How Ford plans to phase out the best selling E-Series.

[BrooklynBay]

http://www.autoblog.com/2011/12/08/how-ford-plans-to-phase-out-the-best-selling-e-series/

 

[OffTrac]

Poor decision, IMO. I worked for Delta a few years back with ground support and these things were workhorses and as reliable a vehicle made. The "replacement" does not look up to the task.

 

[Brandon96]

So first the best-selling Ranger, now the best-selling E-series?

Ford's got some big cojones these days, I swear...

 

[OffTrac]

And the Crown Vic/Town Car.

Wasn't as disappointed with the Sport Trac. That died to me in 2006. Kinda how the Cougar died to me in '99 ('73 actually).

 

[01B3K]

.... really?

 

[Dan Whitaker]

And the Crown Vic/Town Car.

Wasn't as disappointed with the Sport Trac. That died to me in 2006. Kinda how the Cougar died to me in '99 ('73 actually).

'89-97' Cougars are nice. I have a '97 XR7 Sport. I'll take it over a Rustang any day of the week

 

[IZwack]

Makes sense, especially considering the MPG gains (if they are true).

 

[OffTrac]

'89-97' Cougars are nice. I have a '97 XR7 Sport. I'll take it over a Rustang any day of the week

All of them are pretty nice up through '97, but I don't think they ever lived up to what they began from '67 60 '72. It should have continued to be the more upscale, luxurious, screaming fast big brother version of the Mustang. Then they tried the rice thing with the front wheel drive V6 in '99.

 

[snoranger]

In Europe it has primarily been available with turbo-diesel engines, although for the U.S., Ford will certainly offer it with a gasoline engine. We are told that Ford has yet to decide which of its North American engines will be fitted under the hood, but that anything is possible, even a V8.

As always Ford says F%@# you North America, you dont get a diesel.



If they dont know what engine is going to be in it, how can they make this claim?

Ford says the transition to Transit makes sense for customers because the Transit will offer a 25-percent improvement in fuel economy, thanks in part to a roughly 300-pound weight savings, but without any sacrifice in durability or capability.

 

[Dan Whitaker]

So first the best-selling Ranger, now the best-selling E-series?

Ford's got some big cojones these days, I swear...

More like they've been cut off.

 

[Joe Dirt]

If they dont know what engine is going to be in it, how can they make this claim?

Because whatever engine goes into the new Transit, it will still be much more efficient than a gas hog Econoline?

Ford would be absolutely stupid to not produce a vehicle competitive with the Sprinter, and the Nissan NV. That is the market, like it or not.

We have 2 Sprinters at work, and had one Econoline until last fall. It never moved- it drank gas, and couldn't haul as much stuff. We dumped it for next to nothing. For the people that actually BUY these vans, this is a good move.

 

[kert0307]

In all reality, they can't be selling that many e-series "vans" anyway. I mean really, how many e-series vans do you see anymore? Most have either switched to Sprinters or Super Duty based box trucks.

 

[BrooklynBay]

I'm just wondering how they expect contractors to haul sheetrock & plywood in a small 4 cylinder box shaped mini van. What about people with large families that need a 15 passenger van? There are 15 passenger mini school buses too. The larger Econolines are used as a base vehicle for some motorhomes as well. The F series pickup is used for towing. What will they use to replace them once they are phased out? The Ranger & Sport Trac were already phased out.

 

[Joe Dirt]

Our sprinters carry everything up to 5' x 12' substrates on a day-to-day basis, with plenty of room left over for more stuff. We routinely carry stuff up to 18' long. They wouldn't fit into our Econoline. These are the larger vans coming now, not the mini Transit Connect. Two different sizes.

If you look at the specs:

Height (high roof Sprinter (not even a max roof) vs. Econoline): 76" vs 51"
Cargo floor length: (Extended which we have) vs Econoline extended length: 185" vs 140"
Cargo Width: 70" vs 51"

It's just a better design- the old has to be phased out, we would never even consider another Econoline, but if they have the larger Transit, we'd for sure look at them.

 

[blueka]

Transits are actually pretty awesome... I've driven the model that they have now and the previous models, and they're more than up to the job... don't worry!


Si

 

[kert0307]

The larger Econolines are used as a base vehicle for some motorhomes as well. The F series pickup is used for towing. What will they use to replace them once they are phased out?

What can this do...

That this cant?