Jim Warman Posted July 24, 2009 Share Posted July 24, 2009 Well..... we got our Transit Connect in on the transporter today.... Even though my loving bride thinks it "is cute", I firmly believe that Ford had to start selling it in North America... they needed something to make the Flex look 'normal'. One of the striking things we notice about this, ermmmmmmm - IED platform is the novel hood release (I believe this is being adopted on some of the new cars as well - and isn't likely to survive it's first Alberta winter - but WTF do I know?) that requires the unique ignition key to open the hood... Looking at the drivers door post, we see that the country code is (IIRC) NMO.. To save you the trouble, that is Turkey... One can only wonder if there are any transient workers from other, less friendly nations... Anyway... looking at the interior, we see there is seating for two adults or 17 radical Muslims with AK-47s. With a GVW of over 5000 pounds and a huge cargo area, this puppy can carry enough rudimentary explosives to pack a real wallop... Sitting in the drivers seat, we notice that this well thought out rig makes the interior rear view mirror easy to reach and adjust... even though the only thing you can really see in the rear view mirror is the centre post for the rear cargo doors... If you ever have the honor of being entrusted with the repairs to one of these, I heartily suggest perusing the WSM.... Wheel nut torque is a gut wrenching 66 lb/ft - but it may be difficult for some to resist the assumption that 100 lb/ft will be 'OK'. Maybe as a light delivery vehicle in an urban setting, this thing may have a chance.... Thank God Ford doesn't put all their eggs in one basket... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brad Clayton Posted July 24, 2009 Share Posted July 24, 2009 Focus drivetrain being asked to alot more work, and the rear u bolts require periodic tightening. I'll take a dozen please. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LARRY BRUDZYNSKI Posted July 24, 2009 Share Posted July 24, 2009 Just wait until they outfit it with a ambulance package..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mchan68 Posted July 24, 2009 Share Posted July 24, 2009 Focus drivetrain being asked to alot more work, and the rear u bolts require periodic tightening. I'll take a dozen please.My sentiments exactly. I personally can't see this vehicle becoming much of a hit in the North American market for many reasons. First and foremost, all I see is a Focus drivetrain being the ONLY choice as its biggest flaw. This in itself is going severely limit its load carrying capacity. Examining it more closely, left me with the impression that this vehicle will likely suffer the same fate as the XR4Ti, Scorpio, Contour and Mystique IMO. In a nutshell, I definitely don't see this vehicle REPLACING the E-Series. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aaron Posted July 25, 2009 Share Posted July 25, 2009 I think, as I was wheeling around my first Econoline 6.0 at my new job (Made it almost two months having not worked on an E-van, and yesterday I get an E-550 (7.3) high cube and today an E-450), I saw one of these on the auto transport. I'm not sure if we ended up with it or not. What an ugly piece of shit this transient is. Gonna have to turn the impact down from '5' to do up the wheelnuts on this shitbox. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aaron Posted July 25, 2009 Share Posted July 25, 2009 likely suffer the same fate as the XR4Ti, Scorpio, Contour and Mystique IMO. My wife has a Contour. (She just stepped up to a 2006 Escape) In 6 years, I've put a water pump, and a timing belt on it. Brakes ONCE, like four years ago. Awesome little car. I'm going to fix it up (needs a little exhaust work) and use it as my daily driver. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fabfoes87 Posted July 25, 2009 Share Posted July 25, 2009 Ford can't replace the iconic Econoline with it's little british siter knock off here in N.A. The E-series is way to much of a proven work horse to be put out to pasture. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aaron Posted July 25, 2009 Share Posted July 25, 2009 And also: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brad Clayton Posted July 25, 2009 Share Posted July 25, 2009 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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