AM2 Posted June 3, 2009 Share Posted June 3, 2009 (edited) Will the E-series van be replace with some global model based on the large european Transit van (current or next gen)? Current E-series van Current Ford Transit/Tourneo (not to be confused with the compact Transit Connect) Edited June 3, 2009 by AM2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theoldwizard Posted June 3, 2009 Share Posted June 3, 2009 Last rumors were E-Series is a "dead man walking". Transit will be the "world" van. However, Transits world conquest is delayed. New version was supposed to show up in EU in 2011 or 12MY but has been delayed. My guess was more "Americanization" was required. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twintornados Posted June 3, 2009 Share Posted June 3, 2009 Wiz, do you think the delay is because Ford is working with the American upfitter market to bring them in line with any E-Series replacement? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tribunius Posted June 3, 2009 Share Posted June 3, 2009 Wiz, do you think the delay is because Ford is working with the American upfitter market to bring them in line with any E-Series replacement? The short answer to that is no. How do I know? I am one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twintornados Posted June 3, 2009 Share Posted June 3, 2009 The short answer to that is no. How do I know? I am one. Ok....What is your company doing to address the change when Ford replaces the E-Series with Transit? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theoldwizard Posted June 3, 2009 Share Posted June 3, 2009 (edited) Wiz, do you think the delay is because Ford is working with the American upfitter market to bring them in line with any E-Series replacement? No, I think the issue was even the "Jumbo" Transit could not fit a V6 or V8 engine, let alone a V6 EcoBoost (twin turbos). Who knows if a diesel of any size will show up in a US transit in the foreseeable future. Edited June 3, 2009 by theoldwizard Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deanh Posted June 3, 2009 Share Posted June 3, 2009 No, I think the issue was even the "Jumbo" Transit could not fit a V6 or V8 engine, let alone a V6 EcoBoost (twin turbos). Who knows if a diesel of any size will show up in a US transit in the foreseeable future. they gotta use that 4.4 sooner or later....Econoline, F150, F250, and Expy could ALL benefit..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tribunius Posted June 3, 2009 Share Posted June 3, 2009 Ok....What is your company doing to address the change when Ford replaces the E-Series with Transit? Well as it stands there is nothing we can do. Without specific information such as wheelbase, track width, gvwr, mounting points etc. we can't do anything. All ford has told us about the future of the e series is that a diesel engine won't be avaliable once they run out of stockpiled. Thats it. No word on a future engine (though it was implied that there will be one but not when it will show up) or a replacement platform altogether. So we are just carry on as normal until we hear otherwise. Though I must admit its painful investing in molds and jigs when the future is uncertain. Got stung when ford changed the dash last year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tribunius Posted June 3, 2009 Share Posted June 3, 2009 they gotta use that 4.4 sooner or later....Econoline, F150, F250, and Expy could ALL benefit..... True its bound to happen. Though I hope they get on with it before our customers (most who will not accept anything but a diesel) demand we use another company, more than likely GM (whenever it sorts itself out). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deanh Posted June 3, 2009 Share Posted June 3, 2009 True its bound to happen. Though I hope they get on with it before our customers (most who will not accept anything but a diesel) demand we use another company, more than likely GM (whenever it sorts itself out). right now ball is in Fords court...sure would be a scoop though...GM's priorities are elsewhere and who knows how long it will take them to get their act together...the other alternative is the Sprinters which ASIDE from being Dodge ...are heiniously expensive.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tribunius Posted June 3, 2009 Share Posted June 3, 2009 (edited) right now ball is in Fords court...sure would be a scoop though...GM's priorities are elsewhere and who knows how long it will take them to get their act together...the other alternative is the Sprinters which ASIDE from being Dodge ...are heiniously expensive.... We have only built a few prototypes on them but the sprinters are nice units. The handle superbly. The have a small turning circle. Access to its insides for instalation and servicing is much easier than an e series. They do have a few short comings for what we do. The gvwr is too low for alot of applications. The track width is also narrower than we would like. Order lead times are quite long. And as you say they are very expensive. In fact the 2010 model is supposed to increase by up to 25%! As for being dodge well they won't be for much longer. Its likely that freightliner will go back to being the sole supplier. Edited June 3, 2009 by Tribunius Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ausrutherford Posted June 4, 2009 Share Posted June 4, 2009 The transit can only get the the levels of durability of a E-150. It fails for the E250 and higher. If it did, it would compromise its Euro sales. