 240 volts using the industry standard J1772 SAE coupler. It has an 80 mile target driving range.

The vehicle is intended for commercial fleet use and is “well-suited for commercial fleets that travel predictable, short-range routes with frequent stop-and-go driving in urban and suburban environments and a central location for daily recharging,” said Ford in a press release.

The “Force Drive” electric powertrain is manufactured and integrated by specialty upfitter Azure Dynamics.

“We’re excited about the potential for our electrified vehicles,” said Praveen Cherian, program manager for the Transit Connect Electric, who added that today’s electric vehicle buyers are similar to early adopters of hybrid vehicles. “People were a little hesitant about hybrids at first, but now they accept it and embrace it. We expect the same will be true of electric vehicles.”

Ford says the vehicle will offer lower cost of operation than a comparable gas vehicle due to the low cost of electricity versus gas fuel and low cost of maintenance.

The vehicle including the battery pack is designed for a lifetime of 10 years/120,000 miles.

The current gasoline powered Transit Connect van won the 2010 North American Truck of the Year.

According to Ford spokesperson Jennifer Moore pricing has not been announced and will be “primarily for commercial use.” Ford ”would not exclude retail sales,” she added.

Ford has not yet determined whether the vans will be leased or sold.

“Volumes will be low to begin with to determine how the emerging market shapes up,” says Moore. ”Up to a thousand will be produced in the first full year of production.”

Ford also plans to bring out a pure electric Ford Focus in late 2011, and in 2012 they will produce their next generation C-class hybrid and plugin hybrid.

Jan

Ford Fusion Hybrid, Transit Connect win Car and Truck of the Year awards

By Ron Olson Leave a Comment

Categories: Awards, Fusion, Hybrids, Public Affairs, Quality, Transit Connect and van
Tags: Fusion, hybrid, North American Car of the Year, Transit Connect

Shawn Wright
Automotive News | January 11, 2010 – 8:00 am EST

DETROIT — The Ford Fusion Hybrid was named the North American Car of the Year today, while Ford’s Transit Connect picked up Truck of the Year accolades in a poll of journalists. It is only the third time in 17 years that a single manufacturer has won both titles. “We’ve been focusing very relentlessly on our strategy around making sure our vehicles are world-class in the areas of fuel economy, safety, quality and smart technology,” Mark Fields, Ford’s president of the Americas, said after the morning ceremony. “We’re just so glad we’re being recognized for that, both by the journalists but also, more importantly, by the customers.”

In 2009, Ford posted its first full-year gain in U.S. market share in 15 years.The automaker sold 15,559 Fusion Hybrids last year. The Fusion Hybrid topped the two other car finalists, the Buick LaCrosse and Volkswagen Golf. It’s just the second time a Ford car has taken the award. The Focus won in 2000. The Transit Connect, a small cargo truck, came out on top over the Chevrolet Equinox and Subaru Outback crossovers.

“The Transit Connect is what we call a white-space vehicle — there’s nothing like it on the road,” Fields said. “When you see this on the road, your first reaction is, ‘What is that?’ ”
As of mid-December, more than 600,000 Transit Connects have been sold over seven years in 55 countries. Ford has sold 8,834 Transit Connects since it entered the U.S. market in July.
U.S.-based automakers have taken home the car trophy nine times. European companies have won four times, Japanese three and South Korea’s Hyundai once.
In the truck category, domestics have claimed the crown 11 times, followed by four for Japanese makes and two for Europeans.

Ford has dominated the domestics, winning the award five times. The F-150 pickup won in 2009, 2004 and 1996. The Ford Escape Hybrid crossover took home Truck of the Year in 2005, as did the Ford Expedition SUV in 1997. Last year, the Hyundai Genesis won Car of the Year and the F-150 Truck of the Year.

It was the second time a Ford hybrid vehicle took the award. More than 50 vehicles were considered this year. Automotive News is represented on the 49-member voting panel by Executive Editor Edward Lapham. “This is such a motivator for our team to be recognized by the Car and Truck of the Year jury,” Fields said. “These are the most demanding journalists, and we were in a set of very, very tough competitions. … I think it just shows that we’re headed in the right direction.”

Jul

REPORT: Ford Transit Connect to be built Stateside in 2012

By Ron Olson Leave a Comment

Categories: Electric, Future Vehicles, Transit Connect, production line and van
Tags: ford, electric vehicle, UAW, Transit Connect, Ford production

A welcome splash of news for the UAW and the U.S. economy: Ford will commence production of the Transit Connect at a U.S. assembly plant by mid-year 2012. Currently built in Turkey on a version of the Euro Focus platform, the next generation Transit will also migrate to the FWD compact platform that will underpin the next Focus both hear and abroad. Ford plants in Wayne, Michigan and Louisville, Kentucky will be retooled to build cars on that architecture, meaning the that Transit could join them.

With an electric version joining the 2.0-liter four-cylinder in 2010, an outside analyst predicted 60,000 units would be reasonable by 2013. Ford isn’t quoting any production numbers yet, preferring to see how the current version — that just went on sale this month — fares.

[Source: Automotive News - Sub. Req.]

May

Ford Truck Plant to Build Electric Cars

By Ron Olson 1 Comment

Categories: Enviromental, Focus, Future Vehicles, Green, Hybrids, Public Affairs, Transit Connect, fuel efficiency, production line and van

Amidst one of the auto industry’s largest wholesale shifts in modern history, the Ford Motor Company is investing $550 million to turn a factory that was dedicated to making large and fuel-hungry sport utility vehicles into a modern and scalable small-car plant that will eventually produce an all-electric version of the Focus.

The Michigan Assembly Plant, known as one of the world’s most profitable manufacturing sites during the S.U.V. boom of the 1990s, was once the hub for the Ford Expedition and Lincoln Navigator. The plant is expected to begin building the new Ford Focus next year, followed by production of the all-electric Focus in 2011.

The electric Focus will be Ford’s first all-electric passenger car for the mass market. In addition to the electric Focus, the company plans to sell an electric version of its Transit Connect commercial vehicle in 2010.

Ford has previously promised that they will deliver four new electric vehicles to the American market by 2012.

“The transformation of the Michigan Assembly Plant embodies the larger transformation under way at Ford,” said Ford’s president and chief executive, Alan Mulally, in a statement. “This is about investing in modern, efficient and flexible American manufacturing. It is about fuel economy and the electrification of vehicles.”

The electric Focus is part of a larger strategy announced by Ford in January to develop electric vehicles for North America quickly using its global reach and capability to keep the cars affordable.

In addition to the Michigan Assembly Plant, Ford is retooling two other factories to build new cars in the face of global market changes. The company’s Cuautitlán Assembly plant in Mexico is slated to begin building the new Fiesta subcompact early next year, and its Louisville Assembly plant in Kentucky is also expected to begin producing small vehicles based on the Focus platform beginning in 2011.

“We’re changing from a company focused mainly on trucks and SUVs to a company with a balanced product lineup that includes even more high-quality, fuel-efficient small cars, hybrids and all-electric vehicles,” said Mark Fields, Ford’s president of the Americas. “As customers move to more fuel-efficient vehicles, we’ll be there with more of the products they really want.”