Ford Motor Company Global Auto Shows

i am an alarm contractor and run 3 vans. 2 aerostars and 1 astro. no one has an available van for my industry anymore. when i saw this vehicle i thought it was great. that was until i saw no diesel option. another loosing proposition for ford. no wonder these car companies are almost bankrupt. they should take some advice from foreign companies.

Needs to be available by April to compete. Needs to have option for Electric motor or tri-fuel in order to life up to "connect" expectations in public by Sept 09..

New Solar equipment contractors will want this vehicle to start their new installations. Existing building contractors will want the fuel efficiency to compete with others and to cut expenses.

Needs at least 30 hwy mpg to compete with current volkswagen passat wagon.

There are 2 highly efficient powerfull and proven diesel engines offerring much better mpg available in europe in this vehiclewhy not here?

I would buy this as soon as it was available if it comes with a diesel. Love everything about it except it would need a little better fuel economy and with a diesel it would be my next vehicle.
Thanks.
Mark

I am a small electrical contractor, and am pleased to see that someone is beginning to think about the future of working businesses. I cannot say that I am very happy with the looks of this vehicle and feel it could be better designed, but at least its a start. I would definetely be interested in purchasing one of these, but their needs to be a balance of fuel economy and horse power. A deisel is a must, and a little bigger engine. Also one needs to consider the chasis of the vehicle. I do not want to load it up just to see the fenderwell resting on the rear tire.

You need to bring the diesel version, and more importantly, a manual transmission offering. I know the euro versions must offer both, it shouldnt be too much trouble to make them avalable on the N/A version. Also, I think you should have called it "Aerostar", heh heh! I see great ideas for customizations of this vehicle, perhaps exploring that could expand its appeal beyond commercial applications. Like an alternative to the Scion XB.

You must bring a diesel model over that's getting at least 30 on the highway , or a hybrid. Get the mpg's up and you could have the VW bug of the 21st century

Would love to know the price range of this unit but I think the gas engine that size will suck when you load it down with refrigration tools. Where is the diesel engine?

As usual, Ford is late to the party with a potentially capable concept. A market niche lies vacant, Ford has a wide open shot, and is predictably late to pull the trigger. The advertised mpg is too low and needs to be addressed,along with performance, possibly with turbo and handling package shifted manually. Will the overpaid, underbrained powers that be seize this opportunity? If history holds true, probably not.Hence, the company continues to languish.

Where's the diesel version--- in europe that is what most have-- they get great mpg compared to the gas

The Transit Connect looks like something I could use in my business. We are a commercial cooking and refrigeration company with 14 Ford vehicle's. My question is when will this be available for sale? Do you have an approximate cost?

how come you never tell the retail price?

This does not look as good as my 1993 Ford Aerostar.
I get 18miles to the gallon and it has room for everything I need. Euro van.....like the sprinter?
My V6 has the power and reliability with almost 300000
miles. I need to dive this van to see if it wl be comparible to the Aerostar...
Ken Moore

Ford, please, 2.0 L diesel engine, you will kill Sprinter. I am small contractor, this is exectly what I am looking for. You can do it - Ford C-Max in Europe with diesel, great gas saver. Why not here in US?

keep it simple,not alot of packages or expensive options.A quality high milage work van at an affordable
price is exactly what I have been waiting for.
Options I would like:pw,pdl,auto od,am fm cd,
No fancy chrome ,paint jobs or interior packages.

Most of the comments posted here are non work related. Especially the negative ones. As a technician, I can tell you, my company has been looking for something like this lately. They were considering a small truck, I hope I can talk them into this one. It's perfect for what we need. Any of you who care to post a comment, remember, this appears to be geared for work. Frankly, I suspect it will be a hit.

Ford and GM needs to get rid of all the ugly american cars and trucks they build here in the usa and replace them with those nice looking european cars and trucks they build. I leased a 2008 Ford E150 van for 3 months and got rid of it. Looking to buy the Sprinter Van, its twice the cost, but at least its bigger and looks pretty.

The powertrain is the deal breaker for me, old average pieces, offering marginal efficiency at best in an otherwise very appealing package for the times. I realize Ford feels the 4cyl. gas 2.0 w/4 spd auto was the best choice from the North American parts bin, but there will be ZERO fun factor along with the marginal fuel mileage. I think most drivers would find the setup in this van to be about as boring as it gets. Don't get me wrong, I know this is a utility vehicle, not a sports car but the posts in this and other forums indicate quite a few are interested in it's recreational possibilities as well. A manual gearbox with a proper overdrive top gear could increase mileage while making the most of whatever engine power is available. At the same time, the highway driving experience would benefit from the reduction in noise and vibration due to the lower engine rpm. Yeah, I know manual transmissions don't normally sell well in the US, but this is not a "normal" vehicle and these are not "normal" times as far as how we are feeling about fuel costs. Many have asked for a diesel engine to be offered, but in view of the recent trend in the cost of diesel compared to gasoline, might a direct injection gas 4 cyl. with a low pressure turbocharger be a more suitable engine choice? In any case, I trust some range of options in the powertrain department would greatly increase the appeal of this van to a much wider range of buyers. GL