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PREMiERdrum Posted June 4, 2009 Share Posted June 4, 2009 (edited) We have only built a few prototypes on them but the sprinters are nice units.The handle superbly. The have a small turning circle. Access to its insides for instalation and servicing is much easier than an e series. They do have a few short comings for what we do. The gvwr is too low for alot of applications. The track width is also narrower than we would like. Order lead times are quite long. And as you say they are very expensive. In fact the 2010 model is supposed to increase by up to 25%! As for being dodge well they won't be for much longer. Its likely that freightliner will go back to being the sole supplier. We have 4 Sprinters in service for our microwave/quick spot trucks. They're nice, but we've had extensive drivetrain issues in all of them, including a few replaced transmissions and one entire new engine (all done under warranty) We still have 2 of these bad boy diesel Fords in service, and the engineers love them. Our 2 senior crew chiefs get them. They are seriously preferred to the Sprinters. We also have 2 bog box Sat trucks. These. Are. Awesome. Edited June 4, 2009 by PREMiERdrum Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sherminator98 Posted June 4, 2009 Share Posted June 4, 2009 The handle superbly. The have a small turning circle. Funny you mention this but a year or two ago I saw one on its side on a residental street...and there wasn't any hairpin turns or anything that would have cause it to tip over like that either... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PREMiERdrum Posted June 4, 2009 Share Posted June 4, 2009 Funny you mention this but a year or two ago I saw one on its side on a residental street...and there wasn't any hairpin turns or anything that would have cause it to tip over like that either... Ours handle very, very poorly in winter weather as well. Which isn't good for a broadcast vehicle in Central Ohio (most of what we cover November-March is weather related) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suv_guy_19 Posted June 4, 2009 Share Posted June 4, 2009 the other alternative is the Sprinters which ASIDE from being Dodge ...are heiniously expensive.... When your spending a great deal of money outfitting a vehicle, it isn't really that much of a difference. The ambulances that the Province of Manitoba had been buying were Ford and then GM box vans (they still buy the GMs). they cost $130,000 each. We have 4 Sprinters to test and they cost $140,000 each, and a great deal of that extra cost was because of the added tech and features. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theoldwizard Posted June 4, 2009 Share Posted June 4, 2009 I have noticed a lot of ambulances built on F Series chassis. I wonder how the crews like them. The floor must be a lot higher off the ground than the E Series. Want to start a business ? Figure out how to retro fit Sprinters (and soon Transits) with dual wheels. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ponyguy Posted June 4, 2009 Share Posted June 4, 2009 Want to start a business ? Figure out how to retro fit Sprinters (and soon Transits) with dual wheels. I've seen Sprinter duallys already... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twintornados Posted June 4, 2009 Share Posted June 4, 2009 I have noticed a lot of ambulances built on F Series chassis. I wonder how the crews like them. The floor must be a lot higher off the ground than the E Series. Want to start a business ? Figure out how to retro fit Sprinters (and soon Transits) with dual wheels. Daimler (Mercedes) has figured out how to do that already... ...and so has Ford. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tribunius Posted June 4, 2009 Share Posted June 4, 2009 The transit can only get the the levels of durability of a E-150. It fails for the E250 and higher. If it did, it would compromise its Euro sales. Its not durablity but gvwr (gross vehicle weight rateing). The current model transit does not have a gvwr equalivent to all the e series models however that can and proabably will be changed during the redesign. As for it affecting european sales I don't think it will. We have 4 Sprinters in service for our microwave/quick spot trucks. They're nice, but we've had extensive drivetrain issues in all of them, including a few replaced transmissions and one entire new engine (all done under warranty) I have heard of some drive train issues alright. What were yours in particular if you don't mind me asking? We still have 2 of these bad boy diesel Fords in service, and the engineers love them. Our 2 senior crew chiefs get them. They are seriously preferred to the Sprinters. Yeah good old reliable f series. Funny you mention this but a year or two ago I saw one on its side on a residental street...and there wasn't any hairpin turns or anything that would have cause it to tip over like that either... What I meant to say was they handle more like a car than a van. I would say this was a case of driver error. We did some limited testing of the stability compare to an e350 (pretty much the same body on both). Even though the sprinter is taller and narrower it did not roll as much as the e350. Ours handle very, very poorly in winter weather as well. Which isn't good for a broadcast vehicle in Central Ohio (most of what we cover November-March is weather related) I have heard that too. From what I gather this is mostly down to poor factory tires. Also the esp kicks in in certain situations. Has to be turned off (switch on the dash)before you can get moving again. If they are lightly loaded they don't handle the snow that well though that is true of most rear wheel drive cargo vehicles. I have noticed a lot of ambulances built on F Series chassis. I wonder how the crews like them. The floor must be a lot higher off the ground than the E Series. There is only about a 4inch difference between the top of the frame rails of an e series and a f series (depending of loading of course). Want to start a business ? Figure out how to retro fit Sprinters (and soon Transits) with dual wheels. Indeed they already have them all the 3500 sprinters are dual rear wheel. However unlike a north american design the addition of dual rear wheels does not change the track width. In addition they can not be refitted with a north american style design because the esp and abs would not like it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deanh Posted June 4, 2009 Share Posted June 4, 2009 When your spending a great deal of money outfitting a vehicle, it isn't really that much of a difference. The ambulances that the Province of Manitoba had been buying were Ford and then GM box vans (they still buy the GMs). they cost $130,000 each. We have 4 Sprinters to test and they cost $140,000 each, and a great deal of that extra cost was because of the added tech and features. compare the number of those niche sales to the general public, which is whom i was referring too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PREMiERdrum Posted June 8, 2009 Share Posted June 8, 2009 I have heard of some drive train issues alright. What were yours in particular if you don't mind me asking? {info from our chief engineer} Sprinter 3500 High Roof models with the 3.0L diesel and automatic. Customized with 54' telescopic mast with digitial and analog transmitters and mastcam, 1 meter QuickSpot uplink dish, computer based editing suite, live broadcast switcher with capabilities for 3 live cameras + mastcam and 4 mics. They are babied, only driven locally and kept under a rigorous maintenance schedule by their respective crew chiefs. Planning on going back to Ford Cube trucks when our 96 and 97 Fords need replaced, which is still a few years away, believe it or not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
battyr Posted June 8, 2009 Share Posted June 8, 2009 I think the US transit will be of the next generation design. It has been delay. It might be getting the upgrades needed for a US specs. It won't replace an E-450, but should be a good replacement for the E-150. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theoldwizard Posted June 8, 2009 Share Posted June 8, 2009 Rumors persist that the entire E Series line is to be discontinued and replaced by Transit. What most people do not know this is Ford's second attempt to kill off E Series. There was a very serious plan to kill it about 10 years ago. I think the only reason it did NOT happen then was the lack of a reasonable (in US terms) powertrain and the cost to import or re-tool. The E-series is a "cash cow". The only thing that has been changed since the early 90s is the grille and the dashboard. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tribunius Posted June 8, 2009 Share Posted June 8, 2009 The E-series is a "cash cow". The only thing that has been changed since the early 90s is the grille and the dashboard. Very true. I have pretty much every body builder book for each model year going back to I think 95 they are all pretty much a carbon copy of each other. With the change in dash this year they did over haul the electrical system aswell. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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